MMO Updates |
- Massively Exclusive: Lime Odyssey premieres the Muris opening cinematic
- Frogster releases TERA Europe pre-order and beta info, new video
- Behind the Mask: The real state of the game
- Play the MMO that never dies with Mythos Global's open beta
- World of Tanks invades America in Update 7.2
- The Daily Grind: Could you make your own MMO for $30 million?
- The Firing Line Extra: Tribes' Todd Harris on class customization and base gameplay
- WildStar discusses the exotic and alien human race
- Free for All: Old Second Life documentary still highlights truths
- A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A critical year
- Pathfinder Online promises to let players stumble into adventure
- ArcheAge fan site features lots of CBT4 info
- EA reveals SWTOR subscription and sales numbers, beats financial predictions [Updated]
- Choose My Adventure: Atys refugee blues
- MechWarrior Online delves into the art of role warfare
- BioWare goes bounty hunting for great guild leaders
- TERA pre-orders available, closed beta access included
- Garriott talks riding rockets, Man on a Mission movie
- Allods Online: Game of Gods coming February 15th
- Aeria releases Repulse sci-fi shooter
| Massively Exclusive: Lime Odyssey premieres the Muris opening cinematic Posted: 02 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Free-to-play, Races  We have a treat for you today: the world-exclusive premiere of the Muris introductory cinematic as well as several new screenshots of these bite-sized troublemakers! Lime Odyssey is scheduled to release sometime in 2012. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Lime Odyssey premieres the Muris opening cinematic
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| Frogster releases TERA Europe pre-order and beta info, new video Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, TERA  Euro closed beta tests begin on February 17th, and you can either take your chances by registering on the game's official website, or pre-order and get guaranteed access to all five events. Pre-ordering also gives you head-start access on May 3rd, name reservation privileges, and various special items depending on your retailer of choice. The retail collector's edition features the game soundtrack, a world map, an art book, and more, and you can learn all about it at TERA's European website. Note that En Masse and Frogster are redirecting traffic based on your IP address, so if you're in America and you click on the links below, you'll be taken to the En Masse site. Before you go, click past the cut and have a look at the spiffy new pre-order trailer. Continue reading Frogster releases TERA Europe pre-order and beta info, new video
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| Behind the Mask: The real state of the game Posted: 02 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Opinion, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Behind the Mask  If you look at the history of the State of the Game and Ask Cryptic entries, they fluctuate quite a bit between good information and annoying PR. The January SOTG was full of annoying PR, and it bothered me greatly. It felt dishonest. I saw a lot of hype on little things that no one wanted and very little on what people really wanted. This week, I'm going to talk about the real state of the game: where CO is and where it needs to go. I'll also talk about some of the future stuff that Robobo mentioned in the SOTG. Is it good or bad? We'll see! Continue reading Behind the Mask: The real state of the game
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| Play the MMO that never dies with Mythos Global's open beta Posted: 02 Feb 2012 07:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Mythos, Free-to-play, Dungeons  Mythos has somehow survived its entire original development team being fired, legal battles over the intellectual property rights to the game, and being kicked from publisher to publisher. Now in its third incarnation as Mythos Global, the game will soon relaunch to excited fans, and to curious gamers who didn't play it while it was live. If you didn't snag one of Massively's keys for the closed beta back in December, your chance to play the game starts now! Mythos Global officially entered open beta today, with free registration available via its new publisher T3Fun.
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| World of Tanks invades America in Update 7.2 Posted: 02 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Trailers, Video, Patches, Previews, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks, MOBA  Update 7.2 will be arriving in the first quarter of this year, and also contains an Italian map (Campania), an integrated tutorial to help newbies get a handle on the game, and 20 new crew skills. Lead Game Designer Mike Zhivets is all aglow over 7.2: "We are always happy to introduce new features and game content to our community. Many more new exciting features are on their way and will be introduced in the nearest updates." You can check out the diesel action in the trailer after the jump! Continue reading World of Tanks invades America in Update 7.2
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| The Daily Grind: Could you make your own MMO for $30 million? Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  While we're on the subject of a spare $30 million, yesterday's Garriott piece got me to thinking about what I would do if I had that kind of pocket change. While spaceflight and a lifetime supply of Hershey's kisses are certainly high on the list, I'd use a good chunk of the money to make my own MMO. What about you, Massively crew? Would you self-finance an MMO if you could, and what would it be like? Would $30 million be enough?  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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| The Firing Line Extra: Tribes' Todd Harris on class customization and base gameplay Posted: 02 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, The Firing Line  You see, today is patch day, and while that's not terribly unusual (Hi-Rez has updated the Tribes beta client early and often since the start of closed testing last November), the latest tweak is a bit of fan service that will likely bring smiles to the faces of franchise die-hards waiting in the wings to see what becomes of their baby. Continue reading The Firing Line Extra: Tribes' Todd Harris on class customization and base gameplay
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| WildStar discusses the exotic and alien human race Posted: 01 Feb 2012 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Lore, Previews, News items, Races, WildStar  While the other major characters identify a specific world as "home," humans are portrayed as being a bit more free-forming, having roamed out in space for so long that they're really not bound to a location. The entry also discusses some of the lore behind being an Explorer and some of the perils associated with intentionally venturing into the unknown (it involves lots of things that try to eat you, if you need the short version). If you've been enjoying the flavor of the world Carbine Studios is slowly building, you'll probably enjoy this latest look as well.
