MMO Updates |
- E3 2012: The world of Defiance
- E3 2012: Runes of Magic details Chapter 5
- WildStar welcomes us to Gallow, teases big reveal
- E3 2012: End of Nations shows its MMO-ish roots
- E3 2012: Matt Firor takes fans inside The Elder Scrolls Online
- SOE removes option to purchase subs with Station Cash
- Nexon invests $687M in NCsoft, becomes largest shareholder
- The Daily Grind: Do political or religious views of developers affect you?
- Ask Massively: Squee edition
- The Summoner's Guidebook: Time as a resource in Dominion
- Dungeons & Dragons Online discusses the lore of the Underdark
- World of Darkness information revealed in open letter to fans
- Firefall dev diary discusses SIN
- E3 2012: InnoGames talks pirate MMOs, strategy titles, and games for women
- Activision-Blizzard stocks drop amidst selloff rumors
- Allods Online merges down to one server
- Guild Wars 2 gears up for beta weekend with a producer video and WvW article
- E3 2012: RIFT shows Storm Legion's Tower of Dawn, confirms digital CE
- E3 2012: Perfect World's Raiderz isn't Monster Hunter Online
- E3 2012: Origins of Malu brings player-created factions, housing, and exploration to the sandbox
- E3 2012: Hands-on with Webzen's C9 and the Witchblade
- 38 Studios declares bankruptcy, law enforcement investigating [Updated]
- E3 2012: XL COO on ArcheAge, CBT4, and coming to America
- Ready for a new MMO? Grab your Maestia closed beta key here!
| E3 2012: The world of Defiance Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, MMOFPS, Massively Event Coverage, Defiance  We hunted down the Trion crew at E3 this week to play the Xbox version of the title and chat with the devs about the setting and specifics of this title. While Jef will have his hands-on impressions of Defiance in the next The Firing Line column, we wanted to share some of the lore and setting that the devs talked about at the expo. Join us after the jump for a look at the world of Defiance! Continue reading E3 2012: The world of Defiance
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| E3 2012: Runes of Magic details Chapter 5 Posted: 08 Jun 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Expansions, Opinion, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage, Runes of Magic  We had the opportunity to sit down with Frogster to talk about the new content. Will it be attractive to veteran players? Is it made specifically to attract new players? Read on to find out. Continue reading E3 2012: Runes of Magic details Chapter 5
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| WildStar welcomes us to Gallow, teases big reveal Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Screenshots, Lore, WildStar  Gallow appears to be a frontier town with a handful of structures, including a rickety water tower. It sits nestled in a mountainous region marked by pine trees, lush grass, and jutting red buttes. If you feel a little robbed by this week's reveal, Carbine promises that next Wednesday will present a doozy: "Behind the scenes, the community team is working on a pretty major project that we'll unveil at next week's WildStar Wednesday, so stay tuned for an in-depth first look at something we've never shared about WildStar!"
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| E3 2012: End of Nations shows its MMO-ish roots Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Events, real-world, Game mechanics, New titles, Opinion, War, Free-to-play, MMORTS, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage  If there's one thing I love about game companies, it's their capacity to innovate. Trion Worlds and Petroglyph are teaming together to do just that with their new MMORTS End of Nations. I had the chance to demo End of Nations at E3 and talk a bit to the folks at Petroglyph (roots from Westwood, C&C), who is gearing up to lunch a strong seller that is taking risks with experimentation for the RTS genre. A lot of questions come to mind when one ponders how an MMORTS would function. How many players are there? Will lag be a significant problem? Unit control? These MMORTS games are so new that experimenting in how the game mechanics work is key. The demo was entirely functional and entertaining to play. Let's dive into some details. Continue reading E3 2012: End of Nations shows its MMO-ish roots
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| E3 2012: Matt Firor takes fans inside The Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, PvE, The Elder Scrolls Online  Many fans of the Elder Scrolls series are up-in-arms over TESO's lack of resemblance to earlier entries, but Firor assures us that the studio is doing its best to implement features that will help the game retain its Elder Scrolls flavor. For instance, the game will feature the time-honored resources of health, magicka, and stamina, and as in other Elder Scrolls titles, players will be able to sneak, block, sprint, and so forth regardless of character class. In addition, despite the studio's choice to use often-derided action-bar-centric combat, ZeniMax is still attempting to give combat a more visceral "action-RPG" feel to keep it more in-line with the general type of frantic combat players have come to expect from the series. Continue reading E3 2012: Matt Firor takes fans inside The Elder Scrolls Online
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| SOE removes option to purchase subs with Station Cash Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Business models, Economy, Miscellaneous  Previously, players were able to use Station Cash (SOE's universal game currency) to snap up single-month subscriptions. This allowed frugal players to acquire discounted subscriptions, as SOE occasionally has a sale on Station Cash and throws in-game deals for spending it. Community Manager Piestro confirmed the removal in a forum post: "Hey folks, just jumping in to let you know this was indeed an intentional change. This decision was partially based on the very limited utilization of this feature." This removal comes at a bad time for players who did purchase subs this way, as SOE is giving bonus Station Cash to players redeeming game cards this weekend. [Thanks to Don for the tip!]
