General Gaming Article

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• Rig of the Month Roundup
• Dell Joins Wireless Power Group to Promote Wireless Laptop Charging
• HP Sees Spike in PC Sales, Posts Quarterly Revenue of $28.2 Billion
• G.Skill Overclocks SO--DIMM Memory to 2600MHz, Proves Little Sticks Have Big Potential
• Cougar Takes Swipe at Building Premium Power Supplies for Gamers
• Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Graphics Card, Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SSD, and More!

Rig of the Month Roundup Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:59 AM PST We're looking for the coolest custom computer cases and we want your submissions! It's been a long time since we've deemed a case mod worthy of our Rig of the Month title. In fact, it's been over three years since we've featured a particularly badass project—see the 8-bit Black Mage. Fortunately, we've come to our senses and we're reviving the series, but we need your help! We know you guys have got some interesting case mods out there and we want to see them! We're also sure lots of other readers would like to gawk and drool over them as well so let us help you share your cool custom computer case with the world! If you're a case modder with something that deserves the Rig of the Month title, let us know by dropping us an email at mpcrigofthemonth@gmail.com. Make sure to include your name, a 300-word description of why your PC is amazing along with specs (and how it was modified), and no fewer than three high-resolution JPEGs of the build. Please try and use a high-quality camera with good lighting and make sure to bust out your photography skills! We will not accept any blurry, low-res camera-phone grade images because we'd like readers to see your awesome rig in the best light possible! Here are some specific case-shooting photography tips:  Try to avoid using flash and opt for existing natural light. In addition, use things like white curtains to diffuse the bright sun. Make sure your case is in focus! Nothing ruins a picture of a nice-looking case than a blurry shot. Clean your case before you shoot it. No one wants to see all that nasty dust all over the place! Experimenting with shooting from multiple angles. Select the right backdrop. Your system could look cooler with a nice/clean background as opposed to on your messy floor with cables strewn about.  When shooting, use a tripod or if you can't get one, shoot from a stable surface such as a box or even a pillow. If your camera has exposure compensation, try playing around with under-exposing or over exposing until you get the effects you want. In addition to requiring pretty photos, we'll be judging the rigs based on creativity and craftsmanship. To kick things off, we've gathered up some of our favorite Rig of the Month winners in the gallery below. Click the gallery image for the full shot and feel free to get more detail on each custom case by clicking on their individual respective links in the descriptions.

Dell Joins Wireless Power Group to Promote Wireless Laptop Charging Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:19 AM PST Future laptops could go completely cordless The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) scored a big win by adding its first major PC OEM to its ranks. That OEM is Dell, which joins an A4WP alliance that's over 80 members strong. Quite a few heavy hitters are part of the group, including Broadcomm, Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung, Fujitsu, HTC, LG, Panasonic, SanDisk, and more. The group's goal is to standardize a wireless power transfer protocol using near-field magnetic resonance technology. Called "Rezence," the wireless charging standard has the ability to charge more than one device at the same time without the need for a dock. It also just got a boost in power (literally) through a secondary, higher-powered initiative focusing on wirelessly charging electronic products from 20 watts to 50 watts, which would allow the technology to be used on ultrabooks, laptops, and mid-powered appliances that extend well beyond smartphones and tablets. "The development of magnetic resonance technology will improve the customer experience when it comes to wireless charging and bring the capability into more homes and businesses over the next few years," said Glen Robson, Dell VP and CTO. "We are excited to work with other industry leaders in the A4WP to deliver on the promise of easy, flexible wireless charging across an array of mobile devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops." Using near-field magentic resonance technology paves the way for wireless charging solutions to be installed into a variety of products and surfaces, such as cars and furniture. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

