MMO Updates

MMO Updates


ArenaNet confirms Guild Wars 2 beta invites are in progress

Posted: 17 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT

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Guild Wars 2
Brooding over your lack of a beta invite for Guild Wars 2? Are you anxiously refreshing your inbox every three seconds on the off-chance that ArenaNet finally came to its senses and opened the door to the best tester in the world (that's you, of course)?

It might help you to know that ArenaNet has indeed begun sending out beta invites for the lucky few who were accepted after the recent 48-hour call to arms. Rubi Bayer confirmed this on Guild Wars 2's Facebook page:
"Yes, beta invitations have begun going out. They'll be sent out over the next few days. Please remember that discussing the beta in any way, shape, or form -- including your status in it -- is a breach of NDA. Don't risk your beta access!"
Keep in mind that whether or not you're admitted to this round of beta testing, you can ensure your place in future beta weekends by pre-purchasing the game.

MassivelyArenaNet confirms Guild Wars 2 beta invites are in progress originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WRUP: You'd better be wearing green edition

Posted: 17 Mar 2012 08:00 AM PDT

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City of Heroes will let you be very green.  Almost painfully so.
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Normally I'd admonish people for taking a special day out of their busy schedules just to drink heavily (everyone knows you do that throughout the week), but in this case I'm just going to admonish people not for wearing green. If you aren't wearing green, you're missing the point. Also, you could stand to do that more often. I'm just happy to see people wearing green clothes; it doesn't have to be a holiday.

Me? Half of my shirts are green.

This week's WRUP does not actually involve any Saint Patrick's Day shenanigans. Instead, we've opted for our usual mixture of games and some assorted musings on what games we'd play if the games in question had alternate rulesets for some servers. So go ahead and spy on our weekend antics just past the cut, and let us know what you'll be doing in the comments!

Continue reading WRUP: You'd better be wearing green edition

MassivelyWRUP: You'd better be wearing green edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    The Daily Grind: Do social media tie-ins annoy you?

    Posted: 17 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT

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    GW2 Facebook
    When ArenaNet thanked Guild Wars 2 beta applicants with a special video earlier this week, the move was met with a surprising amount of angst-ridden complaining because the video was gated behind a "Like" button on Facebook. Some gamers just didn't want to sign up for Facebook just to see a video or resented the idea that the thank-you was really just a clever marketing trick to advertise the game to their friends.

    While complaining does seem a bit like looking a gift horse in the mouth (and it was easy enough to find a copy of the video on YouTube within five minutes anyway), I can still understand why some folks are irritated by the permeation of social media into every corner of the MMOsphere, from news sites like ours to clicking "Like" for free stuff to auto-Tweeting in-game accomplishments.

    What about you? Do social media tie-ins annoy you?

    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!

    MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do social media tie-ins annoy you? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Betawatch: March 10 - 16, 2012

      Posted: 16 Mar 2012 06:00 PM PDT

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      Betawatch - Spirit Tales
      Happy Friday, Betawatchers! This week, Spirit Tales entered closed beta, Seven Souls Online and Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances joined our open beta list, and we caught more than a glimpse of The Secret World's current beta build at GDC.

      Yesterday, we gave away 10,000 closed beta test keys for TERA. Apparently, you guys really wanted in because they're all gone. But if you didn't snag one, maybe you'll want to check out RaiderZ or one of the other Betawatch games in the list after the break!

      Continue reading Betawatch: March 10 - 16, 2012

      MassivelyBetawatch: March 10 - 16, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Storyboard: Sadface

        Posted: 16 Mar 2012 05:00 PM PDT

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        For those of you who identify the middle picture, yes, I've beaten the game, and yes, I liked the ending.  If you want to talk about it, do so via mail, not in the comments.
        I have, on occasion, joked that all of my roleplaying characters are either looking for a tragedy or recovering from one. It's not an intentional thing, but for whatever reason, an awful lot of my characters tend to have a whole lot of pain and sorrow wrapped up in their heads. My attempts at making a joke character usually derail to the point that said character is even more depressing, like the mage I played who was supposed to be eccentric and wound up being desperately lonely due to her horrendous inability to focus on any one thing for too long.

        While it's very easy to go into the depressingly morbid side with a tragic character, we're not going into that this week. (Another week -- you know how I roll by now.) No, this week's problem is much simpler. If you're playing a character who's beset on all sides by misfortune, eventually you're just going to wind up with sadness-induced apathy. You're going to get tired of the fact that your character always fails and never wins and that things get worse every time he or she tries to fix problems. In short, you're going to not want to play the character because said character is just plain depressing.

