General Gaming Article

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• Column: Post-PC Era Won't Stifle PCs
• War on Korean Peninsula Could Have "Catastrophic" Consequences to Electronics Market
• AMD Cuts Desktop Processor Pricing Up to 19 Percent
• Newegg Daily Deals: Ultrabook Bonanza
• 1,000 World of Warplanes Beta Keys Up for Grabs!
• Lenovo Unveils ThinkPad S431 Touchscreen Laptop for Businesses Starting at $699
• AMD Launches Two New FX-Series Piledriver CPUs

Column: Post-PC Era Won't Stifle PCs Posted: 01 May 2013 05:01 PM PDT "Post-PC era" objections Supposedly, the wild popularity of smartphones, tablets, e-readers, smart TVs, and hand-held videogames has brought us the "post-PC era." To hear some folks talk, PCs are not only in decline, but are almost as doomed as dinosaurs. For proof, they point to slipping PC sales and to troubled PC vendors like Hewlett-Packard. Steve Job talks about the "post-PC era" Maximum PC's editors have objected to this verdict, and so do I. Furthermore, I disagree with the pessimists who fear that weaker demand for PCs will stifle the development of new PC processors and platform innovations. If you are a PC enthusiast—and you wouldn't be reading this site if you weren't—happy days are still ahead. True, 10 years ago, I predicted that desktop PCs were destined to become tomorrow's mainframes. By that I meant PCs would no longer be the most popular computing platform and would be regarded largely as business machines for tasks requiring more processing power than smaller devices can deliver. I didn't say PCs would become extinct. After all, mainframes are still very important, although we often call them by different names ("enterprise servers," "cloud computers," "data-center systems," "supercomputers," etc). Are we living in a "post PC era?" (photo credit: thedaringjourney.com) It's also true that PC sales aren't climbing as they once did. But people are still buying more than 300 million PCs a year, and several developing countries still represent a healthy growth market. Frankly, sales would be better if Microsoft hadn't buried Windows 8 under a baffling user interface. As for HP, its troubles run much deeper than lackluster PC sales. The fact is that economics still favor big investments in PC processors. In 2012, people bought 750 million smartphones and tablets, but those processors accounted for only $6.2 billion in sales. Half as many PC processors reaped $31 billion. So although mobile devices are sexy, PC chips earn the big bucks. Tom Halfhill was formerly a senior editor for Byte magazine and is now an analyst for Microprocessor Report.

War on Korean Peninsula Could Have "Catastrophic" Consequences to Electronics Market Posted: 01 May 2013 11:47 AM PDT Korea is a major supplier of electronics parts. Analysts at IHS iSuppli spent some time pondering what would happen if current tensions in Korea escalate to the point of a war on the Korean peninsula, and what they determined is that it could theoretically cripple the global electronics business. South Korea is a major cog in the electronics supply chain, as it accounts for half of the world's DRAM output, two-thirds of NAND flash manufacturing, and 70 percent of the world's tablet display. IHS iSuppli says chaos would ensue if war were to break out in the region, and that it's such a serious threat, some forward-thinking technology firms are planning for such a contingency in the same way they prepare for other natural and man-made disasters that could negatively impact their businesses. "South Korea now plays a more important role than ever in the global electronics business. And with the supply chain having become more entwined and connected, a significant disruption in any region will impact the entire world. Because of this, it is important for companies to understand the magnitude of South Korea's role in the global electronics market—and to prepare for any contingencies," said Mike Howard, senior principal analyst for DRAM & memory at IHS. Such a scenario could bring about a quick and significant impact on consumers. According to Howard, even just a disruption of six months could halt the shipment of hundreds of millions of mobile phones and tens of millions of PCs. Food for thought. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

