MMO Updates |
- Former Lineage II/TERA dev starts new game studio
- The Soapbox: On your deathbed, you will not regret gaming
- Neverwinter's Fury of the Feywild lands August 22nd
- Smaller virtual bodies affect how people see the world
- Massively's Guild Wars 2 Cutthroat Politics patch preview
- The Daily Grind: Do you like time-limited goodies?
- Not So Massively: Elite Dangerous goes public, Dota 2 launches, and End of Nations becomes a MOBA
- Square releases FFXIV fashion video
- Chaos Theory: Been there, done that, got the guardian event t-shirt in The Secret World
- Darkfall is half off on Steam through July 22
- Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Al Rivera, part two
- Digital Extremes celebrates 3 million Warframe space ninjas
- BioWare talks KOTOR tenth anniversary, influence on SWTOR
- Massively Exclusive: Episode 3 of Mabinogi the Saga: Iria
- The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's addons
- Remanum announces impending shutdown
- ZeniMax publishes dungeon-focused Elder Scrolls AMA
| Former Lineage II/TERA dev starts new game studio Posted: 16 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Lineage 2, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, TERA  NAT Games plans on creating the next big blockbuster MMORPG, according to Steparu.com, who found the fledgling studio's recruitment webpage and application. Unfortunately, not much more is known about this proposed game in the works, but we'll keep you informed as information comes in.
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| The Soapbox: On your deathbed, you will not regret gaming Posted: 16 Jul 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Video, EVE Online, Culture, MMO Industry, Endgame, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous, Subscription, MMORPG  I think we can all agree that it's important to have offline hobbies and interests that help you keep active, but I take exception to the notion that we might regret time spent gaming on our deathbeds. Published data on the top five regrets of the dying actually seems to directly refute this idea, and my life experiences have shown the exact opposite of some of the points Mike makes. MMOs have given me some experiences that I'll probably treasure for a lifetime, and gaming as a hobby has provided me with much more than just temporary joys and escapism; it's helped me discover talents I didn't know I possessed, given me the push I needed to get a good education, led me to employment, and put me in contact with lifelong friends. On my deathbed, I'll probably wish I'd spent more time gaming rather than less. In this opinion piece, I look at evidence that suggests we won't regret gaming on our deathbeds and make the case that gaming can be just as worthwhile as offline pursuits. Continue reading The Soapbox: On your deathbed, you will not regret gaming
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| Neverwinter's Fury of the Feywild lands August 22nd Posted: 16 Jul 2013 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Races, Promotions, Neverwinter  Perfect World and Cryptic Studios didn't even let the launch-day paint dry (that's the officially official launch, not the one that let everyone in to play) before announcing Neverwinter's first free content update. And now that expansion has a launch date of its very own: Fury of the Feywild will go live on August 22nd. On that date Neverwinter players will gain access to a host of goodies, including the new zone Sharandar, new dungeons, new professions, and the new Campaign System. Players, however, don't have to wait until the module releases to get into the spirit of it; two special packs filled with Feywild-themed rewards are available for purchase. The starter pack consists of a portal hound companion, a Feywild hunter's ring, a fine Elven silk bag, and an adventurer's helper pack. Players can purchase multiple starter packs per account for $19.99 each. The knight of the Feywild pack offers a unicorn mount, a Sylph companion, the Moon Elf race, 600,000 astral diamonds, and more for $59.99.
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| Smaller virtual bodies affect how people see the world Posted: 16 Jul 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, News Items, Virtual Worlds, Miscellaneous  The result was that participants in the childlike bodies were more likely to identify as children rather than as adults, exploring more child-like environments and behaving less like adults. It's worth keeping in mind that these behaviors happened within motion-capture suits designed to simulate actual movement in virtual bodies, so how much of this would transfer to MMOs is questionable. But it's an interesting set of variables to consider, especially in terms of how much we identify with our avatars in the game. [Thanks to David for the tip!]
