General Gaming Article

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• No BS Podcast #221: R9 295X2, Enhanced DX11 Drivers and Haswell-E
• Gogo to Expand In-Flight Wi-Fi to 70Mbps by Middle of 2015
• Epic Wants Unreal Engine 4 to (Eventually) Support Windows Phone and Windows RT
• Netflix Gets Busy Streaming 4K Content to Compatible TVs
• Twitter Follows in Facebook's Footsteps, Revamps User Profiles
• Logitech G502 Proteus Core Gaming Mouse Packs a Customizable 12,000 DPI Sensor
• Newegg Daily Deals: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Graphics Card, Cooler Master HAF Case, and More!
• AMD Unleashes the Dual-GPU Radeon R9 295X2

No BS Podcast #221: R9 295X2, Enhanced DX11 Drivers and Haswell-E Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:40 PM PDT AMD unveils dual-GPU card, Nvidia drivers take on Mantle, and whispers of Haswell-E The No BS Podcast is back for episode #221! In this jam-packed episode, we begin by saluting long time podcast host and Senior Editor Josh Norem goodbye, as he will be leaving the magazine to focus on his career in pet photography. Josh will be greatly missed, but will continue to write as a freelancer for us. We then shift gears back to hardware to discuss AMD's blazing fast R9 295X2 card. Afterwards, we put Nvidia's new driver to the test and discuss its incremental boosts in gaming performance. Next, Gordon discusses Intel's roadmap to add four new Haswell chips aimed at enthusiasts including Haswell-E, along with its corresponding X99 chipset.     Editors' Picks Tom McNamara: FTL: Faster than Light Gordon Ung: Centech USB Power Meter Josh Norem: Iane and Sinclair Cardsharp Knife, Knife YouTube Video Stalk us on the following networks: Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes Become a fan on Facebook Tweet us on Twitter Subscribe to us on Youtube Check out our Windows 8 app in Microsoft's app store Subscribe to our RSS feed If you have any feedback or questions feel free to: Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or Leave us a voicemail at 877-404-1337 x1337 Subscribe to Maximum PC in print or on Google Play, iTunes, Kindle, Nook and Zinio. Thanks for listening!

Gogo to Expand In-Flight Wi-Fi to 70Mbps by Middle of 2015 Posted: 08 Apr 2014 12:25 PM PDT In-flight Wi-Fi is getting a speed boost Downloading content from a mile high is going to get a whole lot faster thanks to Gogo, which is working on increasing peak speeds more than seven-fold. Using low-profile, high efficiency Ku-band satellite antennas, Gogo expects in-flight Wi-Fi service to deliver peak speeds of more than 70Mbps by the middle of next year. That's pretty impressive, considering Gogo rolled out technology to increase peak speeds to 9.8Mbps a year ago. Gogo is already using low-profile antennas for its Ground to Orbit technology. However, the company will move away from its Air to Ground solution for the return link to the ground, and instead rely on the above-mentioned Ku-band satellite antennas, which is the secret sauce to this high-speed Wi-Fi recipe. The 2Ku antenna Gogo plans to utilize is two times more spectrally efficient than other antennas in the commercial aviation market. This translates into more bandwidth at a lower cost, and it also makes it the most TV friendly solution in the market, Gogo says. The actual antenna is just 4.5 inches tall, which reduces drag on the aircraft compared to other satellite solutions. "We anticipate that this technology will deliver peak speeds of 70Mbps to the plane when initially launched and more than 100Mbps when new spot beam satellite technologies become available," Gogo's chief technology officer, Anand Chari, said in a statement. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Epic Wants Unreal Engine 4 to (Eventually) Support Windows Phone and Windows RT Posted: 08 Apr 2014 11:47 AM PDT Tim Sweeney confirms there's interest in porting Unreal Engine 4 to Windows Phone and RT When the time is right, Epic will make its Unreal Engine 4 platform available on Windows Phone and Windows RT. Exactly when that time will be is still up in the air, but thanks to a forum post in which Epic co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney responded to a user question, we at least know it's something the company is both interested in and has been working towards to some degree. "We have been doing some work in this direction (implementing various levels of Win RT API support) and we want to have Windows Phone support eventually, but we're a very long way from having a ship-quality implementation," Sweeney said. Given the disparity in market share between Windows Phone and other platforms, this isn't a high priority for Epic. Sweeney essentially says as much, adding that his company's "mobile efforts are really focused on iOS and Android based on their huge market sizes." He also added that there's a lot of work to be done on those two platforms before the development team can think about expanding its reach. Looking strictly at the U.S. market, Android holds a 52.1 percent share of the smartphone sector, followed by Apple at 41.3 percent, according to the latest data by comScore. What that means is that more than 9 out of 10 smartphones in the U.S. are running either Android or iOS. For the sake of comparison, Microsoft holds a 3.4 percent share, meaning less than 4 out of 100 smartphones in the U.S. are running Windows Phone software. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Netflix Gets Busy Streaming 4K Content to Compatible TVs Posted: 08 Apr 2014 09:46 AM PDT Slowly but surely, Netflix is adding 4K streams to its catalog It's probably still a bit early to pick up a 4K television, and due to the buggy nature of some 4K monitors, the same can be said of those panels, too. Nevertheless, if you're an early adopter who made the jump into 4K waters in your living room, there's some additional content you might now be able to swim with. Netflix has begun rolling out some of its content in 4K -- namely, the House of Cards original series and some nature documentaries. Netflix said last year that it was planning to make 4K streams available, and now it's made good on that promise. According to CNET, the streams only work on 2014 model 4K televisions that have a built-in H.265/HEVC decoder. The good news there is that the requirement covers most of the major brand TVs announced at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, which are now shipping. Unfortunately, owners of 2013 model 4K TVs are out of luck. CNET says the same will be true of upcoming 4K streams from Amazon, Comcast, Fox, and others, all of which will come out this year. There are other growing pains to contend with. In addition to compatibility concerns, viewers are noticing signs of compression on their 15.6Mbps streams. Some have even said that 1080p streams look better - go figure. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Twitter Follows in Facebook's Footsteps, Revamps User Profiles Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:54 AM PDT Spice up your Twitter profile with pictures If imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, Facebook must be all shades of red from blushing. Twitter on Tuesday announced a whole new user profile, and the comparisons to Facebook's profile are inevitable. Comparison to its rival aside, the much needed revamp allows Twitter users to build a much more attractive profile by uploading a larger profile photo and and a customized header image. The revamped profile goes beyond pictures and highlights your best tweets -- posts that received the most engagement will appear slightly larger so that they stand out. You can also pin tweets that you're particularly proud of to the top of your page and choose which timeline to view when checking out other profiles. Twitter has already begun rolling out the new profile layout and options to a "small group of users." Likewise, new users will see the updated profile option as well. For everyone else, Twitter says it will continue to roll out the new features in the coming weeks. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Logitech G502 Proteus Core Gaming Mouse Packs a Customizable 12,000 DPI Sensor Posted: 08 Apr 2014 06:33 AM PDT A gaming mouse that plays nice on different surfaces Logitech just expanded its popular G line of gaming mice with the G502 Proteus Core, a tunable mouse for gamers that brings a 12,000 DPI sensor to the fire fight. What's unique about the G502 Proteus Core is that it allows you to calibrate the sensor against a gaming surface's unique physical and reflective characteristics, after which it will reconfigure itself for optimal performance. Customization is the name of the game here. You can adjust the DPI sensor all the way down to 200, and of course Logitech lets you reassign any command or macro to any of the 11 programmable buttons courtesy of the onboard 32-bit ARM processor and built in memory. However, you can also adjust the mouse's weight and center of balance by placing up to five 3.5g weights in the G502. "With the world's best sensor technology, complete surface, weight and balance tuning and mechanical switches, we have made a mouse that dominates," said Ehtisham Rabbani, general manager of the Logitech gaming business. "The Logitech G team believes that when hype fades, science wins!" Logitech also said it improved its exclusive dual-mode hyper-fast scroll wheel to offer enhanced click-to-click precision and lightning fast scrolling on the web. The Logitech G502 Proteus Core Tunable Gaming Mouse will be available in the U.S. and Europe this month for $80 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Graphics Card, Cooler Master HAF Case, and More! Posted: 08 Apr 2014 06:33 AM PDT Top Deal: Today's a sad day for Windows XP fans. This marks the end of a long road, but rather than view it as a somber