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| Free for All: Old Second Life documentary still highlights truths Posted: 01 Feb 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Real life, Video, Business models, Culture, Opinion, Second Life, Free-to-play, Virtual worlds, Free for All, Sandbox  One of the most important things I noticed about the film was just how universal to MMO gaming the documentary was. The issues it brought up are still issues, the problems with virtual worlds are still problems, and the fact that any technology older than six months looks laughable on film is still true. It was also encouraging to see how well Second Life has aged since 2007, but it's slightly depressing to see just how horrible MMO documentaries can be at showing the entire picture. Continue reading Free for All: Old Second Life documentary still highlights truths
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A critical year Posted: 01 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Opinion, Free-to-play, A Mild-Mannered Reporter  This year was a try for something slightly different in both the tone and approach that I'd been taking with these columns. I finished off one major project, started another one, and along the way, I found that I gathered a very different attitude over time. In relationship terms, the first year of A Mild-Mannered Reporter was apparently still the "gushing" phase of a new relationship. This year has been much more about the flaws that City of Heroes has, both in structure and in design choices. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: A critical year
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| Pathfinder Online promises to let players stumble into adventure Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, PvE, Sandbox  Four basic types of interconnection are outlined, ranging from wandering monsters to potential beasts attracted by overharvesting an area. (Cut down too much wood in an area and wood-dwelling creatures my start attacking lumberjacks... or some nasty flying monsters might decide the cleared area would make for an excellent nest.) It's certainly an interesting set of principles going into design, making the entry well worth a read for sandbox enthusiasts.
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| ArcheAge fan site features lots of CBT4 info Posted: 01 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, ArcheAge, Sandbox  The site has a wealth of information covering several aspects of ArcheAge's fourth closed beta phase, including multiple skill guides, lore, and various videos. If that's not enough for you, there's also the latest beta patch notes that are available via Google translate. Check them out to learn more about siege ladders, the game's family system, and importing your own graphics for cloaks and ship sails. [Thanks to Andrew for the tip!]
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| EA reveals SWTOR subscription and sales numbers, beats financial predictions [Updated] Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  It looks like Star Wars: The Old Republic didn't let its daddy down, as EA has reported much better sales than expected for the December quarter, largely thanks to the runaway sales of the new MMO title (as well as many of EA's other heavy-hitters). The company ended up earning an adjusted $344 million for a total net loss of $205 million, which isn't too shabby if you consider how much money just went into the development and launch of The Old Republic. Perhaps most interestingly to players, however, is the fact that EA has reported sales of more than 2 million units of The Old Republic with about 1.7 million subscribers. Those are the highest (and the hardest) numbers we've heard so far. EA's Chief Financial Advisor, Eric Brown, stated in an interview that EA managed to pull in more SWTOR subscribers than the studio had initially anticipated. He added that at launch, the studio was able to add a great number of users per server courtesy of some technical improvements. If you're economically minded and want to get the full, dirty, stock market details, just click past the link below. [Thanks to Gabriel for the tip!] [Update: Darth Hater has compiled some additional TOR-related statistics and Q&A from today's EA earnings call: "2,000,000+ copies sold, 40% sold through Origin; 1,700,000+ active subscribers, 1 million concurrent." The company also notes that "Active subscribers means anyone paying OR in their trial period. MOST of those 1.7m are paying at this point."]