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| Nexon invests $687M in NCsoft, becomes largest shareholder Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous  Nexon announced that it had invested in NCsoft by snapping up 3,218,091 shares in a private transaction. The deal cost Nexon 804,522,750,000 South Korean Won, or $687 million US. This puts Nexon's share ownership of NCsoft at 14.7%. It will certainly be interesting to see how this investment affects the future of both Nexon and NCsoft. Nexon said that it "forms the basis of a long-term partnership" between the two companies. Nexon has been making aggressive moves of late, particularly with acquiring Taiwanese publisher Gamania last month.
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| The Daily Grind: Do political or religious views of developers affect you? Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  Sometimes we may find ourselves following certain devs' personal lives more than normal, thanks to an appreciation of their work on our favorite game. Those devs are certainly free to express their non-game-related views where they want, but there may be times when these views go against our own. When it comes to politics and religion, especially, it can be a touchy situation. So how do you handle these expressions? If you disagree or feel that their views are particularly extreme, do you confront them? Do you un-follow and ignore them? Or do you accept their point of view and focus on the reason you follow them in the first place? Let us know!  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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| Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Humor, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous  Seeing as I'm being a bit self-indulgent with this week's Ask Massively opener -- which happens about half of the time, I know -- you might not be surprised that this week's question is a little more indulgent, discussing what's expected of MMOs. If you've got a question you'd like to see answered in a future installment of the column, leave it in the comments below or mail it to ask@massively.com. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity. Continue reading Ask Massively: Squee edition
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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Time as a resource in Dominion Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook  In League of Legends, time is a very important factor. I'm not talking about the time you have to play the game, although we could talk about it on a macro scale and do time-to-IP graphs for their silliness value. Instead, I'm talking about the actual time in-game that you spend accomplishing goals in a given match. In Summoner's Rift, the goal for the first 10 or 15 minutes is to get as much gold and XP as possible. If you can directly deny the enemy time by harassing him out of lane, you're taking away his time, which effectively takes away his gold and XP. As the game progresses, time is still traded for gold, but it's also traded for the other team's time (via teamfights). If your team manages to win a teamfight, the enemy cannot affect the battlefield and your team is free to take objectives. This week, we're going to talk about time in Dominion. While time is a fairly complicated thing in SR, it is even more complex in Dominion. There are many different things to do with it, and there are no easy decisions about how to spend it. If you're interested in learning more about how to better make those choices, read on! Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Time as a resource in Dominion
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| Dungeons & Dragons Online discusses the lore of the Underdark Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Expansions, Previews, News items, Free-to-play  From a visual standpoint, the Underdark is iconic, but it's also challenging to keep interesting -- after all, it's made up of miles of caverns that need extra points of visual interest. On the storytelling side, the problem is almost reversed, with so many iconic monsters and characters that it's a challenge to fit everything in there. Take a look at the preview just past the break to see how the team addressed these issues and to get a peek at some of the monsters and environments from the new expansion. Continue reading Dungeons & Dragons Online discusses the lore of the Underdark
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| World of Darkness information revealed in open letter to fans Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real life, MMO industry, News items, World of Darkness, Miscellaneous, Sandbox  In short, after a difficult financial year, CCP is devoting the lion's share of its resources to ensuring that DUST 514 is a successful game on launch. That doesn't mean that World of Darkness is being shelved -- McDonough stresses that development is still ongoing -- but it does mean that the company's first priority is elsewhere. How long that will be the case remains to be seen, but if you're hoping for more substantial news on the game this year, the odds are low.