occasion, use it as opportunity to build that modern day gaming PC you always wanted. Thanks to advances in technology since XP's glory days, you don't have to take out a second mortgage to build a respectable system. To get started, have a look at today's top deal for an Asus GeForce GTX 660 Graphics Card for $170 with free shipping (normally $200 - use coupon code: [EMCPFPG29]; additional $20 mail-in-rebate). Based on Nvidia's Kepler architecture, this card sports 960 CUDA cores, 2GB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus, and is factory overclocked (1020MHz core/1085MHz boost). Topping it off is a custom cooling soluiton that Asus claims is 20 percent cooler and 3 times quieter than reference. Other Deals: Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower Computer Case with Windowed Side Panel and USB 3.0 Ports for $160 with free shipping (normally $180; additional $20 Mail-in rebate) Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive for $110 with free shipping (normally $120 - use coupon code: [EMCPFPG89]) Adata DashDrive UV128 32GB Flash Drive for $15 with free shipping (normally $22 - use coupon code: [EMCPFPG93]) G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory for $68 with free shipping (normally $75 - use coupon code: [EMCPFPG38])

AMD Unleashes the Dual-GPU Radeon R9 295X2 Posted: 08 Apr 2014 06:20 AM PDT AMD's $1,500, 500w TDP monster GPU arrives Today AMD is pulling the wraps, or the briefcase as it were, off its new flagship GPU - the massively badass Radeon R9 295X2. Packing two fully-loaded R9 290X GPUs, this air-and-water cooled $1,500 GPU is the new "fastest single GPU" on the planet, and sets new records for both benchmark performance as well as sticker price. Project Hydra When we first heard whispers about a dual-Hawaii card coming out of AMD's Skunk Works, we figured a few things had to happen to make this card a reality. We thought perhaps it would tone down its R9 290X core a bit to keep temperatures somewhat below "thermonuclear," because just one R9 290X GPU needs a cooler the size of Montana to keep it from getting so hot it begins to throttle. Since one of these GPUs runs hotter than Russell Crowe, we figured if AMD had the cajones to put two of them on a PCB it would either need to be liquid-cooled, or severely underclocked so as to not overwhelm whatever massive cooler it had designed. As it turns out, we were sort of wrong, and sort of right, and we couldn't have asked for anything more with the final card we now know as the Radeon R9 295X2. Instead of making compromises, lowering clock speeds, or both, AMD said "F that" and went all-in, shoving two *overclocked* R9 290X GPUs into a massive 12-inch shroud that is cooled by both liquid and air, then slapping the highest MSRP we've ever seen on a retail GPU in our hardware-watching lives, at least until the GTX Titan Z arrives at some point in the future. The Radeon R9 295X2 is over 12 inches long. Insert "that's what she said" joke here. GPU Specs Since we've already covered the Radeon R9 290X in the past, this rundown of the specs will be quick and dirty. Okay, so you take one R9 290X GPU, then take another one, and put them on the same card. There you have it! The only difference between these GPUs and stand-alone R9 290X GPUs is that most of them would hit a boost clock of 1,000MHz if given enough thermal headroom, whereas the GPUs on the R9 295X2 are designed to hit a slightly faster 1,018MHz. Not only that, but due to the increased cooling performance made possible by the Asetek-designed apparatus, you can actually overclock these GPUs as well, which was not possible on a reference R9 290X. Otherwise, specs are exactly double compared to the R9 290X, so there are 5,632 Stream Processors, 12.4 billion transistors, 8GB of RAM total, dual 512-bit memory bus, a 500w TDP, and 11.5Tflops of compute performance. If you're the type who doesn't like reading, and wants to look at a chart, we feel you. Here is a spec chart provided by AMD:     Hybrid Cooling Since the Hawaii core at the heart of the R9 295X2 runs hotter than the surface of the sun, AMD had to enlist the expertise of Asetek to build a custom closed-loop liquid cooling mechanism to keep the GPUs colder than Gwyneth Paltrow's heart. Each GPU gets its own water block to dissipate heat, with liquid entering the system via one tube, swishing around a bit, then squirting over to the second GPU via a connecting tube underneath the shroud. Once it makes its rounds in the second water block it is sent back to the radiator where it's cooled by a 120mm fan. Here's a picture of the whole shebang:   The Asetek cooler is maintenance-free and uses Kool Aid inside. Not really.   