MMO Updates |
- Star Trek Online nude patch seller accidentally reveals himself
- Flameseeker Chronicles: The end of an era for Guild Wars
- The Game Archaeologist: Reactions to a free Vanguard
- The Soapbox: The trouble with Kickstarter
- The Daily Grind: Do you pay retail prices for digital downloads?
- Not So Massively: Too many MOBA heroes, D3's legendaries revealed
- Guild Wars 2 gears up for yet another stress test
- Wings Over Atreia: Creating classes for Aion 4.0
- Mortal Online is due for an Awakening
- DDO Update 15 goes live with new adventure pack
- Additional Guild Wars 2 store items revealed
- Funcom teases rocket launcher screen, Tokyo concept art for The Secret World
- Third RaiderZ dev diary shows off mounts, cooking, and more
- PlanetSide 2 mobile app to feature 'near real-time' map updates, voice chat
- Diablo III adding 100 levels via new Paragon system
- Get a sneak peek at Guild Wars 2's Twilight Arbor dungeon
- Captain's Log: The post-Vegas Star Trek Online roundup
- Leaderboard: Launch strategies
| Star Trek Online nude patch seller accidentally reveals himself Posted: 21 Aug 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play  The offending pictures were quickly removed after other users made comments regarding their inappropriateness and the breach in STO's Term's of Service.
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: The end of an era for Guild Wars Posted: 21 Aug 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles  The countdown on Guild Wars 2's official site has ticked away to almost nothing. The Guild Wars 2 community is getting increasingly anxious, and at the same time, the Guild Wars community is getting increasingly sappy. Tapping into both of those sentiments, ArenaNet set up a celebration that started this last weekend and will run until August 30th. The celebration, called Wayfarer's Reverie, gives players a chance to celebrate their time spent in Guild Wars and rewards them, at the end, with a Tormented weapon, which, depending on their Hall of Monuments progress, could give them up to two points. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: The end of an era for Guild Wars
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| The Game Archaeologist: Reactions to a free Vanguard Posted: 21 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Vanguard, Free-to-play, Hands-on, The Game Archaeologist  Without going into depth on Vanguard's past problems, I'll say that this was a highly hyped game that fell about as hard as any MMO could without being outright canceled. For years, it has been subsiding on a meager population and extremely rare updates (I recall a tiny bug update for Vanguard being laughably big news last summer). Now? Now it's received a new lease on life and attention from players and the media. If you've been following the news, you'll know that Vanguard soft launched a week early, talked with Massively about the conversion, officially launched thereafter, and is now part of the PSS.1 deal. But the most important word is that of the player on the street, the ground-pounders in Telon who are checking out F2P (and perhaps the game) for the first time. I've gathered several of these perspectives together for your amusement and edification. Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: Reactions to a free Vanguard
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| The Soapbox: The trouble with Kickstarter Posted: 21 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous  It was right around the time that the Shadowrun Online Kickstarter went live that I started to wonder whether Kickstarter was doing some nasty things to the development practices of MMOs. This isn't a commentary on Shadowrun Online itself, exactly. The game asked for players to put up $500,000 to fund development, and while that's an awful lot of money to ask from the pockets of fans, it still doesn't qualify as being high-budget by the standards of the industry. But in some ways, it's the apotheosis of something that started with several other games being funded on Kickstarter -- this sense that Kickstarter is the path of the future, that it's the ultimate litmus test of whether or not your MMO is worth developing and a great way to draw in venture capitalists for more funding. I'm not convinced that this is a good thing for the health of MMO development. You can look at it as a way for strange niche titles to get their funding without convincing outside sources that it's worth the effort, but as we're ramping up to seeing the fruits of these projects (or lack thereof), I'm wondering whether it just allows ideas to get further along before they self-destruct. Continue reading The Soapbox: The trouble with Kickstarter
