| MMObility: Grepolis mobile plays almost perfectly Posted: 01 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Mobile, Hands-On, Casual, MMORTS, Dev Diaries, MMObility Grepolis is one of my favorite browser-based MMORTS titles because of its simplicity in design and in-depth gameplay. I can jump into the game for a few minutes a day and survive or play it more than that and can actually become powerful. I've loved browser-based MMORTS games for those very reasons, but Grepolis continues to improve even more quickly than others thanks to Innogames' obvious commitment to the community. I've talked about the developer's recent community-based projects and have covered the developer a lot in the past. The company just seems to pay attention -- for the most part -- to its playerbase. Luckily my new 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 caught up with the rest of the internet, and I am now able to play Grepolis on Android. It's a nice little tablet, and the larger-sized screen really makes games look great. The Android version of the game is not much different from the browser-based version, but playing on a tablet just feels much more natural. I do have some gripes, however, but I have a feeling that they might be addressed sometime in a future update. Continue reading MMObility: Grepolis mobile plays almost perfectly  MMObility: Grepolis mobile plays almost perfectly originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Nov 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| City of Steam: Arkadia outlines compensation package Posted: 01 Nov 2013 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Browser, Promotions, City of Steam, Steampunk Last week, Mechanist Games assured that returning City of Steam players would be compensated as the company worked to restore fans' faith in the title. Today, the studio released the details of that compensation. For early supporters, the in-game currency will be refunded using the scheme that was utilized in alpha and beta: money's worth plus extra percent bonus. And for all players -- paid or not -- who reached at least level 30, the company is offering two tiers of welcome back packs, one for levels 30 through 37 and one for players who made it to level 38. Both packs include a large supply of vehicle parts, revamp kits, transmuter orbs, key bundles, cardiotonic, transmuter coolant, spiremarks, and more. Both packs also offer a Santa cap, and the level 38 pack includes an "awesome mega super dooper mystery item." Each account can claim one pack by contacting support. Full instructions and the contact information are available in the announcement. City of Steam: Arkadia outlines compensation package originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Nov 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Age of Wushu's Ultimate Scrolls expansion launches November 13 Posted: 01 Nov 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Expansions, Launches, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Age of Wushu Grab your parkas (or sunblock, if you live in the southwest) because winter is right around the corner! Age of Wushu's Ultimate Scrolls winter expansion is coming in less than two weeks. On November 13th, players will be able to enter Ancient China's forbidden grounds and test themselves in new school-specific instances. Other incoming features include secret scripts (in the form of teachings of the treasured Helianthus Codex and Star Vortex), a new tier of martial art skills with ultimate scrolls, and the new marriage system. You can read more about the expansion in Massively's behind-the-scenes interview. And to help tide you over (or just tease you some more), Snail Games also offers the following expansion trailer. Continue reading Age of Wushu's Ultimate Scrolls expansion launches November 13 Age of Wushu's Ultimate Scrolls expansion launches November 13 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Nov 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Brad McQuaid looks to Kickstarter for new MMO Posted: 01 Nov 2013 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Miscellaneous Brad McQuaid, best known as one of the original EverQuest designers and Executive Producer on Vanguard, is throwing out hints for his newest upcoming MMO that he plans to fund through Kickstarter. In a series of tweets, McQuaid asks for interested fans to submit questions for him to use on his Kickstarter campaign video. "Please email your questions to aradune@hotmail.com," the tweets suggest. "We're excited to start this dialog with our future players! We hope to have our kickstarter page up in the next 3 weeks or so... The game is high fantasy and if you've played EQ 1 and/or Vanguard, you've got a general idea of what the game's about and what kind of questions to ask :)" But McQuaid doesn't want to leave out the younger players: "I should also add that if you are a younger player & didn't play EQ or VG, but you want a challenging game & not a game that tries to be all things to all players, then you should feel right at home too, so please send us some questions as well :)" After being rehired by SOE in 2012 to work on Vanguard and EverQuest, McQuaid was let go in August of this year. We first heard hints at this new MMO project back in September. [Thanks to BabaGraPL for the tip!] Brad McQuaid looks to Kickstarter for new MMO originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Nov 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Try Old School RuneScape for free this weekend Posted: 01 Nov 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), MMO Industry, News Items, RuneScape, Free-to-Play, Browser, Promotions, Subscription Plenty of RuneScape fans -- one million to be exact -- have been enjoying the nostalgia of the Old School servers that opened up last February. And now those who aren't paid members can get in on all the fun; Jagex is offering free access to everyone from now through Monday, November 4th. This event grants players the full member feature set for the duration of the weekend, just in time to participate in the holiday events (like going for the black Halloween mask, the first new one since 2002). All progress made during the weekend will be saved and stored so players can continue their adventures if they purchase a membership anytime in the future. Also on tap this weekend are the RuneFest 3 festivities (which players can catch via livestream) and the launch of the new PvP worlds. [Source: Jagex press release] Try Old School RuneScape for free this weekend originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Nov 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Extra Life fundraising marathon begins tomorrow Posted: 01 Nov 