Compared to the Titan Z The Radeon R9 295X2 is a natural competitor to the GTX Titan Z, but just because both of them sport two of each company's current flagship GPUs, AMD with its R9 290X and Nvidia with its Titan Black. Since the Radeon card costs half the price of a Titan Z they will exist in separate worlds, with the Radeon strictly for gaming and mining, and with the Titan Z for gamers/developers. Also, we still have not seen official specs for the Titan Z, and Nvidia doesn't have it listed on its website, so some of this comparison is pure speculation. That said, let's speculate via this handy chart comparing the two cards:   *The Titan Z's compute ability is unknown, so this is a guess based on 2X Titan Black. Two Interesting Tidbits Before we get to the benchmarks, there are two unique attributes of this card we want to point out. The first is that the R9 295X2 has a glowing red logo on its side and a red LED-lit center fan; a first for an AMD GPU. Those who have been green with envy (heh) over Nvidia's glowing GeForce logo will surely appreciate this edition. AMD says it was added as part of the card's "no compromise" design. A second part of that design philosophy extends to the dual eight-pin power connectors, which must each provide 28A of power to the card. This means you can't just run one cable with two eight-pin PCIe connectors on it to the GPU, so you'll essentially need an SLI/CrossFire capable PSU to run this bad boy. It is, after all, a CrossFire GPU.   AMD brings the bling with a glowing logo and LED fan. Ok, enough jibber jabber. Hit the next page for benchmarks and our final thoughts. Benchmarks We tested the R9 295X2 on our standard GPU test bench, which is a high-end machine running an Asus Rampage IV Extreme motherboard, Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition CPU, 16GB of DDR3/1600 memory, a Thermaltake ToughPower 1,050 PSU, and Windows 8 Enterprise. We did not have two GTX 780 Ti cards to use for testing, so we compared it to a dual R9 290X cards in CrossFire running at 4K resolution to get things started.    3840x2160 Benchmarks Best scores are bolded Overall, there's not much surprise here, except for the fact that this is the first single-GPU card we've tested that is actually playable at 4K resolution. Also what you can't experience by looking at this benchmark chart is how loud the R9 290X cards are when run under load in tandem. They make some noise, whereas the R9 295X2 is very, very quiet. There is still a tiny bit of fan noise under load but it's night-and-day compared to a stock R9 290X Next we compared the R9 295X2 to the GTX 780 Ti, also at 3840x2160.   3840x2160 Benchmarks Best scores are bolded Compared to the single-GPU competition, well, there is no competition. The R9 295X2 lays the smack down plain and simple, which is to be expected given its numerous advantages. Next up, the R9 295X2 versus GTX 780 SLI. 3840x2160 Benchmarks Best scores are bolded The Radeon R9 295X2 is still holding its own against two GTX 780 GPUs. It's a shame we don't have a second GTX 780 Ti though, because it would most likely eat the Radeon's lunch, for less money out the door too. Of course, you have two cards and a lot more heat and noise, but that's the price you pay for extreme performance with this particular config. Finally, let's have a look at the Radeon R9 295X2 versus the GTX 780 Ti at 2560x1600 with 4XAA enabled.   2560x1600 4XAA Benchmarks Best scores are bolded Another smackdown - what a surprise. Final Thoughts It's not often in the GPU game that we have such a one-sided battle, but we certainly do have just that with the powerful R9 295X2. This card kicks all kinds of ass, no doubt about it. It's easily the fastest single-card GPU we've ever tested, and by a healthy margin too. Of course, we don't have dual GTX 780 Ti cards to test it against, so that's unfortunate. Regardless, that would still not change the Radeon's "single card champion" status, which it now claims, unquestionably. Not only is it fast, but it's very quiet and cool too, which are words we never thought we'd say about a fire-breathing Hawaii card, but AMD has certainly done its homework on this one and it delivers on all promises. Without getting too hyperbolic, in many ways this is essentially the perfect GPU. It offers record-breaking performance, only takes up two-slots, is cool and quiet, and it overclocks. Of course, the one chink in its armor is its $1,500 price tag, which seems insanely high in a market where $1,000 used to be the upper echelon. However, compared to the $3,000 GTX Titan Z the Radeon is actually a bargain, which is another sentence we never thought we'd write, but here we are. Naturally, Nvidia won't take too kind to this type of aggression, so all it has to do now is release a gamer-oriented dual-GPU card such as the mythical GTX 790, hopefully with two GTX 780 Ti cores onboard, and price it at $1,500 and it'll be game, set, match Nvidia. Right after the R9 290X came out and stole the GTX 780's thunder, Nvidia pounced immediately with the GTX 780 Ti to reclaim the "fastest single card" crown, so we expect them to respond to the R9 295X2, and to respond with vigor.

