| E3 2012: Hands-on with World of Warplanes Posted: 09 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Screenshots, Events, real-world, Interviews, New titles, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage, World of Warplanes It was difficult to miss one of the most impressive booths on the show floor at E3. Wargaming.net established its dominance on the floor by setting up computers and allowing all E3-goers to play its latest games against the Wargaming development team. Its flagship title at E3 was World of Tanks, but I sneaked away to the team's press room to watch a demo of something similar. World of Warplanes is one title out of three that Wargaming.net is proud to show. For the unfamiliar readers, Wargaming.net launched World of Tanks last year, and its booth at E3 2011 wasn't quite as large as this year's. Continue reading E3 2012: Hands-on with World of Warplanes  E3 2012: Hands-on with World of Warplanes originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WRUP: Ice planet edition Posted: 09 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Are you telling a science fiction story? If so, have you properly considered your ice planet just yet? Every science fiction story needs an ice planet. For some reason, you can take or leave every other kind of planet, but there must always be a planet covered in ice. This ice also must be inhospitable except for a couple of huge nasty things that live there somehow. Maybe they eat the ice. Or the cold. Or confused Canadian hikers. The point is, ice planet. Are you looking to find out what the Massively staff is up to this weekend? If so, have you properly considered reading this week's installment of WRUP? Every installment tells you what the staff will be up to over the weekend, and this specific one talks about what we thought of this year's E3 offerings. Click on past the break to read all about us, and let us know what you'll be up to in the comments. Continue reading WRUP: Ice planet edition WRUP: Ice planet edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Phantasy Star Universe will blink out for good in September Posted: 09 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous For six years, fans have been able to play the sci-fi MMO Phantasy Star Universe. Though the game lost some platforms just over two years ago when the PS2 and PC versions were shut down, the XBox 360 version remained intact. Thus, PSU quietly lived on as a console MMO where players could complete missions on worlds like Parum and Neudaiz, craft items, or decorate their private living space. Now, SEGA has announced that this last living remnant of the online game will take its last breath on September 7th, 2012. The single player version, however, will still be available. SEGA noted that the decision to close the game was not an easy one, but that the company was preparing to "provide [players] with new opportunities and new experiences." The company thanked all of the players who have supported the game over the years and assured that any who have an active Guardians license following the final date will have their pro-rated subscription refunded. GM Edward also revealed that a number of server-wide bonuses have been added and that plans were in the works for some celebratory events so that the Universe could go out with a bang. [Thanks to BGO for the tip!] Phantasy Star Universe will blink out for good in September originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: If a game's gotta merge servers, how should it go down? Posted: 09 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Server merges are the destiny of the majority of MMOs with servers, be they games with tiny populations or games that still number in the millions. After all, funneling MMO populations is no easy task, and a game with lengthy queues one month might suffer a shortage of players the next. Studios know that the term " server merge" can be seen as a herald of doom, so modern devs have taken to using terminology like "trial servers" and "free transfers," letting players move of their own free will rather than dumping them unceremoniously on some other realm with some other name. Even if you know that merges are going to be good for the health of the game in the long run, the way a merge is conducted can still tarnish your affection for the title. Let's assume your game of choice plans to announce server merges of one flavor or another tomorrow. What's the best way the team can go about making it happen?  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: If a game's gotta merge servers, how should it go down? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Champions Online dev diary details Power Armor review process Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Dev Diaries  After seeing a certain summer superhero film, some people may have been overwhelmed by the urge to fly around in an awesome high-tech armor suit that makes things go boom. Unfortunately, we can't all be Tony Stark, but Cryptic is here to help with a detailed post on the recent additions to Champions Online's Power Armor powerset. The post outlines the entire process behind designing and implementing the myriad improvements while highlighting some of the new abilities being brought to the table. The process begins with the gathering of community feedback, after which the developers sit down and hash out ideas based on power designer Matt Danuser's "vision for the set, including any new power or mechanic fixes... it needs." Then the designers, artists, and programmers kick into high gear by implementing the powers in the game, creating graphics for them, and making sure that there are no glaring imbalances in the mechanics. Then it's off to the public test shard for more community feedback. For Danuser's full blog on the subject, head on over to the Champions Online official site. Champions Online dev diary details Power Armor review process originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SOE to bring back Station Cash subscription purchases -- for a week Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Business models, MMO industry, Free-to-play We reported this morning that SOE had quietly removed the option to purchase non-recurring subscriptions in its MMOs with Station Cash. SOE President John Smedley arrived on the EverQuest II forums to apologize for how it was handled and assure players that this purchase option would return for a limited time so that last-minute partakers could take advantage of it: "I'm sorry we didn't do a good job of messaging this. It was handled while we were at E3 and that was bad. Very simply put, we pulled the non-recurring subscriptions because we want a closer look at the numbers and how our overall pricing of subscriptions is impacted by it. I don't want anyone thinking they were pulled because of double SC promotions or anything like that.