HP Sees Spike in PC Sales, Posts Quarterly Revenue of $28.2 Billion Posted: 21 Feb 2014 09:28 AM PST Turnaround effort appears to be working for HP The worst may be over in terms of slumping PC sales that have made headlines throughout the past year. HP, the second largest PC supplier in the world, reported a 4 percent jump in PC sales compared to last year en route to posting a $28.2 billion quarter for its fiscal period ended January 31, 2014. That's actually a 1 percent decline in net revenue compared to the same quarter a year ago, but still higher than Wall Street was expecting. HP's growth in PC sales is mostly due to commercial customers. Commercial revenue in the PC sector increased 8 percent, enough to offset a 3 percent decline in consumer PC sales. Total unit shipments grew 6 percent with desktops declining 3 percent and laptops increasing 5 percent. "HP is in a stronger position today than we've been in quite some time," said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. "The progress we're making is reflected in growth across several parts of our portfolio, the growing strength of our balance sheet, and the strong support we're receiving from customers and channel partners. Innovation is igniting our comeback, and at a time when many of our competitors are confronting new challenges, two years of turnaround work is setting us up for an exciting future." HP said it generated $3 billion in cash flow from operations in the first quarter, up 17 percent from the same period a year prior. That represents the eighth consecutive quarterly improvement of over $1 billion. Furthermore, HP returned $843 million to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases in the first quarter. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

G.Skill Overclocks SO--DIMM Memory to 2600MHz, Proves Little Sticks Have Big Potential Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:57 AM PST Smaller size systems don't signal the end of overclocking We still find full tower system sexy as ever, but there's a definite trend right now toward small form factor (SFF) rigs. Valve is partially responsible for the movement as it finds ways to encourage PC gamers to play in the living room via Big Picture Mode and Steam Machines, both of which are proving popular. Wondering what impact this trend will have on overclocking? No doubt trying to overclock in tightly packed systems becomes a bigger challenge due to higher temps, but it's not impossible -- just ask the folks at G.Skill who overclocked a set of Ripjaws SO-DIMM memory to DDR3-2600 speeds. G.Skill overclocked the memory kit inside of ASRock's latest M8 barebones system. The Ripjaws kit consisted of two 4GB modules of 2133MHz RAM with a CAS latency of 11 and 1.35V. To reach the 2600MHz mark, G.Skill had to relax the timings a tad to 12-14-14-35, up from 11-11-11-36. "As high end desktops slowly evolve itself into small form factor, G.Skill spared no time expanding its best-in-class quality & overclocking legacy from desktop memory to SO-DIMM memory, by overclocking its 'Ripjaws' 2133MHz C11 8GB (4GBx2) 1.35V memory kit to a whopping 2600MHz under dual channel operation on ASRock M8!," G.Skill said. SO-DIMM kits have traditionally been used in laptops, though they're also found in some SFF systems. The F3-2133C11D-8GRSL kit G.Skill used is its highest performing SO-DIMM available Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Cougar Takes Swipe at Building Premium Power Supplies for Gamers Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:34 AM PST New GX V3 series from Cougar boast 80 Plus Gold certification Gamers are a demanding bunch, and if you're a PC component or peripheral maker, you better bring your A-game or risk being called out for gimmicky features. Cougar, a name you don't hear too often in the U.S., thinks its new GX V3 power supply family makes the cut. These units are being billed as high-end PSUs specifically for gamers, which starts with 80 Plus Gold level efficiency. Cougar said it built the GX V3 series from the ground up with efficiency in mind. These PSUs employ a bunch of fancy pants features, such as RST (Rapid Switch Technology), DC to DC technology, high quality Japanese capacitors, and a CLC filter design that suppresses ripple and noise to less than 1 percent. These are partially modular units (with flat cables) measuring a comparatively short 160mm in length. Gamers have three models to choose from -- 600w, 800w, and 1050w. Each one sports a rugged black coating and gold vent grill. All three also make use of dual +12V rails. MSRPs for the GX V3 models are $189 (GX1050), $149 (GX800), and $109 (GX600). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Graphics Card, Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SSD, and More! Posted: 21 Feb 2014 06:43 AM PST Top Deal: If we woke up today only to find that we'd somehow been transported back 15 years to 1999, we'd be talking about Nvidia's first GeForce-branded graphics card, the GeForce 256 (NV10). In fact, Nvidia marketed the card as having the world's first GPU since it was the first to integrate a geometry transform engine, dynamic lighting engine, 4-pixel rendering pipeline, and DirectX 7 features onto the graphics chip. Returning to the present day, we're still talking about Nvidia's GeForce cards, only today's variants are much more advanced. One of them is also the topic of today's top deal -- an EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Graphics Card w/ ACX Cooler for $517 with free shipping (normally $600 - use coupon code: [EMCPHHP24]; additional $20 mail-in-rebate and Free Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag with purchase). This card has 2,304 CUDA cores and 3GB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit bus -- stats that would have sounded like gibberish 15 years ago. Other Deals: Samsung 840 EVO 2.5-inch 500GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive for $295 with free shipping (normally $300 - use coupon code: [EMCPHHP26]) Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 Video Card for $700 with free shipping and Free Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag with purchase) Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor for $220 with free shipping (normally $230 - use coupon code: [EMCPHHP39]) Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive for $110 with free shipping (normally $140 - use coupon code: [EMCPHHP23])