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| The Daily Grind: Do you pay retail prices for digital downloads? Posted: 21 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind  One thing I won't do is pay $59.99 for a digital download, though. You see, brand-new physical game packages can also be had for $59.99, and that gets you a box, a manual, and a disc. More importantly, it cost the game-maker a certain amount of money to put that package together, and that cost is not there when a digital download is purchased. What about you, folks? Do you support premium prices for downloads, or do you opt for the physical package or wait for a digital sale?  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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| Not So Massively: Too many MOBA heroes, D3's legendaries revealed Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Video, Classes, Contests, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III  Valve announced its new free Dota 2 Spectator Client, which that aims to get all Steam users interested in the game's upcoming competitive tournaments. Upcoming MOBA SMITE revealed its latest character, the adorable little cherub Cupid, God of Love. Blacklight: Retribution's $1,000 US per day 30 Days of Fight contest has officially begun, and its new Siege game mode is now live. Diablo III announced many of the changes coming in its upcoming patch 1.0.4 this week, including details of upgraded legendary items and a whole series of buffs for every single class. Finally, Path of Exile updated players on the game's current development progress this week, revealing that over a million US dollars had been secured in pre-purchase supporter packs. Continue reading Not So Massively: Too many MOBA heroes, D3's legendaries revealed
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| Guild Wars 2 gears up for yet another stress test Posted: 20 Aug 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Guild Wars 2, Massively Event Coverage  ArenaNet has just announced one more round of stress testing prior to the prepurchase launch. On Tuesday, August 21st, from 3 p.m. EDT (noon PDT) to 7 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. PDT), players who have prepurchased (not just preordered) the game will be able to log in and beat up on the Guild Wars 2 servers in the hopes of helping ANet make them nice and shiny for the real deal come Friday. You'll be able to access your existing beta characters, but the team reminds everyone that it is "actively working on the game during the event, so you might experience connectivity problems or discover features that are not working as designed." While you wait for Tuesday, why not check out the official launch schedule, region clarifications, and the new gem store items revealed today?
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| Wings Over Atreia: Creating classes for Aion 4.0 Posted: 20 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Classes, Opinion, Free-to-play, Wings Over Atreia  OK, so maybe the O.K. Corral and the Wild West aren't en route to Atreia, but that is certainly the first image that sprang to my mind when NCsoft announced that one of the new classes coming to Aion is going to tote a gun. I mean, guns don't get better than a couple of six-shooters slung at the hips, right? If you missed last Friday's big announcement from Gamescom, here's the skinny: Aion's 4.0 patch is introducing three brand-spanking-new classes to the game. Obviously that patch is a long ways off (a date hasn't even been announced for Korea yet), but that doesn't stop us from looking forward to one of the most fundamental changes planned for the game since launch nearly three years ago. Unfortunately, NCsoft has given us little to go on right now; all we know is that one class will tote a gun and one will brandish an instrument. With so little information revealed, you have to wonder what these two classes will actually be like. With so many possibilities... Let the speculation commence! Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Creating classes for Aion 4.0
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| Mortal Online is due for an Awakening Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, Patches, News items, Mortal Online, Sandbox  Some of the UI changes include an easier system for making use of workbenches, the addition of slash commands and macro functionality for abilities, and a new method for determining the direction of strikes in combat. Players will also have access to new combat skills, new out-of-combat skills, and a rebuilt taxation system. The update also contains several bugfixes, but the patch notes warn players that the large update will be a bumpy ride at first. Players are asked to petition the customer support team only when absolutely necessary. But even with the likelihood of bugs, there's a lot for Mortal Online players to appreciate in this expansion. [Thanks to Chris for the tip!]
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| DDO Update 15 goes live with new adventure pack Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Expansions, Patches, Free-to-play  Update 15: Song of Druid's Deep significantly adds on to the expansion content, including the titular adventure pack for high-level characters. This adventure pack includes four quests and comes in two varieties: level 17 and 23. There's also a new challenge called The Ruined Keep: The Daybreak Ritual which is being included with the Eveningstar challenge pack. On top of that, the latest update for DDO includes a "monster manual" that can be filled out for extra rewards, the ability to purchase the expansion through the DDO store, and several tweaks for the wet-behind-the-ears Druid class.
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| Additional Guild Wars 2 store items revealed Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business models, Guild Wars 2  Three of the recently added items are armor skins costing 500 gems each. These come in Primevil, Krytan, and Profane varieties. There's also a nifty Guild Wars 2 logo hat, which is currently marked at zero gems, meaning that it's a potential free item for players. Finally, for 2000 gems, one has the option to upgrade the standard edition of the game to the digital deluxe version.
