| Experience Entropy's character creator with new video Posted: 03 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items The new space sim Entropy hit the scene last month through Steam's early access program, and interested explorers can get a glimpse of character creation thanks to a new video. Players can be a variety of alien species on top of human, or just add alien characteristics to a human. While the options for hair and facial features are not extensive (most have no more than eight ) and the color pallet is fairly limited (ranging between five and 14 choices for most options), players can still create a reasonably unique character -- or an approximation of The Hulk, if desired -- thanks to the number of different features that can be altered. Looks are not the only thing players must settle on, either; one point that the video emphasizes is that picking a background for your character actually has meaning as whichever choice you make grants you different skills and items upon entering the game. Check out some of those options available in the clip below. Continue reading Experience Entropy's character creator with new video  Experience Entropy's character creator with new video originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jan 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond Posted: 03 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Game Mechanics, Miscellaneous, Some Assembly Required, Sandbox Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you. Continue reading Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jan 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Sony Online Entertainment changes benefits for subscriptions Posted: 03 Jan 2014 07:30 AM PST Filed under: EverQuest II, Business Models, News Items, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous, PlanetSide 2 It's a fairly common model for free-to-play games that offer a subscription -- subscribers get an allowance of cash-shop currency in addition to other benefits. It's how Sony Online Entertainment's games have worked for as long as they've had the model. But EverQuest II and PlanetSide 2 subscribers are seeing a new version of subscriber benefits, one that removes the usual Station Cash allowance and replaces it with an item worth the equivalent amount or more. Every month, players are given a choice between one of several items worth up to 2000 Station Cash. This item must be selected on a monthly basis, as benefits do not carry over from month to month. While the net amount of rewards should be functionally identical, it will mean fewer options about what you acquire on a monthly basis, especially as Player Studio items are listed as exclusions from the list. If you're unhappy with the change, you've got time to say so, as the change is not going into effect until February 3rd. [Thanks to Balsbigbrother for the tip!] Sony Online Entertainment changes benefits for subscriptions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jan 2014 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| McQuaid's MMO is Pantheon: Rise of The Fallen Posted: 03 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Miscellaneous Thanks to some sleuthing of one fan, the name of Brad McQuaid's upcoming MMO has been discovered -- and confirmed -- on Twitter. Behold Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen! Unfortunately, the name of the project is the only tidbit of information that has been confirmed so far, although additional information has been compiled as to who might actually be a part of the development team: Noell Walling, Tony Vhalen Garcia, Ben de la Durantaye, James Rochelle, and Corey LeFever. It also appears that SOE is the registrar for the domain PantheonROTF.com, but there is no indication of what that might mean. For those who are concerned about how McQuaid will handle this new project, he acknowledged that due to his initial big success, he "became extremely arrogant, thinking whatever [he] touched would turn into gold," but he learned from his mistakes and is looking forward. [Thanks to BaBaGraPL for the tip!] McQuaid's MMO is Pantheon: Rise of The Fallen originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jan 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Storyboard: What housing does for roleplaying Posted: 03 Jan 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous Those of you who read the other meanderings that I post on the site already know that I am very, very unhappy about the mess that Final Fantasy XIV has made out of housing. You don't need to hear about it again, though. What's far more relevant is addressing a question that at once seems screamingly straightforward and yet barely gets answered: Why does housing matter so much for roleplaying? Pretty much no one argues with the basic premise that housing is a boon for roleplaying, but that discussion usually stops there. It's assumed that the reasons it's helpful is self-evident in much the same way that having a game that does not set fire to your face is desirable. But it's useful to examine why at least affordable entry-level housing in a game is important for roleplaying and how it can lead to benefits for the community as a whole. Continue reading Storyboard: What housing does for roleplaying Storyboard: What housing does for roleplaying originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jan 