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MMO Updates

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• Massively Rewind: ESO's crafting, WoW's quickie 90s, and the CU pledge
• ArcheAge launches in Russia tomorrow
• Study says what you play can affect who you are
• The Stream Team: Exploring the first shiphand mission in WildStar
• Aura Kingdom hacked and emails stolen
• February will be a big month for PlanetSide 2
• The Daily Grind: Do you get emotionally involved in MMOs?
• The Stream Team: Larger than life in EverQuest
• TUG lead dev explains why crafting is 'vital to your survival'
• Star Citizen devs mind-melding with Kingdom Come's Warhorse team
• The Summoner's Guidebook: Don't be afraid of LoL; just do it!
• Pantheon update talks Planes of Arcana
• Champions Online's rampage revamp goes live
• The Think Tank: Are unofficial MMO fansites and forums important to you?
• Diablo III works on new community tools
• The Stream Team: Trolling for trolls in RIFT's Stonefield
• Talking the past and present of MMOs with Brian 'Psychochild' Green
• Shroud of the Avatar adds multiplayer features for release 3
• The Guild Counsel: What do you need to be a guild leader?

Massively Rewind: ESO's crafting, WoW's quickie 90s, and the CU pledge Posted: 21 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Video, MMO Industry, News Items, Opinion, Massively Meta, Humor, Miscellaneous, MMORPG, Massively Rewind It's Friday once again, and that means it's time for you to snap out of the work week haze and watch Massively Rewind to catch up on the latest MMO news. Don't worry if this is your first time watching because there's honestly not much you need to do at all. Just grab a cup o' joe and listen. This week Salem offers up a pair of stories: one involving porn stars and the other all about wiping. Thankfully, they aren't related. ZeniMax released a video showing off the crafting in The Elder Scrolls Online, while Mark Jacobs promised Camelot Unchained fans that there will be no launch delays. Finally, it looks as if Blizzard is considering charging World of Warcraft players $60 for a boost to level 90. Check out the video after the break. Continue reading Massively Rewind: ESO's crafting, WoW's quickie 90s, and the CU pledge Massively Rewind: ESO's crafting, WoW's quickie 90s, and the CU pledge originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

ArcheAge launches in Russia tomorrow Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, MMO Industry, News Items, ArcheAge, Sandbox At a press conference in Moscow, Russia, earlier today, XLGAMES announced that ArcheAge will officially launch in that country tomorrow, February 22nd. During the conference, founder Jake Song expressed deep gratitude to the Russian fans for their support during the most recent Russian closed beta testing; so many wanted to participate that ArcheAge Russia publisher Mail.ru had to increase servers to accommodate. Song continued, "I already knew that Russian gamers are very enthusiastic about ArcheAge from what they showed at ArcheAge Korea CBT. To keep up with their expectations we plan to add exclusive contents just for Russian gamers." [Source: XLGAMES press release] ArcheAge launches in Russia tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Study says what you play can affect who you are Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:30 AM PST Filed under: Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items Does playing an evil character influence gamers to be less than nice in real life? A recent study conducted at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests just that. Gunwoo Yoon, lead author on the project, told Reuters Health, "The biggest finding of the paper is that virtual representation of your avatar can profoundly affect real world behavior [...] And the fascinating thing is that the participants did not perceive these effects." The experiment involved a group of college students that played for five minutes as one of three avatars in a game: Superman (hero), Voldemort (villain), or a circle (neutral). After the gaming session, participants then had to decide how much chocolate sauce or chili sauce to give to other participants in a supposedly unrelated taste test. As it turns out, those who used the Superman avatar poured twice as much chocolate sauce (symbolizing a "good" deed) than chili sauce (a "bad" deed), whereas those who played as Voldemort did exactly the opposite. The study authors suggest a possible explanation for these effects might be related to the lasting influence of total immersion in a virtual environment. [Thanks to Jose for the tip!] Study says what you play can affect who you are originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Daily News