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| Massively's Guild Wars 2 Cutthroat Politics patch preview Posted: 16 Jul 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Events (In-Game), Lore, Patches, Previews, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play  ArenaNet's next patch for Guild Wars 2, titled Cutthroat Politics, will allow players directly affect the living story by giving them the ability to vote in an important election. During the Dragon Bash storyline, Theo Ashford was murdered, causing a vacancy on Lion Arch's prestigious Captain's Council. Two candidates have stepped forward, Ellen Kiel and Evon Gnashblade, and players will cast votes using support tokens to decide the winner. While choosing which NPC will become a more prominent figure in the game is a nice twist, apparently there is more at stake. The winner of the election will express his or her gratitude by reducing the cost of certain goods and services, bringing back various minigames, and even sponsoring Mist research so players can re-live one of two historical events. This Cutthroat Politics game update goes live on July 23 and is full of new events, rewards, and features, so check out the preview video after the cut to hear me dissect all of the details. Continue reading Massively's Guild Wars 2 Cutthroat Politics patch preview
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| The Daily Grind: Do you like time-limited goodies? Posted: 16 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Promotions, Miscellaneous  This brings to mind a very different set of questions than time-limited content. A time-limited title or vanity item doesn't actually affect the game when it shows up or leaves since it's just for fun. At the same time, a promotional item that players can't get immediately becomes intensely desirable, and it means that new players are forced out by necessity. So do you like time-limited goodies that have no effect on the game as a whole? Or would you much prefer that vanity items be limited through some other means?  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: Elite Dangerous goes public, Dota 2 launches, and End of Nations becomes a MOBA Posted: 15 Jul 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Video, Business Models, Events (Real-World), Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, Interviews, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, Patches, PvP, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, MMORTS, Dev Diaries, Not So Massively, Sandbox, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Firefall, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Elite: Dangerous, Infinite Crisis, Path of Exile  Diablo III fansite DiabloFans revealed some interesting information on upcoming development following an interview with developers, including the fact that the game won't be a launch title for the PS4 or XBox One. Path of Exile upgraded its map-to-maker system to also assign dropped magic and rare maps to the creator of a map area, and it slashed some of its microtransaction item prices. Firefall developer Red 5 Studios announced its first $10,000 US cash prize tournament series and profiled Star Citizen in its latest Rise of the Indies show on YouTube. Elite: Dangerous released £4 million ($5.9 million US) worth of shares to the public on the London Stock Exchange, adding to the impressive amount of capital the developers already have access to. And End of Nations now falls firmly within the remit of this column after recently rebranding itself from an MMO to a MOBA.
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| Square releases FFXIV fashion video Posted: 15 Jul 2013 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Final Fantasy XIV  We've embedded the entire clip after the cut! [Thanks Brandon!] Continue reading Square releases FFXIV fashion video
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| Chaos Theory: Been there, done that, got the guardian event t-shirt in The Secret World Posted: 15 Jul 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Galleries, Screenshots, Events (In-Game), Opinion, Livestream, Anniversaries, Chaos Theory, Buy-to-Play  What could be so compelling that it kept me logged in for more hours than I'm willing to admit even to comrades at a gaming site? It all started innocently enough: I simply came to the aid of someone trying for a guardian pet reward. Quite the critter aficionado myself, I was more than happy to help, Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong! That was only the beginning. Little did I know what I was truly in for as the event turned out to be a veritable smörgåsbord of AP, SP, and loot as well as a shining example of community cooperation. And I got a t-shirt! Unfortunately, it couldn't all be sunshine and kittens... I mean gloom and golems (this is TSW after all!). Something invariably has to go wrong, or it wouldn't be a true MMO, right? There was a definite black cloud that hung over the otherwise festive occasion. And I hope it is one that Funcom will address and dispel for any future events.
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| Darkfall is half off on Steam through July 22 Posted: 15 Jul 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Business Models, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Subscription  Aventurine's title is half-price until July 22nd, so instead of 40 bucks you can grab the game client for $19.97. Keep in mind that Darkfall is a subscription title, so you'll need to chip in $14.95 a month to continue playing after the first 30 days. [Thanks everyone who tipped us!]