"We're trying to figure out the right balance of things that make our customers feel great about our pricing and balance that against our customer base as a whole. We aren't saying they are going away for good. We're just looking carefully at the data right now and how we do this right. Please be patient while we figure this out. These non-recurring subscriptions are something we're still working through and we want to make sure we do this right. Obviously as a business we have to make sure the decisions we're making good for our players, and I assure you that's what we're trying to do.
"I've asked the team to put them back up for a week to let people buy them with existing SC. I'm not sure when it will be back up. Maybe today or maybe Monday (a lot of our team went to E3)." SOE to bring back Station Cash subscription purchases -- for a week originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: June 2 - 8, 2012 Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT |
| EVE Online posts financial data for the past several months Posted: 08 Jun 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, News items, Sandbox When you think about the economy, is your primary concern whether or not the latest updates to combat have impacted mining operations and mineral prices? If so, you're probably an EVE Online player, and you'll be happy to know that CCP Games has released a full blog post detailing the economic trends for the game over the past several months. The good news is that the heavy inflation that's been at work for several months is starting to subside; the bad news is that the market is having issues with mineral prices. In short, following the announcement of loot drop changes, several players stockpiled minerals for resale after the change. This wound up dovetailing with the player-run Hulkageddon event, which resulted in several mineral stockpiles and a dearth of ongoing mining operations. The overall outlook is still positive, but mining operations are still recovering from these effects, meaning that movement will likely be tepid for a while. EVE Online posts financial data for the past several months originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Guild Wars 2 increasing population limits for the beta weekend Posted: 08 Jun 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Bugs, Events, in-game, News items, Guild Wars 2 The Guild Wars 2 beta is getting hammered. No, it's not slipping off to the bar to order shots until it can't drive home, but it is getting filled with people eager to try out the game. To compensate, ArenaNet has just announced that world population limits are being increased for the beta event, meaning that several worlds previously listed as being full are now open to more characters. This may not fix the issue, but it should help alleviate some of the stress from the rush. Of course, the game is still in beta, and that means that not everything in the game is fully polished. Want to make sure that there's actually a problem and not just an issue with your computer? Check the updated known issues thread, which has an extensive set of understood issues. Perhaps most globally relevant is the fact that the game is apparently very heavily bottlenecked by the CPU; if you're having performance issues, lowering the video settings may not help you for this round of testing. Guild Wars 2 increasing population limits for the beta weekend originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| More details on Diablo III's real-money auction block Posted: 08 Jun 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, Previews, News items, Diablo III It's controversial, it's unique, and it's still not actually running in the game proper. It's Diablo III's real-money auction service, and it's getting a new wrinkle added: In order for players to use the service, they'll need to have an authenticator attached to their accounts. This is being done to help ensure that the auction house is as safe as possible for all players. It also means that players will need to accept a new set of agreements when the feature finally goes live. Community manager Kaivax has also chimed in on the real-money auction house, noting that it's possible that the feature will launch with only item-trading functionality rather than allow players to buy and sell commodities. This is largely based on trying to ensure that the latter market remains active and fair for all players, and if the team decides to go this route, the commodity functionality will be added at a later date. More details on Diablo III's real-money auction block originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Star Wars: The Old Republic community Q&A talks 1.3, clarifies existing features Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Community Q&A It's time for yet another Star Wars: The Old Republic community Q&A. This time around, the devs asked players to move away from asking about far-future content (which often garners unspecific, uninformative answers) and instead ask about current features and the philosophy behind certain design decisions. As a result, there are a number of