The Stream Team: Exploring the first shiphand mission in WildStar Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Hands-On, Livestream, WildStar, The Stream Team, Subscription, MMORPG Reaching the teen levels in WildStar is quite exciting. You'll discover the capital cities, develop your own housing plot, and go on instanced adventures. If you're itching to get off Planet Nexus for a while, shiphand missions will be right up your alley. Shiphand missions are extended instanced quests that you can do solo or with your friends. During the first shiphand, called the Steady Traveler, you explore an asteroid infested with a nasty plague. Join Massively's Richie as he tackles the first shiphand mission in WildStar live at 10:00 a.m. EST. Game: WildStar Host: Richie "Bog Otter" Procopio Date: Friday, February 21st, 2014 Time: 10:00 a.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Exploring the first shiphand mission in WildStar The Stream Team: Exploring the first shiphand mission in WildStar originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Aura Kingdom hacked and emails stolen Posted: 21 Feb 2014 06:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-Play, Legal Recent hacking into Aura Kingdom's database apparently resulted in stolen email addresses that are being used to pester users. Players are reporting that they're getting invitations sent to these emails from an individual asking them to join an Aura Kingdom private server. Fortunately Aeria Games does not store credit card information, so it seems as though that information is safe. An Aeria Games GM responded to the claims by saying that the company is investigating the issue: "Thanks for reporting this. We'll look closely into this reports. We will let you know if we need more information. Also note, we do not process any payments, this is done through the service you utilize to buy AP. So this is not something we store." [Thanks to Thomas for the tip!] Aura Kingdom hacked and emails stolen originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Aeria Games forums

February will be a big month for PlanetSide 2 Posted: 21 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Patches, Previews, War, Free-to-Play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 PlanetSide 2 continues to gain updates and new content. It's still pushing itself to be the best place to find massive battles with the most players, and a recent host of tweaks, fixes, updates and changes have made many MMOFPS fans very excited for the rest of the year. So what's happening to the MMOFPS in the month of February? We asked Matt Higby, Creative Director for PlanetSide 2, to explain just that. Continue reading February will be a big month for PlanetSide 2 February will be a big month for PlanetSide 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you get emotionally involved in MMOs? Posted: 21 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Lore, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Roleplaying, Miscellaneous Massively reader sty0pa offered up today's Daily Grind question to us, and it was too good to pass up: "In which MMO quest or event have you been the most emotionally involved? I was just reading You Awaken in Razor Hill and thinking that World of Warcraft was pretty good at poignant quest lines, and it made me wonder what people had found in other games." I agree that for a game lately panned for its pandas, WoW has some great storylines. The coin in the image above still gives me goosebumps of sadness when I read Jaina's hopeless wish. But then again, I've never stayed up until 4 in the morning because of a game's plot; it takes a player-driven roleplaying plot to really get me that emotionally invested to the point that I have real tears in my eyes for characters that are entirely fictional. What about you? Do you get emotionally involved in MMO stories or lore or quest lines? If so, which one stands out the most for you? 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 get emotionally involved in MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Feb 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Larger than life in EverQuest Posted: 20 Feb 2014 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, EverQuest, Free-to-Play, Livestream, The Stream Team Massively's MJ may not actually be a 50-foot Froglok atop Freeport, but that doesn't mean her EverQuest adventures in this next episode of CMA Live aren't larger than life! There are new lands to explore, and that means plenty of new trains to zone just waiting to happen. Want to see how this Shadowknight fares? Join us live at 9:00 p.m. and get a front-row seat Game: EverQuest Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Thursday, February 20th, 2014 Time: 9:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Larger than life in EverQuest The Stream Team: Larger than life in EverQuest originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