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| Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Al Rivera, part two Posted: 15 Jul 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Interviews, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Captain's Log  Continue reading Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Al Rivera, part two
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| Digital Extremes celebrates 3 million Warframe space ninjas Posted: 15 Jul 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS  Update 9 brought the NOVA warframe, designed by the community's Design Council, along with content expansions to the Orokin Void and Grineer Galleon zones. Additionally, Digital Extremes added five new prime weapon blueprints to discover, 14 new warframe helmets, and a redesigned fight with Captain Vor that ends with an all-new pistol blueprint.
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| BioWare talks KOTOR tenth anniversary, influence on SWTOR Posted: 15 Jul 2013 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Anniversaries, MMORPG  According to Ohlen, BioWare put a premium on bringing several core components of KOTOR into SWTOR. He mentions epic narratives set in the Old Republic era, cinematic storytelling, being a Jedi, owning a starship, traveling to different worlds, an internal conflict between good and evil, and hanging out with companion characters that actually matter. Here's a clip from the post: All of these were key elements that we knew we wanted included from the very start of development. The good news is that all of these elements are featured prominently in SWTOR. These features also make SWTOR unique amongst MMORPGs, and helped forge what has become one of the strongest game communities in the history of online RPGs.Players of SWTOR can join in the celebration of KOTOR's birthday by purchasing the Revan's Heir title from the Cartel Market for 10 Cartel Coins. The title will be available only until 3 a.m. EDT, July 16th. So, tonight. Additionally, you can read through some of the memories offered by people who worked on KOTOR and score yourself a handful of wallpapers on this official BioWare post.
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| Massively Exclusive: Episode 3 of Mabinogi the Saga: Iria Posted: 15 Jul 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Lore, Free-to-Play, Mabinogi  Join us today for the third episode in the series, where nightmares and chase scenes will hold sway over all. Drink up on all of the lore that this video has to offer and then get into the game itself to experience the wild world of Mabinogi (Legal disclaimer: May or may not cause waking nightmares. If your scream persists for more than four hours, please consult a physician.) We've got episode 3 after the break. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Episode 3 of Mabinogi the Saga: Iria
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| The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's addons Posted: 15 Jul 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, Patches, Opinion, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph  This is pretty unusual now, and it was almost unheard of back in the day. But WildStar is going down the same road of having UI mods and addons in from day one, and it's one of the places that I think taking lessons from World of Warcraft would not only be prudent but downright smart. Including UI modding from launch means that WildStar will have the opportunity to tread down familiar paths. But some of those paths are familiarly awful, and so perhaps the developers could learn some lessons from those who have made these mistakes before. So let's look at the good, the bad, and how we can perhaps get more of the former than the latter. Continue reading The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's addons
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| Remanum announces impending shutdown Posted: 15 Jul 2013 11:30 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous, Sunsets  On September 16th, all servers except for the most recently opened server will be taken offline, with the newest server allowed to run a bit longer. Players can transfer to the last server starting now if they want to keep playing as long as possible. While this is a German server, support will be offered for all languages until the final shutdown, and any gold purchased on other servers will be transferred to this last bastion. [Thanks to Arachnella for the tip!]
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| ZeniMax publishes dungeon-focused Elder Scrolls AMA Posted: 15 Jul 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, Dungeons, The Elder Scrolls Online  Hit the links below to learn the answers to things like whether or not ESO dungeons will be linear like most of their single-player Elder Scrolls counterparts and whether players will be able to wander into solo encounters in the multiplayer game. As for this last bit, ZeniMax says that the answer is basically yes, after a fashion. "Certain rare locales will just be for solo players, and some dungeons are meant for groups made only of people you choose to go in with. Most locales, however, will be accessible by everyone." Also of note is the decision to dispense with dungeon lockout timers. "We don't currently have any plans to use lockout timers. You can run through a dungeon as often as you like," the company says.
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