AMD Cuts Desktop Processor Pricing Up to 19 Percent Posted: 01 May 2013 10:57 AM PDT In with the new, and in with price cuts too! AMD recently launched a pair of FX-Series Piledriver processors, FX-4350 and FX-6350, and hot on heels of those new chips is a round of price cuts to some older parts. The Sunnyvale chip designer slashed the price of 10 chips in all, most of which received a double-digit percentage discount. In fact, the smallest price cut was 9.5 percent, and the two others that technically don't qualify as double digits were both dropped by 9.9 percent. Here's how the latest price lists shake out: AMD A6-3600: $95 down to $77 (18.9 percent) AMD A8-3800: $105 down to $91 (13.3 percent) AMD A8-3820: $115 down to $101 (12.2 percent) AMD A6-5400K: $67 down to $57 (14.9 percent) AMD A8-5500: $101 down to $91 (9.9 percent) AMD A8-5600K: $101 down to $91 (9.9 percent) AMD FX-4300: $122 down to $108 (11.5 percent) AMD FX-6300: $132 down to $112 (15.2 percent) AMD FX-8320: $169 down to $153 (9.5 percent) AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE: $91 down to $81 (11 percent) The AMD FX-6300 stands out as a particularly good deal after the savings, which costs just $4 more than the FX-4300. The FX-6300 is a six-core part clocked at 3.5Ghz (4.1GHz Turbo) with 8MB of L3 cache, 6MB of L2 cache (3 x 2MB), and a 95W TDP. See anything on the list that catches your eye? Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Ultrabook Bonanza Posted: 01 May 2013 10:55 AM PDT   Top Deal: Today's top deal is a portable Ultrabook with a discrete graphics card for a relatively affordable price. The Lenovo IdeaPad U410 is running for $550 (normally $800) and it comes equipped with a 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 3317 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a GeForce GT 610M GPU. The laptop also has both a 750GB HDD and a 24GB SSD.  Other Deals: Dell Inspiron i15z 15.6" Ultrabook with an Intel i5-3337U 1.8GHz processor and 500GB hard drive and 32GB SSD for $550 with free shipping (normally $750)  Sony Vaio T Series 14" Ultrabook with an Intel i5-3227U CPU for $525 with free shipping (normally $700)  Lenovo IdeaPad U310 13.3" Ultrabook with an Intel i5-3337U processor and 500GB hard drive and 24GB SSD for $550 with free shipping (normally $680)  Toshiba Satellite U945 14" Ultrabook with an Intel Core i5-3227U processor for $480 with free shipping (normally $630)

1,000 World of Warplanes Beta Keys Up for Grabs! Posted: 01 May 2013 10:17 AM PDT Come get your free game key (first come, first serve). Looking for a new flight combat MMO action game? Hoping you can find one set in the Golden Age of military aviation? Are you reading this right now? Well you lucky dog, we just so happen to have a whopping 1,000 beta keys for World of Warplanes to give away courtesy of developers Ukraine Persha Sutdia and Belarus Wargaming.net. World of Warplanes is a free-to-play game, but it's currently in closed beta, meaning you need a key to have early access. In World of Warplanes, you're able to build full-scale carriers of virtual pilots offering machines of several key areas, starting from the 1930s with biplanes and on up to Korean War jet fighters. It uses the same game engine as World of Tanks, though it's been customized for aircraft. There are several warplane classes to play with, including fighters, heavy fighters, ground-attack planes,and carrier-based aircraft with a total of 59 machines from America, Germany, and USSR. Intrigued? If so, then grab a key and check it out! We've posted all 1,000 beta keys to a shared Google Doc. Since we're dealing with a massive amount of keys, we've opened up the ability to edit and ask that you BOLD a key that you're claiming. That way others know it's no longer up for grabs. We're working on the honor system here and trust that our document won't become defaced or tampered with (keep in mind that it's a possibility, should you decide to access the document from work or a public PC). Should that happen, we'll have to close the document and post the keys in here instead, though we're trying to avoid that because it'll be difficult to manage. So, please play nice! World of Warplanes Beta Keys Download World of Warplanes Update While the vast majority of readers kept the good times rolling, we ended up having to restrict the document to view mode only after a few NSFW images showed up. Bolded entries are still taken, so if you're hunting for a key, go down the list until you find one that works. We realize this isn't ideal. We'd like to thank the many, many users who were cool about this, and curse the one or two users who ruined it for everyone else. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Lenovo Unveils ThinkPad S431 Touchscreen Laptop for Businesses Starting at $699 Posted: 01 May 2013 08:06 AM PDT A laptop you can touch for well under a grand. Go ahead Joan Jett fans, touch Lenovo's new ThinkPad S431. Lenovo's latest business friendly laptop sports a 14-inch touchscreen display wedged into a 13-inch frame and encourages finger tapping and swiping with Windows 8. According to Lenovo, it's also dressed to impress customers with an "elegant floating design," offering users a combination of style and substance. "The progressive design of our ThinkPad S431 will help small businesses impress their customers. We pack a punch behind that style, however, as we are committed to delivering genuine substance," said Jerry Paradise, executive director, Think Business Group. "The ThinkPad S431 offers an intuitive Windows 8 experience with the power needed to accelerate productivity." Lenovo says the S431 is one of the first ThinkPads to feature the company's OneLink technology, which allows users to connect to the ThinkPad OneLink dock using a single cable for dedicated video, additional USB 3.0 ports, and a GbE while powering the system. The system comes with 3rd Generation Intel Core processor options, up to 8GB of memory, and 500GB of storage space. Look for the ThinkPad S431 to ship in June of this year. The OneLink Dock will be available May 21. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

