| Rise and Shiny: Genia Brain Storm Posted: 12 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Screenshots, Video, Game Mechanics, Interviews, PvP, Hands-On, Rise and Shiny, Livestream I love it when I come across a game that surprises me. I usually load up MMOs well before I commit to writing about them just to test out whether or not it's worthwhile. I've covered too many duds to know that if I don't check the game out, I could be stuck with a game that literally doesn't work. So I signed up for a free Brain Storm account, picked out where my city should be located (based on a real-world map), and started the tutorial. At first I thought that an MMO that is essentially one part quiz-show, one part MMORTS, and one part SimCity-ish builder would come off as hokey and much too easy. But I was wrong on a lot of fronts. This game is clever, clean, and a lot of fun. Continue reading Rise and Shiny: Genia Brain Storm  Rise and Shiny: Genia Brain Storm originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Jan 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| One Shots: Crystal death Posted: 12 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Screenshots, EverQuest II, Culture, Guild Wars 2, One Shots, Final Fantasy XIV, Miscellaneous Reader Vexia is going to kick off our meeting of the Dungeoneers Anonymous Club here at Massively (motto: "Aw, just wipe it") by meeting a recent screenshot challenge to send in a picture from a dungeon. "Here is the Crystal Tower in Final Fantasy XIV, which cuts a fine figure over Silvertear Lake," she wrote in. "It's stunning to behold both within and without, and it contains bosses reminiscent of those in Final Fantasy III, the first Final Fantasy game to feature the Crystal Tower dungeon. The Keeper of the Lake can be seen in the right corner of this shot, a monument that contains the bones of the Guardian of Silvertear Falls (the Midgardsormr) and the wreckage of the massive Garlean Empire airship (Agrius). The Midgardsormr sacrificed itself to bring down the airship in a valiant act of altruism that no doubt saved the lives of many innocent Eorzeans! It's one of my favorite bits of the game's lore." Did you get all of that? I feel as though there's going to be a test. I might need to cheat off of your sheets. Insert one quarter to continue this column, by the way. Continue reading One Shots: Crystal death One Shots: Crystal death originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Jan 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Should MMO nights be darker and different? Posted: 12 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous While some MMOs don't even bother with a proper day/night cycle these days, the ones that do have pretty well-lit nights. It's basically day with a blue filter overlaid for thematic purposes, but if you stub your toe, it's usually because you're not paying attention, not because you simply can't see the root in front of you. But there are those who would very much like a more immersive night: darker, different, and even more challenging. These nights might require a torch or flashlight to see what's in front of you, and they may also feature a different set of nocturnal beasts that emerge when the sun goes down. What if nights required warmer clothes to enable us to brave the colder environments? If you had your druthers, would you like your MMO nights to be darker and different? How so?  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 MMO nights be darker and different? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Jan 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 29, 2013 - January 11, 2014 Posted: 11 Jan 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Make My MMO Was 2013 the year of Kickstarter? Whatever you think personally about the funding model, you can't argue with the fact that over $480 million was pledged through the crowdfunding platform in the last calendar year. That's definitely one hunk of change! But whether or not that figure translates into a tidal wave of awesome games has yet to be seen; the jury will remain out until even more funded games actually release and players get to experience what they backed. As for specific MMO news this past fortnight, the bulk of it involves new titles vying for a slice of 2014's crowdfunding pie. The CCG War of Omens has already grabbed a piece; it met its goal and has moved on to stretch goals for the last couple of days. Other hopefuls include more two space strategy games. Learn more about all of these, as well as the news from the funded front, right here in Make My MMO. Continue reading Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 29, 2013 - January 11, 2014 Make My MMO: Crowdfunding December 29, 2013 - January 11, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Norrathian Notebook: The top 10 Tattered moments of 2013 Posted: 11 Jan 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Tattered Notebook, EverQuest Next, Norrathian Notebook At the end of every year and the beginning of a new one, many people kick back and review what went well and what went wrong. We certainly got a taste of something that went wrong last week, so let's switch gears and focus on the positive! For my one-year anniversary as a writer of this column (I took over this piece exactly one year ago this week), I felt it was particularly appropriate to reflect back on the previous year, highlighting the