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Are MMO gamers aging out of the genre? Posted: 03 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous In a recent report, Resident Evil developer Capcom claimed that its playerbase's average age is inching upward and its core users are in their late 30s and 40s, making for the "increasing possibility that some percentage of the existing users will outgrow games altogether." The Resident Evil games aren't MMOs, of course, but journalists and commenters have been suggesting the same pattern for the MMORPG genre for years as a way to explain everything from the rise of "accessible" MMOs to the reduction of grindy time-consuming gameplay to themes seemingly catering to those darn kids on our lawn. Perhaps armchair demographers are wrong and the future holds the promise of retirement homes filled with gaming rigs and World of Warcraft IV. What do you think -- are classic MMO gamers slowly aging out of the genre? Is MMO gaming something we "outgrow," or is it something we're ultimately pushed away from?  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: Are MMO gamers aging out of the genre? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jan 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Pooling your efforts to win LoL games Posted: 02 Jan 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook Winning in League of Legends isn't only about skill. Sometimes you completely rock your lane and go 7/0 in laning phase yet manage to lose the game. Blaming your team is totally reasonable there, but the truth is probably closer to home than you think. A team that is working together will prevail regardless of the strength of its individual members and in most cases regardless of its strategic decisions. I've had games where we had one losing lane and no other big lane advantages (I stole a blue buff once, and both junglers took some Flashes but didn't get any big wins), then went on to utterly destroy the enemy because we pulled together as a team despite having a 5/0 Riven on the enemy team. I've also had games where we had two people with over 5 kills in laning phase and still managed to lose. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Pooling your efforts to win LoL games The Summoner's Guidebook: Pooling your efforts to win LoL games originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Battling Thievery and Mischief in LotRO's skirmishes Posted: 02 Jan 2014 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-Play, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team The quest to run every Lord of the Rings Online skirmish has barely begun! With so many different skirmishes available, Massively's MJ has just scratched the surface, so she's diving back into Middle-earth in order to experience yet another. And wouldn't you know it, Bree is in trouble again! Brigands and ruffians have seized control of the city and MJ will fight to reclaim it. Join us live at 7:00 p.m. for a fight against the everyday evil that threatens Middle-earth in Thievery and Mischief. Game: Lord of the Rings Online Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Thursday, January 2nd, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Battling Thievery and Mischief in LotRO's skirmishes The Stream Team: Battling Thievery and Mischief in LotRO's skirmishes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE's CSM8 summit minutes released Posted: 02 Jan 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Subscription From the better-late-than-never department, CCP brings you the minutes for the first scheduled summit of CSM8, which is shorthand for the eighth incarnation of EVE Online's player-run Council of Stellar Management. The meeting happened in August, 2013, and even though it's now January 2nd, 2014, there's plenty of info to wade through including bits on the economy, the state of balance, and EVE Valkyrie. EVE's CSM8 summit minutes released originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SWTOR's 2.6 patch adding new ships, boosting Operative/Scoundrel DPS Posted: 02 Jan 2014 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Classes, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, PvE, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic BioWare community manager Eric Musco took to Star Wars: The Old Republic's forums earlier today to deliver a preview of the game's next major patch. The 2.6 update will unlock the Galactic Starfighter expansion for F2P players as well as introduce a new gunship variant and two new bomber variants. The patch will also feature "a few class changes" including significant DPS boosts for Operatives/Scoundrels. You can read the full post on the SWTOR boards. SWTOR's 2.6 patch adding new ships, boosting Operative/Scoundrel DPS originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Living it up in more Secret World Lairs Posted: 02 Jan 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Video, The Secret World, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team, Buy-to-Play Last week, Massively's MJ and her team were unable to procure all the body parts necessary to summon the final boss in The Secret World's Egyptian Lair. If all goes well this time around, the plan is to start with a ritual summoning (hey, what's more TSW than that?), then move on to another Lair in a different zone. As a bonus, MJ will start with an extra summoning: Hel in Niflheim. Don't miss out on this summoning and Lair extravaganza and join us live at 5:00 p.m. for a front-row seat. Mj Guthrie Date: Thursday, January 2nd, 2014 Time: 5:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Living it up in more Secret World Lairs The Stream Team: Living it up in more Secret World Lairs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Mabinogi II: Arena stops development Posted: 02 Jan 2014 01:30 PM PST |