AMD Launches Two New FX-Series Piledriver CPUs Posted: 30 Apr 2013 11:07 PM PDT The FX-4350 and FX-6350 are slightly faster than comparable CPUs already in the lineup Advanced Micro Devices has added two new SKUs to its FX family of Vishera-based high-end microprocessors. The chipmaker announced the launch of the quad-core FX 4350 and the hexa-core FX-6350 CPUs in a blog post Monday The FX-4350 and the FX-6350 are essentially slightly more powerful variants of the existing FX-4300 and FX-6300, respectively. Needless to say, that they have much bigger power appetites as well. Boasting a 4.3GHz maximum boost frequency, 4MB of L2 cache, 8MB of L3 cache and 125W TDP, the $122 FX-4350 is said to offer 10 percent better performance than the FX-4300. When it comes to the $132 FX-6350, it features a 4.2GHz maximum boost frequency, 6MB of L2 cache and 8MB of L3 cache. Just like the FX-4350, the FX-6350 has a TDP of 125W and is around 10 percent more powerful than the previous generation. "Unrivaled. Unlocked. Unbelievable. These products might be new, but they are jam packed full of all the things you love about AMD FX processors," the company said in a blog post. "Fully AM3+ compatible, both 4-core and 6-core offerings operate in your 900-series motherboard." Follow Pulkit on Google+

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Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

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• Neverwinter Enters Open Beta
• Total Domination
• ValueClick Founder Brian Coryat Raises $1.5M For Business Listings Startup ‘Local Market Launch'
• App Install Ads Could Be The Growing Cash Calf Of Facebook's Earnings
• Viddy Co-Founder Chris Ovitz Lands At Mobile Gaming Startup Scopely
• App Install Ads Could Be The Growing Cash Calf Of Facebook's Earnings
• Anyone Can Become A Content Curator On Wiosio
• David Tisch Is Bored With His Smartphone's Apps
• Disrupt NY 2013 Barrels Along For A Second Day
• BlackBerry Chief Believes Need for Tablets Will Disappear in Five Years

Neverwinter Enters Open Beta Posted: 01 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT Perfect World Entertainment Inc. and Cryptic Studios are proud to announce that the most anticipated free MMORPG of 2013, Dungeons & Dragons® Neverwinter, is officially in Open Beta. Free to download and play, Neverwinter is built for gamers who crave more action combat, adventure and glory out of MMOs. The … Continue reading →

Total Domination Posted: 01 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT Total Domination places you in the control of your own colony. Develop your colony, discover new technologies, and wage ultimate war for superiority. Publisher: PlariumPlayerbase: ??Graphics: MediumType: MMORTSEXP Rate: ??PvP: ??Filesize: ?? Pros: +Mission based strategy. Cons: -Generic gameplay -Limited Information available. Overview Total Domination Overview For every world, there must … Continue reading →