        Continue reading Storyboard: Sadface

        MassivelyStoryboard: Sadface originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          MapleStory allies against aliens

          Posted: 16 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT

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          MapleStory
          It's a bad day to be an alien in MapleStory -- and a good day to be a player. Nexon has released its latest major update for the game, Alliance Unbound, and it's placing a bounty on every E.T. and Klingon you can find. Nasty space critters are causing town-demolishing earthquakes in the area, and what's worse is that their technology is somewhat more advanced than swords or clubs.

          While a majority of the content for Alliance Unbound is for high-level characters, there's still plenty for lowbies to do as well. The main update quest line opens up at level 15 and offers both a high- and low-level version.

          The update has plenty of meat to it in other ways. A gigantic 31-part quest chain has been added to Ellin Forest for level 95s in which players will jump back in time and explore the making of one of the key regions in the game. There's also a nifty and powerful alien socket system that grants players the ability to upgrade weapons. Finally, Nexon's got plenty of new Event Cards and a collection system to keep players busy.

          MassivelyMapleStory allies against aliens originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Guild Wars discontinuing support for old operating systems

          Posted: 16 Mar 2012 03:00 PM PDT

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          Screenshot -- Guild Wars
          If you're a Guild Wars player who's still playing on a pre-Windows XP operating system, you may want to look into an upgrade soon. ArenaNet announced today that beginning on June 14th of this year, the studio will no longer be supporting Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, and Windows ME.

          The announcement notes that this change will only affect about .05% of the game's current players, and it will allow ArenaNet to implement "features that will improve account management and security," so we'd say it's a pretty fair trade. At any rate, any players still running any of the archaic operating systems listed above have until June to make the switch, so don't tarry!

          MassivelyGuild Wars discontinuing support for old operating systems originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Todd McFarlane says Project Copernicus is coming this year

          Posted: 16 Mar 2012 02:00 PM PDT

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          Concept Art -- Project Copernicus
          Gamers got their first look at the Kingdoms of Amalur universe in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning earlier this year, but we here at Massively are still anxiously awaiting more details on 38 Studios' MMO branch of the setting, Project Copernicus. Thankfully, it looks like we won't have to wait too much longer.

          In an interview with START, comic artist extraordinaire Todd McFarlane, who is providing art design for Copernicus, nonchalantly dropped news that the studio is aiming to release Project Copernicus "later in the year." He doesn't expound any further on when exactly we can expect to get our hands on the game, but with any luck we'll be getting some more details before long, so stay tuned folks. Oh, and the full interview is embedded past the cut in case you'd like to watch the full thing. The relevant quote hits at about the 11:50 mark, but the full interview is definitely worth a watch.

          [Thanks to John for the tip!]

          Continue reading Todd McFarlane says Project Copernicus is coming this year

          MassivelyTodd McFarlane says Project Copernicus is coming this year originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Terrazas talks EverQuest F2P launch and anniversary celebration

          Posted: 16 Mar 2012 01:00 PM PDT

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          everquest
          March is definitely roaring in like a lion for EverQuest. It's launching its new free-to-play program, and it's also celebrating its 13th anniversary with a big bash in game. With all of the changes, players are sure to have more than a few questions about the free-to-play transition and the state of the game today. We recently sat down with SOE Producer Thom Terrazas at a roundtable to answer those questions, so read on for details on the new free-to-play plan as well as the Hero's Journey, revamped maps, birthday celebrations, and the announcement of a brand-new server!

          Continue reading Terrazas talks EverQuest F2P launch and anniversary celebration

          MassivelyTerrazas talks EverQuest F2P launch and anniversary celebration originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            MMObility: Parallel Mafia is not a typical Mafia game

            Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:00 PM PDT

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            Parallel Mafia icon
            If you have played Parallel Kingdom by PerBlue before, then a lot of what I am going to describe might sound familiar. If not, then it might sound very unique and exciting. The truth is that I have been attempting to get into Parallel Kingdom for a while but always found myself a bit overwhelmed, so I was excited to be invited to check out PerBlue's new title Parallel Mafia. I hoped that I might squeeze in some questions about Parallel Kingdom while I had the team on the line. Sure enough, I not only got introduced to the new title but left the interview knowing a lot more about Parallel Kingdom. I have been playing heavily since then. As I compare the two titles, I can see a lot of similarities, but there are some nice differences as well.