TUG lead dev explains why crafting is 'vital to your survival' Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Crafting TUG lead designer John Bearden has published the first in a series of dev blogs focused on the crowdfunded sandbox title. This first go-round focuses on crafting, which Bearden says is "vital to your survival." He goes on to detail the dev team's thinking in terms of designing the full system, and even shares some early mockups. Bearden also explains why TUG's crafting UI is minimalistic compared to some of its MMO predecessors. "We never wanted to have a full UI system for the crafting process. From the beginning, we have always wanted to keep it very natural and intuitive for the player," he explains. "Early crafting should capture the feel of a scavenger or early explorer gathering items and sorting them in a natural workspace for assembly." Nerd Kingdom is also featured in a new interview/video diary that you can view after the break. Continue reading TUG lead dev explains why crafting is 'vital to your survival' TUG lead dev explains why crafting is 'vital to your survival' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev blog

Star Citizen devs mind-melding with Kingdom Come's Warhorse team Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play Star Citizen creator Chris Roberts has penned a new dev blog announcing Cloud Imperium's cooperation with fellow indie outfit Warhorse. Warhorse is currently building a single-player RPG called Kingdom Come: Deliverance that's set in medieval Europe, and Roberts was so impressed with the project that he both backed it himself and sought to exchange ideas with its developers. Both Star Citizen and Kingdom Come are built on the CryEngine, and Roberts says both dev teams will be collaborating going forward. "Star Citizen doesn't need peasants and knights," he explained, "but it does need a robust character creation system for the persistent universe. And that technology is exactly what Warhorse is building for the CryEngine. Star Citizen devs mind-melding with Kingdom Come's Warhorse team originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev blog

The Summoner's Guidebook: Don't be afraid of LoL; just do it! Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:00 PM PST Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook Everyone who plays League of Legends has bad games every now and then. Everyone has bad community experiences, too. I think it's rare to have a game where everything just feels exciting and positive and wonderful all the way through. LoL is really not well-designed for that. However, it's fear of loss, of playing poorly, and of dealing with jerks that keeps us from actually enjoying the game. Those things are real, but if you let those things get you down, you'll never give yourself a chance to improve. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Don't be afraid of LoL; just do it! The Summoner's Guidebook: Don't be afraid of LoL; just do it! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pantheon update talks Planes of Arcana Posted: 20 Feb 2014 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Lore, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Crowdfunding, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen Pantheon's Kickstarter page has updated with a knowledge dump that covers the game's Planes of Arcana. Said planes are the "fundamental elements that hold the fabric of existence together within the Pantheon universe." The known planes include Terminus, Myraxys, Astral, Vitalus, Psionic, and Primal. Pantheon's chaos magic is also profiled towards the end of the update, which you can read by clicking through the links below. Pantheon update talks Planes of Arcana originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Kickstarter

Champions Online's rampage revamp goes live Posted: 20 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, Free-to-Play, Champions Online Rampages are all the rage in Champions Online, as Cryptic has pushed live a patch to both revamp several old ones and add in a new rampage to the mix. The revamped rampages include the UNTIL Sky Command, Gravitar, and the Lemurian Invasion, while the new one is called Fire and Ice. Rampages rotate every three days, offering players a different challenging experience and a shot at Justice gear and costume pieces. With the patch, Champions Online also added in new private queues, a Magic Girl costume set, and the petal cloud aura. The latter two are available through the in-game store. Champions Online's rampage revamp goes live originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Rampage revamp, New store options