ValueClick Founder Brian Coryat Raises $1.5M For Business Listings Startup ‘Local Market Launch' Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:55 PM PDT Local Market Launch, a startup that helps companies manage the online presence of local stores, is announcing that it has raised $1.5 million in Series A funding. The company was founded by Brian Coryat, who previously founded ValueClick, an online ad company that went public in 2000. Coryat told me … Continue reading →

App Install Ads Could Be The Growing Cash Calf Of Facebook's Earnings Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:35 PM PDT How do you get hundreds of millions of people to consider downloading your app? One of the only answers is Facebook’s app install ads. With the app stores overrun and every company going mobile, app install ads are Facebook’s big chance to monetize mobile. Companies like 1-800-Flowers and Poshmark say … Continue reading →

Viddy Co-Founder Chris Ovitz Lands At Mobile Gaming Startup Scopely Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:16 PM PDT Viddy co-founder Chris Ovitz has landed at another buzzed-about Los Angeles startup, the mobile gaming platform Scopely. He used to head up business development at the mobile video startup Viddy, which shot up like a star on the Facebook platform and iOS charts only to later to come back down … Continue reading →

App Install Ads Could Be The Growing Cash Calf Of Facebook's Earnings Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:10 PM PDT How do you get hundreds of millions of people to consider downloading your app? One of the only answers is Facebook’s app install ads. With the app stores overrun and every company going mobile, app install ads are Facebook’s big chance to monetize mobile. Companies like 1-800-Flowers and Poshmark say … Continue reading →

Anyone Can Become A Content Curator On Wiosio Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:05 PM PDT Wiosio is a Turkish company being featured at Disrupt NY’s Startup Alley this year, and it’s a little like what watching television would be like if your friends took over the programming. At first glance, Wiosio most closely resembles an everyday television programming lineup. There are a number of predefined … Continue reading →

David Tisch Is Bored With His Smartphone's Apps Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:00 PM PDT David Tisch has made quite the name for himself as an investor based in NYC. Most notably, Tisch spent years at TechStars as the Managing Director, and has since left to co-found another investment fund called BoxGroup. We sat the man down backstage at Disrupt today to chat out his … Continue reading →

Disrupt NY 2013 Barrels Along For A Second Day Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:00 PM PDT And with the conclusion of the last Battlefield Startup presentation, the second day of TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013 has come to a close. The day kicked off with a talk between noted New York City venture capitalist Fred Wilson and TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, who recently become a VC himself. … Continue reading →

BlackBerry Chief Believes Need for Tablets Will Disappear in Five Years Posted: 30 Apr 2013 11:00 AM PDT Are tablets a passing fad? It seems like the whole world has gone crazy over tablets, and you can’t go more than a week without some market research firm posting gloom and doom numbers on the desktop PC side due to consumer interest in mobile. Be that as it may, … Continue reading →

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MMO Updates

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• Infinite Crisis closed beta starts May 8
• Name change unlock coming to SWTOR
• MMO Family: Are video games stressing kids out?
• Massively exclusive: Jacobs on Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter home stretch
• The Daily Grind: Do you avoid 'evil' classes?
• Wargaming.net offers special packages for National Veteran Appreciation Month
• Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR F2P experiment, Coruscant
• Amazon's payment systems go kaput, taking Kickstarter with it
• Star Trek Online showcases Romulan uniforms
• Age of Conan game director talks about server tech, tradeskills, and more
• ArenaNet's guide to GW2 Flame & Frost: Retribution
• Marvel Heroes gets an open beta weekend in honor of Iron Man 3
• Pantsless: First impressions of Neverwinter's open beta headstart
• Pirate101 prepping 'largest expansion to date'
• The Secret World's Issue #7 goes 007