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| Funcom teases rocket launcher screen, Tokyo concept art for The Secret World Posted: 20 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Galleries, Screenshots, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, The Secret World  Thus far, Tokyo is only available via the opening tutorial mission sequence that also sets the stage for the game's overarching narrative (and players are limited to a smallish subway instance). Could we be traveling back to the sprawling city to unravel the mystery of the filth and battle Orochi's sinister agents? Let's hope so. See the new art and the rocket launcher screenshot in our gallery below.
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| Third RaiderZ dev diary shows off mounts, cooking, and more Posted: 20 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Game mechanics, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, Crafting  Crafters will find something to smile about as players will be able to craft their own unique weapons and armor as well as consumables. Eschewing the idea of junk loot, the devs state, "Every unique drop has a role in crafting the best gear." If you prefer to make tasty treats, you can hunt down spices and combine them with the meat of fresh-kills to create a feast for yourself and friends. The video also shows off mounts (noting that some can actually assist players briefly in battle), special transformation items, and the ability to play music on various guitars. Catch all of the details in the video after the break. And watch Massively's first impressions video to check out some in-game beta action. [Source: Perfect World press release] Continue reading Third RaiderZ dev diary shows off mounts, cooking, and more
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| PlanetSide 2 mobile app to feature 'near real-time' map updates, voice chat Posted: 20 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2  As it turns out, said mobile app is being developed by a company called AppBurst. Eagle-eyed users on the PlanetSide Universe forums spotted some details on the company's website that include the aforementioned stats as well as "near real-time" interactive map updates and voice chat. The app's website shows screenshots only for iOS devices, but AppBurst bills itself as an Android developer as well.
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| Diablo III adding 100 levels via new Paragon system Posted: 20 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Diablo III  Blizzard's Jay Wilson also elaborates on how Paragon levels will impact D3's Magic Find system. The devs are capping Magic (and Gold) Find at 300%. The aim is to "slowly and gently move Magic Find off of items in the future," Wilson explains.
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| Get a sneak peek at Guild Wars 2's Twilight Arbor dungeon Posted: 20 Aug 2012 11:45 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, News items, PvE, Guild Wars 2, Dungeons  You've got only a few more days to wait 'til you're playing Guild Wars 2 for keeps, but if the wait is just too much to handle, maybe this new video of the beginning of the Twilight Arbor dungeon will help. With the gracious company of members of ArenaNet's QA team, PC Gamer took a spin through the level 50 dungeon and released the first 12 minutes of the experience. Twilight Arbor takes place in the Tarnished Coast and revolves around a struggle against the Nightmare Court. Each boss in the dungeon's story mode is built around an emotion: The horror knight Graingor focuses on fear attacks, while the knights of envy and remorse use different tactics to punish their foes. The dungeon is rife with traps, puzzles, and potential random events. Skip below the cut to catch a glimpse of what's in store for your character! Be warned that there may be spoilers. Continue reading Get a sneak peek at Guild Wars 2's Twilight Arbor dungeon
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| Captain's Log: The post-Vegas Star Trek Online roundup Posted: 20 Aug 2012 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Contests, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Captain's Log  Star Trek Online's Fleet Week bonuses are out for a limited time, a new ship has appeared in the ZEN Store, additional account bank slots are now available for purchase, rewards are now available for those who helped test Season Six on the Tribble test server, and a small update was made to clarify the state of the Foundry. So join me past the jump and we'll catch up on the game! Continue reading Captain's Log: The post-Vegas Star Trek Online roundup
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| Leaderboard: Launch strategies Posted: 20 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Polls, Launches, Guild Wars 2, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard  So when it comes down to a game that you are looking to play, there are really three strategies for launch. There are those who will do anything and everything to get into a head start/early access type of situation, even if it means paying for a premium product or turning their Facebook timelines into a giant ad for the game. Then you have the folks who are OK with just being there on launch day, even though it's really like launch plus three days at that point. Finally, there are the "wait and see-ers" who prefer to let the initial crush of the stampede pass so that they can enjoy the game at their leisure. Which are you? Vote after the jump and let the world know of your idiosyncrasies! Continue reading Leaderboard: Launch strategies
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