            Both titles are location-based MMORPGs. I have always wanted more options in the genre, but I imagine it's a tough one to develop in. What's the point of the real-life connection? Why would players want to play in a game that is basically spawned on top of Google Maps?

            Continue reading MMObility: Parallel Mafia is not a typical Mafia game

            MassivelyMMObility: Parallel Mafia is not a typical Mafia game originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

              Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates


              Audition Online MMO Review

              Posted: 17 Mar 2012 02:26 AM PDT

              Audition draws heavily from the widely popular dancing game Dance Dance Revolution, whereby players must press arrow keys following the directions given on the screen. Audition comes included with a popular song list, and several different game modes too.

               

               

              Publisher: Redbana
              Playerbase: Low
              Graphics: Medium Quality
              Type: MMO
              EXP Rate: Medium
              PvP: N/A
              Filesize: 1.6GB

              Website: http://audition.redbana.com/

              Pros: +Several compelling game modes. +Single-player modes available. +Popular song list. +Various difficulty options.

              Cons: -Many items cost real money. -Game modes are all very similar.  -Lack of game mat detracts from the style.

               

              While there are no real character classes in Audition due to the genre, players must battle it out to win points that can then be spent on purchasing new clothes and accessories to dress up their characters. Unfortunately, many of the better items in Audition must be purchased from the Cash Shop using real money, however there are several game modes and a fully fledged song list made up of popular titles to keep players entertained.

               

               

               

               

              Audition Online System Requirements

              Minimum Requirements:
              OS: Windows XP / 2000 / Vista
              CPU: Pentium 3 – 550
              RAM: 128 MB
              HDD: 2GB
              VGA: NVIDIA RIVA TNT 32 MByte

              Recommended Specification:
              OS: Windows XP/ 2000 / Vista
              CPU: Pentium 3 – 1 GHz
              RAM: 256 MB
              HDD: 4GB or more
              VGA: NVIDIA Gforce 2 32 MByte

              Lime Odyssey (KR)

              Posted: 15 Mar 2012 02:29 PM PDT


              It has really been quite some time since anything significant was heard about Lime Odyssey, the maiden project for Sirius Entertainment with a number of staff who worked on Gravity’s Ragnarok Online 2. Today brings good news as the game will be going into Pre-Open Beta Test from 26 Oct till 29 Oct later this month. The test phase will also see the introduction of the loveable Pam race.

              Touted as the “true” successor to Ragnarok Online and the “real” Ragnarok Online 2, a number of overseas servers are already confirmed, with the English one hosted by Aeria Games (link) hopefully by next year. What happened to Ragnarok Online 2? Well, nothing was informed to the media for months by Gravity, with the company opting to publish Eden Eternal in Korea soon. God bless the Ragnarok franchise.

              MMORPG News

              MMORPG News


              General: Mass Effect 3: N7 Challenge Weekend

              Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:46 PM PDT

              Mass Effect 3: N7 Challenge Weekend

              Bioware is hosting a special Mass Effect 3 weekend called the "N7 Challenge Weekend". The special event will kick off on Friday, March 16 at 5PM PST and run through Monday, March 18 at 5AM PST. Participants will have an opportunity to attain awesome rewards to be used in Commander Shepard's battle to take Earth back.

              General: Help KickStart a History of Video Games Project!

              Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:23 PM PDT

              Help KickStart a History of Video Games Project!

              Rusel DeMaria, an active video game journalist since 1981 and the author of sixty games-related books, is looking for KickStarter support from fans of video games. DeMaria is looking to fund his updated book, "High Score: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games". The book will enter its 3rd Edition with new information gleaned from the past decade.

              Age of Conan: Unchained: Live Stream Chat Coming March 21st

              Posted: 16 Mar 2012 11:30 AM PDT

              Live Stream Chat Coming March 21st

              Want to get inside the minds of some of the dev team behind Age of Conan? Bill Murphy will be joined by Game Director Craig Morrison, designer Lidia Di Zazzo, and writer Joshua Alan Doetsch, who will share some of the secrets behind the macabre storytelling and repeatable game-play in Dead Mans Hand, one of the new areas added in last year's Savage Coast of Turan expansion to Age of Conan.