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| Choose My Adventure: Atys refugee blues Posted: 01 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Culture, Game mechanics, Ryzom, Opinion, Free-to-play, Choose My Adventure  But let's make this a full narrative, yes? When we left off, the group verdict was that I would be starting out as a Zorai with the Magic starter package based off of a female Shakespearean tragic character. And thus, with only a little extra effort, Corlede was born into the world of Ryzom. The character creator offers a variety of features, allowing you to select your character's build in fine detail but offering a strange lack of certain other options. There are also some odd constraints on character types -- you find yourself always locked within a certain general band of height, for instance, so there are no really tall Trykers. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Atys refugee blues
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| MechWarrior Online delves into the art of role warfare Posted: 01 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, MechWarrior Online  Last week, we got to take a look at MechWarrior Online's freshly introduced CN9-A Centurion BattleMech. This week, however, the folks at Piranha Games want to give you some insight on what to do once you're seated in the cockpit of your giant robot, so they've dropped a new blog post titled Role Warfare for fans' consumption. The post first introduces players to the various roles available to MechWarrior Online players: scouting, assault, defense, and command. The roles are exactly what they sound like. Scouts gather intel, while assault 'Mechs assault and defense 'Mechs defend. Command mechs, believe it or not, command their respective teams. But how do you customize your 'Mech to fill one of these roles? As players progress through their matches, the BattleMechs that they use in battle will gain XP according to their battle performance. This XP can be spent to unlock upgrades in the BattleMech's tech tree. Each BattleMech will have its own distinct tech tree, and therefore its own distinct upgrade options. At certain points within the Tech Tree, players will receive Pilot Points, which are assigned directly to the player's pilot avatar and are used to purchase pilot abilities in the Pilot Skill Tree. Finally, players can purchase BattleMech modules with their C-Bills, which allows for the final layer of specialization on the customization cake. For the full details on the game's customization and upgrade system, and to get a run down of some recommended loadouts for various roles, click on through to MWO's official site below.
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| BioWare goes bounty hunting for great guild leaders Posted: 01 Feb 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, Guilds, Star Wars: The Old Republic  The best thing about the summit is that any qualifying guild leader interested in helping to shape the game's future can apply to be a part of the summit. The official website has an application form up, although those who want to be considered for the summit need to fill it out by February 10th. BioWare stated that it has already invited some guilds and that the remainder of the summit will be invite-only due to the limited size of the event. It's important to note that while the event itself is free, attending leaders have to assume the responsibility for transportation, room, and board.
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| TERA pre-orders available, closed beta access included Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, TERA  What about the editions? Well, you can choose between standard, digital collector's, and physical collector's version, and the latter two come with an in-game mount and a couple of unique necklace items. The physical collector's edition justifies its $79.99 price point with a cloth map, a soundtrack CD, a handbook, a compass, and a letter of marque. En Masse is also offering a couple of exclusives for purchasing directly through its online store.
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| Garriott talks riding rockets, Man on a Mission movie Posted: 01 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous  The piece is mainly focused on the film, which is currently playing in select cities as well as various on-demand internet outlets. The documentary presents Garriott's career as an underdog triumph, and highlights the fact that he was rejected for NASA's astronaut program due to his poor eyesight. Garriott had the last laugh, however, as he bought his way to the international space station in 2008 and became the first second-generation astronaut in American history (and a noted supporter of private-sector space flight). While there's precious little info regarding Garriott's current and future gaming pursuits, the interview does offer up some geeky nuggets for those interested in rockets and rocketmen. "For example, launch you think of as this loud, shaky, scary moment," Garriott explains. "In fact, on a liquid-fueled rocket like the Soyuz, it's almost perfectly silent and smooth on the inside. It's much more cerebral, it feels much more like a ballet move, lifting you ever faster into the sky, than it does a sports car dropping the clutch at a green light."
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| Allods Online: Game of Gods coming February 15th Posted: 01 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Allods Online  Game of Gods is "the biggest expansion ever to hit Allods Online," and it will bring a new Bard class, objective-driven PvP arenas, and new raids to the table. New weapons and armor, new allods and astral layers, and some sort of loot-drop lottery card system are also on the way. That's not all, though, and the game's official website has a full listing of the patch's features and functionality. [Source: gPotato press release]
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| Aeria releases Repulse sci-fi shooter Posted: 01 Feb 2012 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play  Repulse was previously known as Genesis A.D., and though Aeria refers to it as an MMOFPS in today's press release, it's actually more of an online shooter given that it features 16-player mayhem and the usual capture-the-flag and team deathmatch-flavored gameplay. It's free-to-play, and you can see it in action via the trailer after the break. [Source: Aeria Games press release] Continue reading Aeria releases Repulse sci-fi shooter
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