best moments of The Tattered Notebook. Actually deciding on only 10 articles to fill out my favorites turned out to be more difficult than I thought. There we were plenty of useful guides, videos, holiday celebrations, and even a peek at a certain upcoming game. But when forced to choose, these particular moments all stand out. See if my picks coincide with yours! Continue reading Norrathian Notebook: The top 10 Tattered moments of 2013 Norrathian Notebook: The top 10 Tattered moments of 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Repopulation knocks out another stretch goal Posted: 11 Jan 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, News Items, PvE, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, The Repopulation The Repopulation has met another Kickstarter stretch goal. Adversarial camps will now make it into the finished sci-fi sandbox title, and more importantly the way is clear for the next stretch goal: Points of Intrigue. These points are an extension of the game's engagement system. The PvE versions of PoI will pop up randomly throughout the game world and they'll require anywhere from a few players to multiple groups. The PvP versions of PoI will involve capture points and Nation-based rewards. The ultimate goal of the entire system is "to provide an ever-changing list of opportunities which encourage players to work together under a common goal." The Repopulation knocks out another stretch goal originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: Future classes and jobs for Final Fantasy XIV? Posted: 11 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game Mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log, Subscription A long time ago, I speculated a bit on what classes and jobs we might see added to Final Fantasy XIV. And I do mean a long time ago in internet terms; this was back before we knew that Arcanist and Summoner were going to be linked, for example. A lot of new information has come to light between then and now, the sort of stuff that requires a whole new round of speculation. Some of that speculation is, of course, completely out there. Some of it isn't. And some of it is out there in a way that would be totally cool and would attract a whole lot of interest. So let's take a look at some potential jobs, classes, and whatnot to see where they might fit into the game... or even whether they'll fit into the game. There's probably no space for Celebrant, sadly. Continue reading The Mog Log: Future classes and jobs for Final Fantasy XIV? The Mog Log: Future classes and jobs for Final Fantasy XIV? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Microsoft's 'very strange view' of F2P keeping War Thunder off Xbox One Posted: 11 Jan 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Historical, Business Models, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, War, Free-to-Play I always feel like I should speak -- or type, I suppose -- in one of those monster truck rally commercial voices when I bring up War Thunder. You know the ones I mean, where Testosterone Man takes a break from doing action movie trailers to come on your radio and shout "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Come on down to Gaijin airpark for the mother of all airshows! Bring the family, stay for the day, and enter for your chance to win two Steam copies of WAAAAAR THUNNNNNNNNNNDERRRR!" Or something like that. Anyhow, this is supposed to be a news post about War Thunder. The particulars include an interview with Gaijin PR man Alexander Trifonov, who says that a tablet version of the World War II flight sim is currently in process. He also mentions that cross-platform play between PC pilots and PlayStation 4 pilots is still on the table. Finally, he offers a clue as to why War Thunder won't be coming to Xbox One. "The absence of War Thunder on Xbox One has nothing to do with hardware itself. This is a very capable machine, and our team has a long history of developing games for Microsoft systems," Trifonov explains. "But the policy of the platform-holder (no cross-platform allowed and a very strange view on how free-to-play should work) makes it impossible to have War Thunder on Xbox One." [Thanks Heather!] Microsoft's 'very strange view' of F2P keeping War Thunder off Xbox One originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Making mischief with a Protector soldier in LotRO Posted: 11 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-Play, Livestream, The Stream Team Last time, Massively's MJ suffered through the unwise antics of her Warrior soldier in Lord of the Rings Online's Thievery and Mischief skirmish. As promised, this go-around she's inviting the tank soldier along. Will there be a significant difference, and if so, will it be for the better or the worst? Will the Protector protect her, or will he exhibit behavior befitting one who's been smacked in the head a few too many times? Join us live at 2:00 p.m. to see how it all plays out. Game: Lord of the Rings Online Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Saturday, January 11th, 2014 Time: 2:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Making mischief with a Protector soldier in LotRO The Stream Team: Making mischief with a Protector soldier in LotRO originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 11 Jan 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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