| Diablo III Starter Edition lets you play for free Posted: 14 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Diablo III Not sure if you're ready to take the plunge on Diablo III just yet? Not to worry, as Blizzard has announced a trial of sorts for its highly anticipated dungeon crawler. The Diablo III Starter Edition will let you access the first chapter of the game (up to the Skeleton King) for free. You're limited to level 13, though, and matchmaker results are also limited to your fellow tirekickers. Where can I get my hands on this fine Starter Edition, you say? You'll need a friend who has bought the full game. Said friend will also need to fork over her Diablo III Guest Pass. If you're fresh out of friends, you'll just have to wait 30 days from the game's release (tomorrow), at which point the Starter Edition will be made available to everyone.  Diablo III Starter Edition lets you play for free originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Frogster talks TERA Elin censorship Posted: 14 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Races, TERA If you're still fuming over the decision to censor TERA's Elin race for the western market, or if you're simply an interested bystander, Eurogamer has posted a new interview that's worth reading. The site sat down with Frogster's Lucile Le Merle, who addressed the ongoing censorship controversy that manifested itself in the removal of Elin panties and the addition of both longer tights and belly-covering outfits for the characters on both the US and European TERA game servers. Le Merle says that Frogster had no say in the game's PEGI 12 rating, noting that such things are "decided by PEGI, not by us. We only send a specific version of the client to PEGI, which rates it and sends it back to us with the final decision. Then we can contest it, if we deem it's not the right rating." Le Merle also touches on the cultural divide between East and West (and between anime fans and the uninitiated), concluding that ultimately Frogster and En Masse had to make changes. "In Asia their mindset is completely different. To them it is not a problem. It is not related to pedophilia. It's just part of the culture to have small, little girls that run around smiling. People just find it normal," Le Merle explained. Frogster talks TERA Elin censorship originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Lord of the Rings Online releases Update 7: Shades of the Past Posted: 14 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Free-to-play, Dungeons Lord of the Rings Online's Update 7 is upon us, and it's established itself as taking a step forward... and a step back into the past. Featuring a new skirmish, a revamp of both Moria and the old Fornost instance, and an interesting addition to the legendary item system, Update 7 has a smattering of both endgame and mid-game content for most players to enjoy. As always, it's worth combing through the notes for the smaller changes. Some of these include new and updated maps, friendlier Elves in Lothlorien who won't shoot you on sight, and Audacity lowering power costs in PvMP. The official patch notes are up and the game will have the servers patched up by mid-morning. In the meantime, make sure to read up on what we think of the update's big selling points in our recent Road to Mordor column. Lord of the Rings Online releases Update 7: Shades of the Past originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MV Guide: May 14 - 20, 2012 Posted: 14 May 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively Stream Team logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises each week, so you'll find a variety of titles to watch. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, or simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule, and let us know if there's a specific game you'd like to see streamed next week! Continue reading MV Guide: May 14 - 20, 2012 MV Guide: May 14 - 20, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Guild Wars 2 nets 500K Facebook likes, releases Destiny's Edge art to celebrate Posted: 14 May 2012 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Guild Wars 2 ArenaNet continues to roll out the rewards for being well-liked this week. Guild Wars 2 crossed the half-million Facebook like barrier, and as a result, the studio released a new epic piece of art for its fans. The picture is of Destiny's Edge, the adventuring group that features so prominently in Guild Wars 2, facing a rather fearsome foe: The Shatterer. According to the Facebook page, this is actually an in-game screenshot that's been "embellished" by ArenaNet artist Daniel Dociu. As with the other pictures that it has released, ArenaNet has made this image available as a high-resolution version as well. This art release comes at an auspicious time, as Guild Wars 2 is diving into a seven-hour beta stress test starting today at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Guild Wars 2 nets 500K Facebook likes, releases Destiny's Edge art to celebrate originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 May 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Must MMO housing be open-world to be good? Posted: 14 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Sandbox Whenever the Great MMO Housing debate rears its head, the "of course MMOs ought to have housing" players usually drown out the curmudgeons who lack decorating skills and prefer to live out of their banks and sleep on a bedroll on the public streets (you know who you are!). And then, inevitably, the housing fans turn on each other over which type of housing is best. Some of us are resigned to the belief that, at best, themepark MMOs willing to take a stab at housing are forever going to implement the instanced variety a la EverQuest II and Lord of the Rings Online, so we may as well get used to it. But sandbox zealots (a term I'm intending affectionately) insist that housing must be open-world, that players should be able to walk up to their own unique spaces within a game and build their abodes from foundation to rooftop. Instanced housing, they say, is just pointless when other people can't easily see what you've created. What do you think -- is MMO housing just a waste of dev resources if it isn't open-world?  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: Must MMO housing be open-world to be good? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMO Week in Review: It's a conspiracy Posted: 13 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post. The Secret World is becoming less secret by the week, which is good news for potential players (and the one million beta applicants) who are curious about Funcom's next big thing due out in just over a month. This week, on the eve of the game's first beta weekend, Massively's own conspiracy-debunkers got some hands-on time with the Templars and the Illuminati and logged a few hours trying on tinfoil hats in the character creator. (Tinfoil hats sold separately.) The rest of this week's top MMO stories are lurking just beyond the cut. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: It's a conspiracy MMO Week in Review: It's a conspiracy originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Evolved: Risk vs. reward in lowsec Posted: 13 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics, Professions, PvP, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Sandbox In EVE Online's early years, one of its core design philosophies was adherence to a strict risk vs. reward balance scheme. There were riches out there to be found, but to get them, you had to put yourself in the firing line. Police ships patrolled high-security space to keep players safe from piracy, but the only resources available there were low-bounty frigate NPCs and inexpensive ores like Veldspar, Scordite and Omber. In the lawless far-reaches of nullsec, huge NPC bounties and rare ores containing Megacyte and Zydrine tempted hundreds of pilots to head out and make their fortunes. Nullsec offered absolutely no protection against player attacks, and the only safety to be found was in sheer military force. The biggest and best corporations hoarded these gold mines for themselves, locking down the few entrances into the regions and patrolling the skies for unwanted visitors. Low-security space offered a middle-ground between these two extremes, a place where the everyday pilot could enjoy increased income and pirates were easier to spot. At some time in the past nine years, lowsec lost its place in the game and became simply not worth the effort. But how did that happen, and what can be done to fix it? In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at why lowsec systems are now ghost towns and suggest an alternative design philosophy that I think could revitalise these under-used areas. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Risk vs. reward in lowsec EVE Evolved: Risk vs. reward in lowsec originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Woodland critters Posted: 13 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, A Tale in the Desert, EverQuest II, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, One Shots, RIFT, TERA, Miscellaneous TERA isn't quite two weeks old, but it's already offering up some spectacular views. Kromic on the Dragonfall server paused while riding on his mount to take this shot. He writes in, While doing some exploring on my trusty steed in TERA, I found a great view of the capital city Velika. His screenshot is just after the cut, along with three more images of woodland critters doing their duty to spice up our MMO scenery. Continue reading One Shots: Woodland critters One Shots: Woodland critters originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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