| MechWarrior Online showcases new Frozen City environment in video Posted: 28 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MechWarrior Online Piranha Games showcased its first video dev diary for MechWarrior Online just yesterday, but that isn't stopping the company from offering more peeks at its upcoming free-to-play game. Today the studio revealed the newest environment for mech battle fans: the Frozen City. This new area offers some special advantages and disadvantages. One benefit of the cold is that mechs will take longer to overheat, but a disadvantage of the ice is a loss of traction. The dynamic, unpredictable weather will affect visibility and force players to rely on teammates. MechWarrior Online also released the results for its most popular commander names survey; "Wolf" beat out all other names with nearly double the registered names (20.5%) as next closest competitor, Cat. Why is the name so popular? One theory is the historical connection to the Wolf's Dragoons elite mercenary force that was introduced in the first edition of the original board game. Take a look at the Frozen City in the video after the cut and head over to the official forums to check out what other pilot names people are picking. [Source: MechWarrior Online press release] Continue reading MechWarrior Online showcases new Frozen City environment in video  MechWarrior Online showcases new Frozen City environment in video originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Guild Wars celebrates the Dragon Festival this weekend Posted: 28 Jun 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, News items It's that special time of year again. The heat is oppressive, the days are long, and the Dragon Festival is here. Guild Wars is once again celebrating the traditional Dragon Festival, which will be from 3:00 p.m. EDT today until 3:00 a.m. EDT on July 2nd. The festivities will include all the normal quests, boardwalk games, missions, bouts in the Dragon Arena, and decorations that long-time players know and love. Some slight changes have been made to the final event rewards: Rather than getting a new mask from Emperor Kisu during the finale, players will receive Imperial Mask Tokens to trade in for previous Dragon Festival or Day of the Tengu hats. With a brief two months remaining before the release of Guild Wars 2, this might be the perfect opportunity to use the boardwalk games to earn a couple titles if you're still shy of your desired Hall of Monuments point quota. Guild Wars celebrates the Dragon Festival this weekend originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SOE on F2P philosophy and EverQuest Next silence Posted: 28 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: EverQuest, EverQuest II, Business models, MMO industry, EverQuest Next, Miscellaneous It's no surprise at this point that Sony Online Entertainment has snuggled up to the free-to-play model and made it its love monkey. Even so, it's interesting to hear from studio's president just how much SOE is committed to this business model for the future. Gamasutra caught up with John Smedley, who emphasized that the studio is confident that this model is right for the studio -- and the industry: "You're much more focused on the player themselves and listening to what they tell you. When you're at retail, there are two transactions. You are selling your game to the retailer and also selling to the public. Now it's just us putting our games out there and saying 'bring it on.'" When asked about it, Smedley indicated that EverQuest Next would hew to F2P as well. He also said players shouldn't worry that they haven't heard much about this new title, because the secrecy is intentional. "We want to get it right," Smedley said. "That's the pillar of our company and we are going to get it right. We're also making the next generation of MMOs, not an evolution -- and everyone says that, but in this case, we're zigging every other company's zag. Everybody's making WoW 1.5. We're doing something else." SOE on F2P philosophy and EverQuest Next silence originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Guild Wars 2 announces launch date of August 28, 2012 Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:50 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2 It's official: Guild Wars 2 is almost ready. And that means ArenaNet has finally announced a release date for real and for true: August 28th, 2012. And this one's actually official, according to a new video released moments ago (which you can watch after the cut). So you can stop refreshing Amazon, you can stop moping in the comments every time we post about Guild Wars 2, and you can stop trying to budget your summer play schedule around your best guesstimates for when you'll need to stock your fridge and call in sick to work. Sit back and enjoy the remaining beta weekends and the hype because (most) games launch only once! [Edit: There's also a blog post up from Mike O'Brien announcing the final beta test as July 20-22.]Continue reading Guild Wars 2 announces launch date of August 28, 2012 Guild Wars 2 announces launch date of August 28, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you hold an MMO grudge? Posted: 28 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Horror, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind, The Secret World The Secret World is launching in a few days, and frankly I'm pretty excited about it. Between the modern setting, the fantasy-horror mashup, and the divergent questing system, it'll probably be my go-to MMO for a while. Because it's Funcom, though, some gamers are rolling their eyes and writing it off. This has to do with the company's (well-earned) reputation for buggy MMO launches, including both Age of Conan and Anarchy Online. While a bit of wariness is understandable, the serious-business rhetoric and the depth of feeling behind the company-specific grudges held by some gamers is both mind-boggling and comical. What about you, morning crew? Do you hold a grudge against Funcom in particular or MMO companies in general?  