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| Firefall dev diary discusses SIN Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Video, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Dev Diaries, Firefall  The folks at Red 5 Studios have put out a new Firefall dev diary video today, and this one is all about how much they love SIN. Senior Designer Scott Rudi and Lead Designer Scott Youngblood dedicate this video to talking about the wonders of Firefall's Shared Intelligence Network. SIN is described as a network that connects all Battleframes within a given area, allowing them to share information with one another on-the-fly. The use of this network is extensive. In combat, it allows you to see what your allies see, causing nearby enemies and other points of interest to be marked on your HUD. Players can also designate specific objectives, such as downed teammates or damaged vehicles, to other players within the network. The pair stress that liberal use of SIN's capabilities will be essential for success, as its information is fed not only to your teammates but to deployables such as turrets as well. For the full details on Firefall's SIN, just click on through and watch the video for yourself. Continue reading Firefall dev diary discusses SIN
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| E3 2012: InnoGames talks pirate MMOs, strategy titles, and games for women Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Historical, Business models, Events, real-world, Interviews, New titles, Previews, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Casual, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Sandbox  While InnoGames has several titles under its belt, including Bounty Hounds, we focused primarily on Kartuga, a pirate-themed strategy MMO; Lagoonia, a social building game created by and aimed at women; and Forge of Empires, which is similar to the Age of Empires series. All three games are free-to-play browser games, and we even got a pinch of hands-on time. Continue reading E3 2012: InnoGames talks pirate MMOs, strategy titles, and games for women
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| Activision-Blizzard stocks drop amidst selloff rumors Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous  In light of these rumors, shares of Activision-Blizzard have dropped 3.3%, while shares of Vivendi have grown 3.8%. Vivendi as a whole saw a net 28% drop in stock price over the past year, so the company is looking for infusions of cash, but considering Activision-Blizzard's upcoming titles (including the new World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria), we can't help but wonder if selling the house might be a bit premature. We'll have more on this story and the impact for both companies as it develops.
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| Allods Online merges down to one server Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-play, Allods Online  gPotato has merged the sole two NA servers to become a new one named Yul. To "celebrate" the merge, the publisher is giving a free Water of Life to every character affected by the move. If a player has more than eight characters following the merge, the character select screen will now give access to all of them. While players can have more than eight due to the merge, if any characters over the eight limit are deleted, the spot is forever closed. The issue of duplicate names has been dealt with as well. Characters that haven't logged in during the past eight weeks forfeit their right to those names, while players with duplicate characters can re-snag that name on a first-come basis.