Infinite Crisis closed beta starts May 8 Posted: 01 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA, Infinite Crisis Wednesday, May 8th marks the start of Infinite Crisis' closed beta test. The new DC-centric MOBA is accepting signups now on its official website, and Turbine has released a bit of new art focusing on various multiverse Wonder Woman variants to celebrate the occasion. Infinite Crisis will be free-to-play and feature "a deep roster of DC Comics characters clashing in fast-paced player-vs.-player battles," according to Turbine's PR machine. You can get a sneak peek at the game via's Massively's hands-on report from GDC 2013. [Source: Turbine press release] Infinite Crisis closed beta starts May 8 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Name change unlock coming to SWTOR Posted: 01 May 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic The customization options continue to grow in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Producer Cory Butler told The Old Republic Roleplay that besides the appearance designer and Cathar coming in Update 2.1, players will also be able to change their characters' names. Finally, Darth LordSnuffleFluff can change his name to Darth LordMegaSnuffleFluff like he always wanted. Butler explains that the name-change option will be available on the Cartel Market as an unlock. However, since it is an unlock and not a service through the official website, that means some players will be able to change names with in-game credits via the Galactic Trade Network. Congratulations, SWTOR players, you will now be able to change everything about your character except class and gender when GU 2.1 releases. Name change unlock coming to SWTOR originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: SWTOR-RP

MMO Family: Are video games stressing kids out? Posted: 01 May 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, News Items, Opinion, Kids, MMO Family, Family, Miscellaneous Video games get blamed for all sorts of societal problems, particularly for young children. Violence, obesity, and laziness are just the tip of the iceberg. And a recent article from Amanda Enayati adds one more potential problem: stress. Growing up is complicated enough, but are video games making it even harder to be a happy, relaxed kid? Enayati, CNN Health's stress columnist and the technology and stress correspondent for PBS MediaShift, says it's complicated but points to a few studies that argue the pros and cons. Let's take a look at the debate over whether video games might be too stressful for children. Continue reading MMO Family: Are video games stressing kids out? MMO Family: Are video games stressing kids out? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively exclusive: Jacobs on Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter home stretch Posted: 01 May 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Crafting, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter odyssey is almost complete, and as of press time there's a little over a day remaining. City State's fantasy RvR sandbox stands at just over $1.82 million out of its $2 million goal, so Mark Jacobs has penned a dev diary designed to push the game's funding over the top. He outlines the many challenges inherent in managing both a Kickstarter campaign and an ambitious MMORPG project, and he hits the highlights of the former which include three faction RvR, Minecraft-style building options, and a custom engine that has easily handled hundreds of simultaneous players at well over 200 frames per second. Finally, Jacobs thanks CU's current backers, whom he says have given unprecedented support to the tune of a $160 average pledge. Jacobs' full diary is readable after the cut. Continue reading Massively exclusive: Jacobs on Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter home stretch Massively exclusive: Jacobs on Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter home stretch originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you avoid 'evil' classes? Posted: 01 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Classes, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind Having started to play a Necromancer in Guild Wars 2 lately, I've been thinking about how odd it is that some MMO classes are kind of, well, evil. Or at least really, really gross, unless you think that playing with corpses is something a normal, well-adjusted citizen does. Summoning zombies, consorting with demons, even stealing from others -- sometimes our classes do unsavory activities. One could even call them... evil. Perhaps this depends on the morality of the beholder, but I know that I've spoken to players from time to time who just don't pick classes that can be construed as evil even if they're using their corpse-exploding habits for the greater good. Usually it just doesn't fit in with their perception of what a hero is, and that is that. What about you? Do you avoid "evil" classes, are you attracted to them, or do you not think about it one way or the other? 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 avoid 'evil' classes? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wargaming.net offers special packages for National Veteran Appreciation Month Posted: 30 Apr 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Culture, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, World of Tanks It's nearly May, and that means that World of Tanks developer Wargaming.net is keeping up a tradition that's run since the game first became playable. May is National Veteran Appreciation Month, and every year the studio offers package deals to players offering a variety of in-game benefits at a discounted price while donating some of the proceeds to veteran support groups. This year features two bundles. The first offers 2,000 gold and 2 million credits for $23.39; the second offers 10,000 gold, 1.2 million credits, 90 days of premium account status, and a special T-34 tank and garage slot for $115.99. 10% of each sale will be donated to Homes For Our Troops, AMVETS, and the Military Families Fund. So if you want to trundle along in a semi-historical military playground while supporting the brave individuals that made that possible, you can pick yourself up some nice toys in the process. [Source: Wargaming.net press release] Wargaming.net offers special packages for National Veteran Appreciation Month originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: 2013 Military Month page

Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR F2P experiment, Coruscant Posted: 30 Apr 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guides, Hyperspace Beacon I was asked last week why I chose The Ebon Hawk as the server on which to run my Star Wars: The Old Republic free-to-play experiment, especially since it's my home server. Some people believed that the experiment would be flawed because I would have many people to call on to help me out in different areas. This is only partially true. I do have some people to call on if I absolutely need it, but remember that I play on the Imperial side normally; this test character is Republic-side. My guildies and friends do not play Republic characters on a regular basis. And I have already said that I will not take gifts from other characters. The only thing that they can offer me is a partner for leveling, and currently, no one that I know is the same level as my Smuggler. I won't catch up to any of them until I hit level 35. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR F2P experiment, Coruscant Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR F2P experiment, Coruscant originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Amazon's payment systems go kaput, taking Kickstarter with it Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained Were you planning to be the brave soul to bring Camelot Unchained's Kickstarter project to its goal? You might have missed your chance. Amazon Payments, the system which Kickstarter uses to accept pledges from browsers, started having trouble earlier today, meaning that several Kickstarter projects have run into trouble attracting more pledges or processing pledges for otherwise successful funding. That's bad news for anyone looking to make the last few dollars on a project before the project ticks over the last deadline. There's currently no ETA on service restoration; quite notably, the payment service is currently the only Amazon service listed as having difficulties. Camelot Unchained is put into a particular pickle with this development, as the project is still more than $200,000 away from its goal with less than two days remaining. Hopefully the service errors will be cleared up before several projects start to feel the sting. [Thanks to Mark for the tip!] Amazon's payment systems go kaput, taking Kickstarter with it originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Amazon status update

Star Trek Online showcases Romulan uniforms Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, News Items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries No expansion is complete without its own fashion spread. Star Trek Online is covering its bases with the most recent Legacy of Romulus dev blog, which goes into the process of designing the Romulan Republic uniforms. Romulans have a long history of fabulous fashion in Star Trek. The design team was able to draw on the go-go boots, metal skull caps, and eighties-tastic shoulder pads that defined the Romulans we've all come to know and love. Those design inspirations were mixed in with cues of the current state of Romulans. The Romulan Republic, as we know it in the game, is made up of scattered refugees. Check out all the glamour shots on the official post. Star Trek Online showcases Romulan uniforms originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Official dev blog

Age of Conan game director talks about server tech, tradeskills, and more Posted: 30 Apr 2013 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game Mechanics, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries Joel Bylos, the game director for Age of Conan, has put out this month's game director letter. In it, he addresses his team's plan for addressing "most of the concerns and requests" that players have. Through a three-phase process, Age of Conan will come closer to having the same server functionality as The Secret World. Servers will be moved to the same physical place, then servers with the same ruleset will be merged, and then cross-server queues and functionality will be implemented. The tradeskill system is getting a massive revamp. Key changes there include the near removal of quests from tradeskill progression. Dragon's Spine and Unchained content is starting to get scheduled, bit by bit, for release. You can read the full dev letter on the official site. Age of Conan game director talks about server tech, tradeskills, and more originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Game director letter