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: Do you hold an MMO grudge? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Another LEGO MMO springs up -- this time from Funcom Posted: 28 Jun 2012 05:30 AM PDT Filed under: New titles, News items, Kids, Family As announced earlier this morning in a press release, Funcom has signed a licensing agreement to produce a new MMO based on the LEGO Minifigures franchise. This MMO will be an extension of the current LEGO Minifigures online presence that already has "millions of unique visitors per month." "The market for family-friendly online experiences intended for children and youngsters is brimming with potential," says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "This is source material we all know and love and we simply cannot wait to get started working with the LEGO Group on realizing this exciting project." The inevitable question on everyone's mind is: Will Funcom succeed where NetDevil failed with LEGO Universe? Only time will tell, but you can bet we'll be providing more info on this new LEGO MMO as it develops. [Source: Funcom press release] Another LEGO MMO springs up -- this time from Funcom originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMO Family: Open-world combat and old school gaming in Free Realms Posted: 27 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Free-to-play, Free Realms, MMO Family, Family There are many times lately when I've experienced the full power of the generation gap. As my kids get older and more game-savvy, I sometimes find myself trying to catch up with how the younger generation games compared to how I did it during the good old days of gaming. So it was a pleasant surprise to see a little taste of old school gaming in the latest update to kid-friendly MMO Free Realms. The normally peaceful Shrouded Glade has come under attack, and players have been swarming to the zone to help turn back the tide of invaders. It's a prelude event that will usher in some new content to the game, and it features several fun activities while the event continues, but the most notable change is the introduction of open world combat. For the first time in Free Realms, the bad guys are out and about in the Glade rather than corralled safely away in instances. That's brought some interesting changes to how players are interacting in game. In this week's MMO Family, we'll look at the Shrouded Glade event in Free Realms and see how it's bringing a little throwback-gaming to the pint-sized gaming generation. Continue reading MMO Family: Open-world combat and old school gaming in Free Realms MMO Family: Open-world combat and old school gaming in Free Realms originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin not on PS2 outside of Japan Posted: 27 Jun 2012 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Expansions, News items, Consoles If you're a Final Fantasy XI player still playing the game on the PlayStation 2, it looks like you're in for a disappointment. After the surprising announcement that the game was getting a new boxed expansion, it was noted that the official site didn't list PS2 support. According to community representative Matt "Baryohne" Hilton, that wasn't an accident: Seekers of Adoulin will not be available for PS2 players in North American and European markets. Japanese players on the console will still be receiving the expansion, likely due to the higher percentage of console subscribers in Japan compared to other regions. Hilton was quick to point out that support would still be offered to PS2 players, but that's cold comfort to any console players left out of the upcoming expansion. There's been no word yet on whether or not the game will begin phasing out console support entirely, but if you consider the age of the PS2, it's entirely within the realm of possibility. [Thanks to FusionX for the tip!] Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin not on PS2 outside of Japan originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WildStar Wednesday showcases group combat Posted: 27 Jun 2012 05:00 PM PDT |
| TERA rolls out the Chronoscroll system and an upcoming event Posted: 27 Jun 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, News items, TERA Maybe you're a poor college student with plenty of time to play TERA but not a lot of cash to spend out of the game. Or maybe you're a man of means with plenty of cash to spend but little time to farm gold. Whichever category is closer to you, you'll find something to like in TERA's new Chronoscrolls system, which allows players to buy scrolls of subscription time and trade them for in-game gold. The system works fairly transparently: Chronoscrolls can be purchased for real-world cash and then placed on the auction block, and a scroll thus purchased can be redeemed for extra subscription time. That means that players with piles of in-game gold can get plenty of free time to play the