The Think Tank: Are unofficial MMO fansites and forums important to you? Posted: 20 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Opinion, Miscellaneous, The Think Tank With the often unpleasant turnaround rate of fansites and unofficial forums, one can't help but wonder about the viability of such websites in relation to the bigger picture. Often times these sites are created and maintained purely from player passion, even when official support is nowhere to be found. But that passion is not always consistent. I polled the Massively team members for their own thoughts on fansites and unofficial forums. Do they trust these player sites more than official lines of communication on a game's community status, or are they often too sporadic or unprofessional to bother with? Read along after the jump for our answers. Continue reading The Think Tank: Are unofficial MMO fansites and forums important to you? The Think Tank: Are unofficial MMO fansites and forums important to you? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Diablo III works on new community tools Posted: 20 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Guilds, Dev Diaries, Diablo III, Buy-to-Play Getting together with a buddy to slay the forces of Hell should be a lot easier when Diablo III: Reaper of Souls comes out, as Blizzard is adding in a couple of new social tools for the expansion. The first tool is the addition of clans, Diablo III's version of guilds. Anyone can form a clan, although a player may be part of only one clan at a time. Clans are limited to 120 members and will be searchable with a clan finder feature. Then there will be communities, which are larger and more casual social circles within the game for like-minded players. Unlike clans, communities can support unlimited members, and players can be part of more than one at a time. Communities and clans will be supported by a new interface in the game that includes messages of the day and achievement notices. Diablo III works on new community tools originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: First look at clans and communities

The Stream Team: Trolling for trolls in RIFT's Stonefield Posted: 20 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, PvE, RIFT, Livestream, The Stream Team Nothing says "leveling up" more than a zone of trolls, golems, and alligator people, and you can bet RIFT's level 20-27 zone Stonefield has packed in the maximum number alligator people. Join Massively's Jasmine live at 3:00 p.m. as she takes her Cleric through Stonefield's higher-level quests! Game: RIFT Host: Jasmine Hruschak Date: Thursday, February 20th, 2014 Time: 3:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Trolling for trolls in RIFT's Stonefield The Stream Team: Trolling for trolls in RIFT's Stonefield originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Talking the past and present of MMOs with Brian 'Psychochild' Green Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Interviews, MMO Industry, Miscellaneous If you've been MMO gaming for more than a few years, you might be familiar with Brian "Psychochild" Green. Approaching his 15th year professionally developing in the genre, Brian started out with Meridian 59 and most recently headed up the Storybricks team. But now that he's back to being a free agent, we jumped at the chance to sit down and talk shop. Follow along after the jump for Brian's thoughts on modern MMOs, how the genre may be enjoying a rebirth, and which game he'd save if given the chance. Continue reading Talking the past and present of MMOs with Brian 'Psychochild' Green Talking the past and present of MMOs with Brian 'Psychochild' Green originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Shroud of the Avatar adds multiplayer features for release 3 Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Patches, News Items, Crowdfunding, Shroud of the Avatar If you backed Shroud of the Avatar chiefly to play around with its semi-online functionality, the newest release of the game should make you happy. The third test release features several of the multiplayer functions of the game, including chat, emotes, and friend lists. Combine that with the addition of a crafting system and new merchants, and the whole thing is closer than ever to being a fully featured online-but-not experience. The third test session will also feature a village, Braemor, expanding the amount of land that players have to explore and work within. Obviously, this test will be available only to backers of the game, but you can still jump on that through the game's official site if it sounds like something you want to play. For more details on the improvements as well as how to get into the game if you are a backer, take a look at the full release notes. [Source: Portalarium press release] Shroud of the Avatar adds multiplayer features for release 3 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Release 3 notes

The Guild Counsel: What do you need to be a guild leader? Posted: 20 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous The other day, I came across one of those inspirational posters that takes a word and then uses each letter to spell out a quality that makes up the word. And it got me thinking about what words best describe the essence of a good guild leader. There are as many different types of guild leaders as there are grains of sand on a beach, and many of them are successful. But if you took all of the longtime guild leaders and deconstructed them, what qualities would they all share? Let's look at the most essential qualities of a guild leader in this week's Guild Counsel. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: What do you need to be a guild leader? The Guild Counsel: What do you need to be a guild leader? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Feb 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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