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items, Miscellaneous It's once again time for gamers from around the world to come together for a cause with the annual Extra Life charity event. Every year, thousands of gamers commit themselves to playing video games for a whopping 24 hours straight from 8 a.m. November 2nd until 8 a.m. November 3rd. Participants are asked to raise money through their marathons by soliciting donations from family, friends, or even livestream viewers. In the end, all of the cash raised over the course of the event goes to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, where it's used to provide hospital treatment for children in need. But of course, if you're reading Massively, then you're probably an MMO fan, so perhaps you'd like to join one of your favorite MMO studios in its Extra Life efforts. Funcom, Trion Worlds, En Masse, and Turbine all have teams taking part in the event, so if you want to be a part of Extra Life and show your allegiance to one of those studios in the process, all you have to do is head over to that team's Extra Life page and click "join team." Not only do all players who register for Extra Life get a digital copy of Defiance and a RIFT starter pack (for free!) just for signing up, but many of the studios are holding events and prize giveaways for players who participate under their banners. Know of other MMO studios or individuals playing MMOs for charity this weekend? Share links in the comments and spread the love. Extra Life fundraising marathon begins tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Nov 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Should MMOs put an end to veteran rewards? Posted: 01 Nov 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Ultima Online, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Anniversaries In previous Daily Grinds, we've asked you whether you sub for veteran rewards, whether they should be recycled, and whether they should be more awesome, but we've never asked you whether they should exist in the first place. Massively reader The_Grand_Nagus wrote to us pointing out that while old-school gamers, accustomed to playing a single game for years, take for granted veteran rewards and expect them from studios as something they "deserve" as compensation for their loyalty, other players consider that attitude to be selfish and entitled, believing that what vets got for their loyalty and money was the game they paid for and that they deserve nothing more, certainly not rewards that future players or new players can't realistically earn. The Ultima Online community, for just one example, spent the summer storming over whether new players should even be allowed to use veteran rewards purchased from actual veterans. Some players genuinely believe that all new players should wait another 16 years to erect a garden shed in their yards. Garden sheds are serious business. It all starts to seem a little silly in the context of our modern, free-to-play, game-hopping MMO culture, where veteran rewards teeter on becoming an outright waste of developer resources since few people stick around long enough to become vets (and games seldom stick around long enough to accrue such devotion). What's your take? Are veteran rewards a product of a bygone era of subscriptions and loyal communities? Should studios do away with them? Or should modern MMOs use veteran rewards to encourage loyalty in a market that seems to provide fewer and fewer reasons to stay faithful?  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: Should MMOs put an end to veteran rewards? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Nov 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Smashmuck Champions has a new champ, arena, controller support Posted: 31 Oct 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA If you're a Smashmuck Champions player, today's a good day because Kiz Studios has released a " mega-update with new champs, a new spooky arena, and -- answering the calls of fans -- controller support." A company press release has the details which include Kovax Nobo, a champ designed live by fans at PAX Prime. Oh, and there's also the Tesla Turret skill-swap, too. We've embedded two preview videos after the break. One focuses on Kovax while the other is a general patch update. [Source: Kiz Studios press release] Continue reading Smashmuck Champions has a new champ, arena, controller support Smashmuck Champions has a new champ, arena, controller support originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Bringing power from one LoL lane to another Posted: 31 Oct 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook In most of the League of Legends games that I win by a landslide, I win because my mid lane takes an early lead and uses it to help win our other lanes. Lately, my main role in League of Legends has been the jungler, and while it's nice to be fed as a jungler, I often can't win the game for my team even if I'm 6/0. However, my mid lane can simply by making things happen elsewhere. If you're ahead in your lane, you have to make your presence known, and sooner is better than later. It's nice to be 2/0 in mid lane or be up several kills as the support. However, if all you do from there is push the enemy team members to their turret and let them farm safely, you're not doing much to win the game as a whole. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Bringing power from one LoL lane to another The Summoner's Guidebook: Bringing power from one LoL lane to another originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Ask Massively: Nick Burns edition Posted: 31 Oct 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Humor, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous Today's Ask Massively letters come from David and Abionie, both of whom wrote us over the summer with comments about, well, our comments. This first one's from David: I'm probably not the only one who is generally displeased with the state of trolls on the internet today. You know them: doomsayers, hatespreaders, the "HAHA company X is failing, finally!" types, the kind of people for whom the hatred of a video game or company has become more addictive than playing the game that company made. Unfortunately, the internet gives soapboxes to people who probably don't have much of a relationship with soap. I would like to see more moderation towards keeping an articles comments on the topic of the article. It's becoming tiring to open up an article talking about something I am interested in, only to fear scrolling down too far and inadvertently opening up the comments to see "FAIL GAME IS FAIL COPYING X GAME IS LAZY" and the many hundreds of comments like that. We hear you, David, and not