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| Guild Wars 2 gears up for beta weekend with a producer video and WvW article Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Events, in-game, PvP, Guild Wars 2  What can we expect from this beta event? "A much more evolved experience which breaks down into roughly two areas," Whiteside said. "One area is the feedback that we've gotten from the community... the second part is the content evolution that includes a new zone and the Mystic Forge." Over on the ArenaNet blog, Systems Designer Mike Ferguson penned a post detailing all of the tweaks, fixes, and changes that the team has made to the world-vs.-world PvP for this weekend. He even posted a chart showing off the wins and losses for each server from the past beta event. The beta weekend event starts tomorrow, June 8th, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Hit the jump to watch the full producer's video to get ready for it! Continue reading Guild Wars 2 gears up for beta weekend with a producer video and WvW article
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| E3 2012: RIFT shows Storm Legion's Tower of Dawn, confirms digital CE Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Expansions, Previews, Massively Event Coverage, RIFT  When asked if the expansion will have a collector's edition, the dev confirmed that it probably will have a digital CE. He then laughed that he probably let the cat out of the bag on that one. He was reluctant to show the in-game map of the new continents, however, explaining that they are a work in progress. The Trion Worlds team also demoed a special interior for the first time, the Tower of Dawn. While not a proper dungeon, the tower will be an expansive and dangerous location to explore. The dev said that players were asking for more interiors to explore, hence why Trion took the time to make it. You can scope out some of our screengrabs from the livestream after the break! Continue reading E3 2012: RIFT shows Storm Legion's Tower of Dawn, confirms digital CE
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| E3 2012: Perfect World's Raiderz isn't Monster Hunter Online Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage  Since I know some console folks (even me!) have been thinking it for a while, let's just say it out loud and get it over with: Raiderz is a Monster Hunter clone! Got it out of your system? Good. Now go wash your mouth out with soap. Continue reading E3 2012: Perfect World's Raiderz isn't Monster Hunter Online
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| E3 2012: Origins of Malu brings player-created factions, housing, and exploration to the sandbox Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Video, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, PvE, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage, Sandbox  The pair had plenty of interesting tidbits to share, and despite the fact that I haven't put my hands on an Origins build yet, it remains very near the top of my most-anticipated-MMOs list. Join me after the cut for some chit-chat about action combat, player-created factions, PvP (yes there are safe zones), and more.
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| E3 2012: Hands-on with Webzen's C9 and the Witchblade Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Classes, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions, Massively Event Coverage  Action combat is all the rage in MMOs nowadays, and C9 has it down pat. Tab targeting is conspicuously absent. Combat is all about reaction time, situational awareness, dodging, blocking, and chaining together ridiculously powerful combo attacks. Is it an MMO? As ever these days, that depends on whom you talk to. For its part, Webzen calls it an MORPG (leaving off the first "m" for massively), and the game focuses primarily on PvP and small-group PvE. Continue reading E3 2012: Hands-on with Webzen's C9 and the Witchblade
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| 38 Studios declares bankruptcy, law enforcement investigating [Updated] Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous  38 Studios, in a move surprising absolutely no one, has declared bankruptcy. This report comes hot on the heels of the news that the Project Copernicus developer has laid off all of its employees and sold Big Huge Games. In addition to covering the bankruptcy, the Providence Journal revealed that "state and federal authorities have launched an investigation into [the company]." State police Col. Steven G. O'Donnell states that the inquiry is taking place "to investigate activities that have recently come to light at 38 Studios." According to the Journal, these activities include taking out loans totaling $8.5 million US "based on state film tax credits that had not yet been issued." Things are looking pretty grim for Curt Schilling and his studio, but we'll just have to stay tuned to see how the rest of this plays out. [Update: Our sister site Joystiq reports that the Rhode Island governor has stated, "We are going to do everything possible to maximize return on our investment [...] Taxpayers in Rhode Island can have full confidence that if there's a penny that we can get, or a nickle or a dime, we'll get it." The company is suspected to be worth "tens of millions of dollars."]
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| E3 2012: XL COO on ArcheAge, CBT4, and coming to America Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage, ArcheAge, Sandbox  XL didn't have an official presence at this year's E3, but the firm was kind enough to set up a private interview with COO Suk Woo Choi away from the hustle and bustle of convention ground zero. We talked at length about CBT4, game systems, and the challenges inherent in localizing ArcheAge for Europe and America. Continue reading E3 2012: XL COO on ArcheAge, CBT4, and coming to America
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| Ready for a new MMO? Grab your Maestia closed beta key here! Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Contests, New titles, Free-to-play, Giveaways  We're giving away 2,000 keys for the free-to-play fantasy MMO's upcoming closed beta, and all you have to do is head to our giveaway page to grab one. The beta itself starts on June 14th, but grabbing a key now will get you started and ready. Read past the cut for complete instructions on how to grab and redeem a key for yourself. Continue reading Ready for a new MMO? Grab your Maestia closed beta key here!
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