| Alter Ego: Issue #5 - Opportunity Knocks in DCUO Posted: 02 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Galleries, Screenshots, MMO Industry, PvE, Free-to-Play, Comics, Roleplaying, DC Universe Online, Alter-Ego Previously in Massively's DC Universe Online comic, Kid Critical teamed up with Batwoman to rid Gotham of the Scarecrow and his hallucinogenic fear gas. Now, a new villain is filling the void, as the masked strongman Bane has set up shop in the city's East End and is terrorizing its citizens with an army of thugs powered by his rage-inducing venom. Can The Kid and the Bat family put a stop to his nefarious plans? Find out in Alter Ego: Issue #5, after the cut! Continue reading Alter Ego: Issue #5 - Opportunity Knocks in DCUO Alter Ego: Issue #5 - Opportunity Knocks in DCUO originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Guild Counsel: Seven New Year's resolutions every guild leader should make Posted: 02 Jan 2014 12:00 PM PST |
| Is League of Legends greedy? No, says Riot Games president Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, MOBA, League of Legends Responding to claims that Riot Games is being greedy and lazy for failing to create an updated client for League of Legends, President Marc Merrill posted a sharp-tongued rebuttal on Reddit yesterday. "It's pretty frustrating when people try to position us as greedy," Merill began, "because look at it from our perspective: We build pretty much the first successful free online game in the west that core gamers actually really like and play. We did this by building a really fun game, constantly investing over and over to grow and improve this game and by NOT selling power or being money hungry." Merill said that "millions upon millions" play the game for completely free, which is completely fine with Riot Games, and that the studio does the right thing in the end such as its response to the e-sports contract controversy. "I completely disagree with your greed accusation and yes, it pisses me off because I've spent the last eight years of my life building this company, game, and team to deliver great value and to treat players well," he wrote. Is League of Legends greedy? No, says Riot Games president originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| TERA is creating a flying scythe-user class Posted: 02 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Previews, Free-to-Play, TERA TERA's taking terror and pre-adolescent creepiness to the skies with an upcoming class, tentatively called the Flying Scythe-user. Details about the new class are a little spotty due to the translation from Korean (so don't take that class name as gospel), but it looks as though the Elin-only class will be a ranged character that harnesses dark magic and flings scythes and chains across the battlefield. The Flying Scythe-user will be unlocked once a player hits level 40 on another character, emerging into the light as a level 50 toon. Some of this class' skills include chain attacks, a dark explosion, an AoE whip, spinning blades, and a dark shield. The class will be very nimble, with abilities to ignore attacks, quickly dodge, and swap places with the enemy. The class will be first available in Korea, with a presumable jump to other regions thereafter. [Thanks to Vunak for the tip!] TERA is creating a flying scythe-user class originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| DayZ sells 400,000 copies in its first week of early access Posted: 02 Jan 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Horror, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic, Miscellaneous The holiday season makes zombies of us all, as we lurch hither and yon through a combination of exhaustion and overeating. So it's totally understandable that you may have forgotten to really check in on the activities of DayZ's early access during the holidays. But now we're all back up and running, and it turns out the game did quite well for itself, with 400,000 copies sold during its first week of early access on Steam. The official update stresses once again that the game is still very much in an early state, and the people who purchase it should be ready to take part in the ongoing development progress rather than expecting to get a finished game. While the team has understandably been taking a bit of a break over the holiday season, the game has its immediate future already mapped out. Despite the delays, the game seems very much alive in its current state. DayZ sells 400,000 copies in its first week of early access originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jan 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It's an all-in-one with Android inside
This isn't your typical desk (or case)
Wireless wars are heating up
The year of affordable Android tablets has begun
Same on the inside, different on the outside