game. And if you're wondering why you'd like to spend that money, there is an event taking place starting on Friday, June 29th, in which players will hunt down reptilian egg thieves for special rewards. So you've got some motivation. [Thanks to Dengar for the tips!] TERA rolls out the Chronoscroll system and an upcoming event originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Religious group calls for removal of Hindu deities from Hi-Rez's SMITE Posted: 27 Jun 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA  In Hi-Rez Studios' upcoming action-oriented MOBA, SMITE, players are able to play as a variety of gods, goddesses, and miscellaneous deities from multiple world mythologies and religions. If you recall my impressions of the title from PAX East earlier this year, you'll remember that I got to play as Kali, the four-armed, scimitar-wielding Hindu goddess of change and destruction. Well, it turns out that the Universal Society for Hinduism has caught wind of the fact that SMITE players can control Hindu deities such as Kali and Agni, and the organization's president, Rajan Zed, is not pleased. Zed claims that "controlling and manipulating goddess Kali and other HIndu deities... is denigration as these deities are meant to be worshiped," not "reduced to just a character in a video game." As such, Zed called for the immediate removal of all Hindu deities from the title. Hi-Rez, however, has no plans to do so. The studio's COO, Todd Harris, gave the following response: " SMITE includes deities inspired from a diverse and ever expanding set of pantheons including Greek, Chinese, Egyptian, and Norse. Hinduism, being one of the world's oldest, largest and most diverse traditions, also provides inspiration toward deities in our game. In fact, given Hinduism's concept of a single truth with multiple physical manifestations one could validly interpret ALL the gods within SMITE to be Hindu. And all gods outside of SMITE as well. Ponder that for a minute. Anyway, going forward SMITE will include even more deities, not fewer." Religious group calls for removal of Hindu deities from Hi-Rez's SMITE originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively Exclusive: Seeing the sights in City of Steam Posted: 27 Jun 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Screenshots, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, First Impressions, City of Steam I can't recall the last indie MMO that was making any waves while still being in the pre-alpha stage, but that's the strange power that Mechanist Games' City of Steam has. Word-of-mouth and a clever setting have made this a must-see title, and we were pleased to join Editor Gabriel Laforge for a developer tour of the game in its current state. City of Steam is an indie MMO, but don't let that put you off; the team is substantially larger than you'd expect and brimming with talent. The steampunk title loads extremely quickly in your browser, thanks to the Unity web player and a ridiculously small client size. In its current state, City of Steam has four large overworld zones and around 80 instanced dungeons, and yet the total size is -- get this -- 70 megabytes. It's so tiny that some of the dungeons are only a few hundred kilobytes apiece. With the repeated caveat that this was all still pre-alpha and subject to change, Laforge let me log in and explore to my heart's delight. What follows is raw and shocking footage from that journey. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Seeing the sights in City of Steam Massively Exclusive: Seeing the sights in City of Steam originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: Going from zero to Storm Legion in a summer Posted: 27 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Endgame, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift As a returning player, I appreciated Karen's last column, which outlined some of the big changes to the game since last I played. While I had a level 50 Rogue sitting in Sanctum, I just couldn't connect with her because it had been so long. Even though I knew it would require a bucketload of time and effort, I rerolled a fresh-faced Cleric to go through the game all over again. Was I insane? Probably. My biggest worry at this juncture is that I won't be ready for Storm Legion when it comes this fall. When you've been at the level cap for a while, you probably don't even think about the amount of content you need to chew through to get there. I didn't want to be caught flat-footed when the expansion released, shouting, "Wait up guys!" as I fell behind. Re-rolling was good for me for two reasons. One, it's allowing me to connect with this new character and feel out all of the changes in the game. Two, it's giving me the chance to prove that anyone could start RIFT right now and be totally prepared for the expansion -- even if you're just a casual player. Today I want to share a few of my experiences on the leveling game and why it's not too late to get ready for Storm Legion, even if you're a newbie. Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Going from zero to Storm Legion in a summer Enter at Your Own Rift: Going from zero to Storm Legion in a summer originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Watch the Guild Wars 2 beta 'stress test' live Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, New titles, Guild Wars 2, Massively Event Coverage, Livestream For a limited time today, developer ArenaNet is putting its soon-to-be-released online world of Guild Wars 2 to the test with a four-hour beta event. Our sister site Joystiq, having recently discovered the joy of yelling into a microphone while readers watch editors fail at video games, will be streaming the tail-end of today's event. From 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT today, the stream from Joystiq's new Twitch.tv account (which you should totally follow) will be open. While Xav de Matos plays through the game with a fresh character, Massively columnist Elisabeth Cardy will be on-hand to manage your questions from the stream chat and comments on this post. Hilarious banter between both editors is expected but not guaranteed. This event represents a game still in beta, and things may not function properly. Due to the nature of a "stress test," we may experience crashes, game freezes, and other performance and connection issues. [Edit: You can find a the finished recording of the stream here.]Continue reading Watch the Guild Wars 2 beta 'stress test' live Watch the Guild Wars 2 beta 'stress test' live originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MechWarrior Online video dev diary on the four pillars of warfare Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, MechWarrior Online, MOBA Feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of handling your first multi-ton machine in MechWarrior Online? Piranha Games president Russ Bullock understands that the concept can be intimidating at first. To help, Bullock stars in the first MWO video dev diary, which boils down the game's "four pillars" to an easy-to-digest segment. Don't be fooled by the name: The four pillars of MechWarrior Online have nothing to do with story. Instead, Bullock gives an overview of how Piranha is making combat more than tab-targeting and button mashing. These four MWO pillars are mech (the build of your battle machine), information (battlefield awareness), role (taking on a specialty role in combat), and community warfare (engaging in the conflict outside of the game). The explanation of the four pillars is interspersed with in-game clips, including a neat one of a 'mech powering up. You can catch up on your MechWarrior Online knowledge after the jump. Continue reading MechWarrior Online video dev diary on the four pillars of warfare MechWarrior Online video dev diary on the four pillars of warfare originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Choose My Adventure: Exploring dungeons with Higiri Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Game mechanics, Opinion, Choose My Adventure, TERA, Dungeons Rielene's poll last week pushes her toward BAMs, but for now we're moving on to focus on our other adventurer in TERA. Higiri is not venturing across sunlit fields and enjoying the open air; no, she was bound for the darkest realms, places where monsters gather and plot the destruction of joy in private. But in order to get her into dungeons, I had to get her through a fair bit of leveling first, enough to enter the first dungeon of the game. I spent a lot of time questing with Higiri this past week, since that's easily the most efficient way to level, and as a result I had some further insights into the nature of questing in the game that build off of my insights last week. But running the dungeon was the centerpiece, and my runs through were... memorable, yes, but probably for the wrong reasons. And no, not in the "crazy, horrible party" sense. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Exploring dungeons with Higiri Choose My Adventure: Exploring dungeons with Higiri originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Trion reveals RIFT's 1.9 Conquest patch notes Posted: 27 Jun 2012 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, PvP, News items, RIFT It's patch day in Telara, which means it's patch note post day at Massively. RIFT's 1.9 update is live without a net, and we're sure plenty of you are as anxious to check out Trion's version of three-faction PvP as we are. Conquest isn't the only thing on today's menu, of course. There's also the new barbershop functionality, a new mentoring system, more instant adventure locations, and the Summerfest world event. Summerfest includes scavenger hunts and some interesting activities like pet wrangling and the chance to ride a barrel over a waterfall. The patch features a number of additional tweaks and updates, all of which are yours for the reading on the official RIFT forums. Trion reveals RIFT's 1.9 Conquest patch notes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| CABAL Online celebrates sixth anniversary with events, prizes Posted: 27 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Cabal Online, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Anniversary CABAL Online is six years old this week, and Games Masters is putting on a few celebratory events to, er... celebrate. What sorts of events? Let's see. There's monster hunting, gathering, and various lotteries that can lead to prizes both in and out of the game. Razer gaming headsets, artwork, in-game Drei Frame armor, and several other virtual armor and weapon pieces are up for grabs. The devs are also adding new high-end outfits, content, and items. Don't worry if you're a low-level player, though; Games Masters is adding goodies for you too. Full details are available on the game's official boards. CABAL Online celebrates sixth anniversary with events, prizes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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