just about the soap. But also that. Continue reading Ask Massively: Nick Burns edition Ask Massively: Nick Burns edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Destiny devs on weapons, vehicles, and more Posted: 31 Oct 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, PvE, Dev Diaries, Destiny There's a new eight-minute Destiny video making the rounds, and you'll want to set aside time to watch it if you're curious about vehicle customization, weapons (three different classes, yo), and social features in Bungie's upcoming sci-fi shooter. Plenty of gameplay footage is on hand, and Bungie says players may choose to play a solo campaign and/or avoid PvP in spite of the title's online multiplayer stylings. Sadly, there's still no word of a PC version, so if you're OK with that, have a look at the video after the cut. Continue reading Destiny devs on weapons, vehicles, and more Destiny devs on weapons, vehicles, and more originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| League of Legends' Harrowing adds spooky skins and mystery gifting Posted: 31 Oct 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Free-to-Play, Promotions, MOBA, League of Legends Once again it's time for The Harrowing in League of Legends, and this Halloween-themed update contains spooky champion skins, a new mystery gifting system, and exclusive summoner's icons. There are two new champion skins that can be tried out during the event and purchased to keep afterward: a Haunted Zyra and Officer Vi. Riot Games is also bringing back legacy Harrowing skins for a limited time for those who missed them in previous years. Players can choose to spend their RP to send a mystery gift in the form of a random skin to a friend. This mystery gifting will result in a skin that's worth more RP than what it cost to buy, perhaps to encourage friends to gift to each other. The team's also added five summoner's icons that can be earned during the event. The Harrowing will continue through November 12th. League of Legends' Harrowing adds spooky skins and mystery gifting originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Shroud of the Avatar video gives six-month dev update Posted: 31 Oct 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Dev Diaries, Crafting, Housing, Shroud of the Avatar, Buy-to-Play Buckle down to a half-hour video from Lord British himself taking you through the development progress of Shroud of the Avatar now that it's hit the six-month mark. Lord British begins by showing off Kingsport Village and talking about how housing is one of the big features and choices of the game. The video continues to another town where the devs fade player housing in and out to demonstrate how towns might be built up over the course of the game. The housing decoration system and the different types of dwellings were toured, including Germanic, Druidic, and Nordic dwellings. He also shows off the female avatar, crafting, and the "natural language conversation system." The latter allows players to type full sentences to NPCs, who will then parse the conversation for important keywords. We've got the full developer commentary video for you after the break. Continue reading Shroud of the Avatar video gives six-month dev update Shroud of the Avatar video gives six-month dev update originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Final Fantasy XIV producer letter talks classes, cheating, and housing Posted: 31 Oct 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, Final Fantasy XIV, Community Q&A, Dev Diaries, Housing, Subscription A hefty two-and-a-half hour live Final Fantasy XIV producer's letter has tackled a wide range of questions from the community, including issues regarding class balance, anti-cheating efforts, and housing details. While free company housing is coming soon, the producer said that it will be another half-year or so before individual housing arrives. One of the big topics of the day was how the team is dealing with the disagreeable elements arising from the use of the duty finder. Square-Enix is considering changes to add a bulletin board-style system for more specific groups, better communication options for group participants, and an MVP voting system that will allow players to give points to good teammates that can be later spent on rewards. Executive Producer Naoki Yoshida also addressed the question of whether the game's subscriber numbers are decreasing: "As FFXIV:ARR is a subscription-based business model, naturally there will be players who will not play anymore once they finish the main scenario. MMORPGs that launched after 2008 with a subscription based model retained a maximum of 35% of their users during the first month of subscriptions. However, FFXIV:ARR has surpassed this number by a wide margin." There's a lot covered for Final Fantasy XIV players who want to be in the know, so check it out! Final Fantasy XIV producer letter talks classes, cheating, and housing originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Blink-182 will bring BlizzCon to an 'epic conclusion' Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:30 PM PDT |
| The Think Tank: How are we celebrating Halloween this year? Posted: 31 Oct 2013 12:00 PM PDT |
| The Guild Counsel: How to handle the horrors of conflict Posted: 31 Oct 2013 11:00 AM PDT |
| Perfect Ten: Virtual haunted houses Posted: 31 Oct 2013 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Lord of the Rings Online, Events (In-Game), Opinion, Star Trek Online, The Secret World, Humor, DC Universe Online, RIFT, Final Fantasy XIV, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous Happy Halloween! Or if that's not politically correct enough for you, Happy Scare-Related Holidays feat. the Stylings of Ed Casbar and His Electric Teeth. It'd be the best of holidays if most people didn't have a prejudice against a middle-aged guy going trick-or-treating. Hey, us adults need sugar fixes too, you know! And just because you don't understand my seductive Night Elf cosplay outfit doesn't mean it's less valid than the tots with Iron Man masks. At least the online world is prejudice-free, which is why I love bouncing around between MMOs looking for a little haunted mansion action. Let's take a quick tour through 10 virtual haunted houses that go from zany to freaky, although not necessarily in that order. Continue reading Perfect Ten: Virtual haunted houses Perfect Ten: Virtual haunted houses originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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And you thought the Halloween costumes you saw were good
The mother of all patent lawsuits
HTC One promises an update to KitKat within 90 days
Ooh la la!
Latest Catalyst driver from AMD makes BF4 more stable