ArenaNet's guide to GW2 Flame & Frost: Retribution Posted: 30 Apr 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Patches, PvE, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play If you're excited about Guild Wars 2's Flame & Frost: Retribution, ArenaNet is one step ahead of you with a new guide they've provided on the game's site. This spoiler-free mini-guide covers today's Living Story release (with a spoiler-rific version toward the end) and provides a schedule of events for the Flame & Frost epilogue, starting May 12. Be sure to also read through today's patch notes for more details on Flame & Frost: Retribution. ArenaNet's guide to GW2 Flame & Frost: Retribution originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Mini-guide to Retribution

Marvel Heroes gets an open beta weekend in honor of Iron Man 3 Posted: 30 Apr 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, Free-to-Play, Marvel Heroes Gazillion Entertainment is celebrating the upcoming release of the Iron Man 3 movie by throwing the doors of Marvel Heroes open for a beta weekend. From Friday, May 3rd, until Monday the 6th, players will be able to hop into the game and give it a test. As a special bonus, new players will be able to choose from some of the iconic Avengers as their starting hero. That perk will only last for the weekend. You can take a look at the game in the villains trailer that we've conveniently tucked under the cut. [Source: Gazillion Entertainment press release] Continue reading Marvel Heroes gets an open beta weekend in honor of Iron Man 3 Marvel Heroes gets an open beta weekend in honor of Iron Man 3 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pantsless: First impressions of Neverwinter's open beta headstart Posted: 30 Apr 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Business Models, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Humor, First Impressions, Dungeons, Neverwinter, Player-Generated Content Neverwinter's launch into open beta began last week, and through the grace of my press account, my Great Weapon Fighter was lucky enough to begin her digital life alongside players who forked over $199.99 for the Hero of the North Founder's Pack. I lack any of the Founders Pack bonuses, so off my plucky human character went, surrounded on her first day almost exclusively by panther-having Drow. Justin's been serving up a delicious helping of launch diary goodness, but he's relaxing on a cruise ship this week, so you're stuck with me! Join me as we sally forth into my launch-but-not-really-launch-it's-open-beta-okay-guys-but-we-aren't-deleting-characters-anymore-no-really-it's-still-open-beta-look-it-says-so-in-this-blog-post impressions! The first section is about thighs. Continue reading Pantsless: First impressions of Neverwinter's open beta headstart Pantsless: First impressions of Neverwinter's open beta headstart originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pirate101 prepping 'largest expansion to date' Posted: 30 Apr 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Family, Pirate101 Two new world expansions are on the horizon for Pirate101. KingsIsle is prepping Books 13 and 14, which feature the war-torn skyway of Marleybone and the "legendary beauty and danger found throughout Aquila," according to the studio. The updates comprise the free-to-play fantasy title's largest expansion to date. KingsIsle says that these new worlds are coming to the Members Only Test Realm in short order, with deployment on the live servers soon to follow. Sail past the cut for a bit of lore and some exclusive screenshots. [Source: KingsIsle press release] Continue reading Pirate101 prepping 'largest expansion to date' Pirate101 prepping 'largest expansion to date' originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Secret World's Issue #7 goes 007 Posted: 30 Apr 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, The Secret World, Buy-to-Play April's Game Director letter for The Secret World is hot off the presses, and in it Joel Bylos shared some juicy morsels about the next issue in store for the horror and conspiracy-laced game. He revealed that whereas Issue #6 was spiced with an Indiana Jones flavor, Issue #7 will be sprinkled with a distinct 007 zest. Yes, Bond. James Bond. Set in Transylvania, Issue #7 directs players to investigate the presence of the werewolves in the area, which ultimately leads them to an Orochi facility secreted away below a glacier in the Carpathian Fangs. Along the way, players get to experience adventures as a secret agent, complete with daring chases (a snowmobile one at that!), dare-devil jumps from exploding bridges, and close shaves with laser beams near sensitive areas. There's also a new auxiliary weapon to brandish -- the flamethrower. But the new goodies don't stop there. Bylos introduced a new feature that allows for custom streaming of radio stations or playlists directly into the client as well as a some PvP changes including tweaks to the matchmaking system. He concluded with some teasers about Black Ops and Issue #8. For all the details, check out the full letter. The Secret World's Issue #7 goes 007 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: TSW official Twitter

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