questions about the additions of the upcoming patch 1.3, such as the group finder and ranked warzones. In addition, game designer Jason Attard takes the time to explain exactly what Presence does and the benefits and detriments to its use. Efficiency bonuses for crew skills are also mentioned, with the dev clarifying that efficiency, which grants a speed bonus when crafting items, increases in proportion with that crewmate's affection for you, up to a max of 15% efficiency. For the full Q&A session and all the juicy details therein, head on over to the game's official site. Star Wars: The Old Republic community Q&A talks 1.3, clarifies existing features originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMObility: RuneScape dev details new combat, hotbars, and critical hits Posted: 08 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Expansions, Game mechanics, Interviews, Patches, Previews, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, MMObility RuneScape's combat is pretty unique. If I were to introduce the game to someone who has played mostly client-based, mainstream MMOs, he would probably be a bit confused as to how combat worked in RuneScape. The truth is that there is a lot of depth to the combat system as it is now, but it is often hidden behind layered UI screens. A player needs to know where to go to find the best abilities. Don't get me wrong; this system is great for grinding out experience by killing monster after monster, but in higher-level combat or PvP, a player's "skill" is determined by how much she knows about the UI, rather than how much she knows about her enemy's weaknesses or which skills to use. This is all about to change, thanks to what is being called one of the largest updates in the entire decade-plus history of the browser-based giant. I sat down with an interview with Mark Ogilive, lead designer from Jagex, to find out just how large the update will be and how it might affect players. Continue reading MMObility: RuneScape dev details new combat, hotbars, and critical hits MMObility: RuneScape dev details new combat, hotbars, and critical hits originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Storyboard: The problem in your group is you Posted: 08 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous There are a lot of ways that roleplaying can go south. Over the past two years, I've tried to focus on how to look out for problems before they happen, how to identify problems coming from others, and how to solve problems with a minimum of drama. It's important to try to fix miscommunications, after all. Unfortunately, there's a problem that comes from analyzing everything other than yourself: Sometimes, the real problem is you. Maybe you've been trying to fix all of the problems in your group without realizing that the real pot-stirrer was the jerk trying to fix everyone else. Maybe you've been trying to enforce a specific standard that no one else wants to adhere to. Heck, maybe you're just playing a character that you like a lot but everyone else loathes. Whatever the reason, you aren't the solution any more; you are the problem that needs to be fixed. And that means figuring out what to do when you find out that you have seen the enemy and he is you. Continue reading Storyboard: The problem in your group is you Storyboard: The problem in your group is you originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2012: Hands-on with Core Blaze Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions, Massively Event Coverage What can I say about Core Blaze? Gorgeous is the first word that comes to mind, and I'm not just talking about the cosplayers and the giant weapon sculpture that Gamania trotted out for its E3 demo event. The game is built on the Unreal Engine 3, and it puts Epic's toolset to fine visual use. Rain drops bead and run on your monitor. River water looks refreshing enough to drink. The game's day/night effects are slick too, and to hear Gamania's reps tell it, the cycle (along with inclement weather) determines the effectiveness -- or ineffectiveness -- of certain attacks. Continue reading E3 2012: Hands-on with Core Blaze E3 2012: Hands-on with Core Blaze originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2012: Age of Wushu dresses to impress Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Business models, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, Guilds, Previews, PvP, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Dungeons, Crafting Sandboxers and Hollywood script writers, keep your eyes on Age of Wushu. If you've ever wanted to run up walls, align yourself with a game's boss mobs, kidnap and ransom off your fellow players, or write about it into a television script to include your gamer audience, then Snail Games has something that's sure to grab your attention. We got some hands-on time with the game at this year's E3, so follow along after the cut for our impressions. Continue reading E3 2012: Age of Wushu dresses to impress E3 2012: Age of Wushu dresses to impress originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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