              Wakfu: Our Official Wakfu F2P Review

              Posted: 15 Mar 2012 10:35 AM PDT

              Our Official Wakfu F2P Review

              Wakfu was recently unleashed upon the world by Square Enix and Ankama Games. We've been spending some quality time in Wakfu's free zones to prepare for our official review. Read on and then weigh in with your thoughts in the comments.

              Call of Gods: EX Version Launches on iOS

              Posted: 16 Mar 2012 08:28 AM PDT

              EX Version Launches on iOS

              Shanghai Boyojoy Network Technology has announced the launch of Call of Gods EX, a strategy MMO based on the lore and mythology of the Greek pantheon. Call of Gods is available on iTunes for $1.99.

              General gaming

              General gaming


              Unpopular Games We Can't Help But Love

              Posted: 16 Mar 2012 05:06 PM PDT

              Feature

              Header

              Bad Games We Can't Help But Love

              1UP editors select the sub-par games near and dear to their hearts.

              By: 1UP Staff March 16, 2012

              Not every game can be a winner; amid all the triple-A, must-play experiences, a great number of titles receive critical scorn and go on to comprise a sad chapter in The Great Book of Gaming History. Even so, whether it's due to our own idiosyncrasies and/or undiagnosed brain disorders, each of us has our own favorite "bad" game we enjoy despite the head-shaking and constant judgment of those around us. It's true that some of the following games might have received critical acclaim in their day, but the passing of years has given each of them a bad reputation that's mostly deserved. Still, we can't help but love these games, because -- hey -- someone has to.

              Simcopter Art

              Shenmue HD Re-Releases Can Only Help Shenmue III's Chances

              Posted: 16 Mar 2012 03:08 PM PDT

              Shenmue

              Shenmue is one of those beloved franchises that, as much as they love it, many fans have accepted will never be seen again short of dusting off a Dreamcast. Yet there might be a chance for the series to be revived in some capacity through Sega's HD classic game re-releases. If Jet Set Radio can get the treatment, why not Shenmue?

              Gamereactor (via NeoGAF) spoke with Sega associate brand manager Ben Harborne at GDC about the upcoming HD version of Jet Set Radio, and he briefly touched upon fan requests for other Dreamcast re-releases. He said Shenmue and Skies of Arcadia are among the most frequently asked for, adding with a smile, "I can't say yes or no, but we may be working on them."

              Elder Scrolls MMO Announcement Reportedly Coming Soon

              Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:11 PM PDT

              Skyrim

              Since this is the week of the pipe dream, what with a sequel to Wasteland being funded and a release date for Diablo III finally being made official, now is as good a time as any for some juicy rumors to be floated. Aside from talk of HD re-releases of both Shenmue games and Skies of Arcadia (a subject for another article), it's being reported than an Elder Scrolls MMO is not only in development, but it will also be getting an official announcement fairly soon.

              The game, known as Elder Scrolls Online, will be announced at some point in May according to a report by Tom's Guide. Sources provided very little information about the game except to say there will be three playable factions (represented by a lion, dragon, and either a phoenix or eagle) and that it is set approximately 1,000 years before Skyrim. That period would also predate the events of Morrowind and Oblivion.

              Dark Done Right: How Mass Effect 3 Went Grim Without Going Overboard

              Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:56 AM PDT

              Feature

              Header

              Dark Done Right: How Mass Effect 3 Goes Grim Without Going Overboard

              Even a paragon can feel comfortable as this universe grows ever darker.

              By: Jeremy Parish March 15, 2012

              Off the lobby wing of the Citadel's Huerta Memorial Hospital, an asari therapist sits with a commando of her own race, quietly talking about the roots of the soldier's post-traumatic stress disorder. The warrior, whose name is never given directly -- she's simply labelled PTSD Soldier -- slowly reveals her story and the events that have made her refuse to be around humans or even take a shower. It's an ugly story of brutal decisions made in the name of survival and desperation, one that fills the listener with a mixture of pity and revulsion.

              Elsewhere in the Citadel, an Alliance soldier begs her commanding offer for reassignment to the Reaper front, despite the fact that her survivability against the Cerberus terrorist organization to which she's currently assigned to fight is incalculably higher than it would be battling the nigh-indestructible alien monstrosities currently laying siege to the galaxy. To her, the prospect of almost-certain death in the face of the unknowable is preferable to the possibility of facing a Cerberus squad; her brother was recently conscripted into the terrorist organization's ranks, you see.

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