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MMO Updates

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• Villagers and Heroes announces April 17th Steam launch and new expansion
• The Secret World's Sidestories: Further Analysis is now live
• SWTOR's Game Update 2.7 is live
• Star Trek Online reveals Undine Infiltration mission
• Celtic Heroes mobile MMO launches for Android
• The Daily Grind: How important is the setting of your MMOs?
• Not So Massively: LoL's Twitch revamp, Dota 2's tourney sales, and D3's hotfix
• Darkfall's territory control update has arrived
• Destiny screenshots show the wonders and horrors of space
• Pox Nora transferred from SOE to original developers
• Guild Wars 2 encourages patch mystery and player speculation
• NBA's Jeremy Lin: 'Dota is a way of life'
• Wargaming earmarks $10m for e-sports, WoT up to 80m registered players
• Lead producer pens requiem for Molten Games

Villagers and Heroes announces April 17th Steam launch and new expansion Posted: 08 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Business Models, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Launches, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content, MMORPG Free Realms refugees, if you're looking for a new home with cute graphics and quests and housing and crafting, then indie F2P MMO Villagers and Heroes might just be it. The game itself isn't new, but with its new expansion, Fury of the Stone Lord, it's receiving a major graphical upgrade and content patch revolving around gargoyles. Expect 30 new adventure maps (bringing the count to 110), new quests and monsters, new spells and heroic feats, and 15 extra skill levels to boot. Developer Mad Otter Games says the sandbox MMO will launch on Steam on April 17th. We previewed the upgrades and new client back in February. Check out the trailer below! [Source: Mad Otter Games press release] Continue reading Villagers and Heroes announces April 17th Steam launch and new expansion Villagers and Heroes announces April 17th Steam launch and new expansion originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Secret World's Sidestories: Further Analysis is now live Posted: 08 Apr 2014 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, News Items, PvE, The Secret World, Buy-to-Play Funcom's latest Secret World DLC is now available for purchase. Sidestories: Further Analysis marks a departure from the regular issue-based release structure and features four new investigation missions designed to test your puzzle-solving skills and deliver "four fresh stories spread throughout the game world." The DLC is available in the game's item store for 768 Funcom Points. The Secret World's Sidestories: Further Analysis is now live originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Apr 2014 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

SWTOR's Game Update 2.7 is live Posted: 08 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic BioWare has published Star Wars: The Old Republic's 2.7 update. It includes a new story arc spanning two new level 55 flashpoints: Assault on Tython and Korriban Incursion. The story "will continue to be expanded through the year culminating in an incredible finale," the company says. Other additions include the Quesh Huttball Pit warzone, Dread Fortress nightmare mode, a new Galactic Starfighter domination map called Denon Exosphere, and "a plethora of bug fixes." SWTOR's Game Update 2.7 is live originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Apr 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Star Trek Online reveals Undine Infiltration mission Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, PvE, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play Star Trek Online's latest dev blog details a new level 50 mission called Undine Infiltration. Players can complete the event in 15 to 20 minutes as well as opt into a normal or elite version of it. This isn't your typical MMO mission, though, as STO captains will investigate suspected Undine infiltrators "by asking a series of questions and based on the answers, deciding whether or not the suspect is an Undine and needs to be quarantined." After a player deals with the Undine presence in a series of Bajor caves, he'll be scored based on how many infiltrators he correctly quarantined as well as how many Bajorans he cleared of suspicion. Star Trek Online reveals Undine Infiltration mission originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Apr 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Celtic Heroes mobile MMO launches for Android Posted: 08 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Free-to-Play, Mobile Celtic Heroes has been doing well enough on the iOS platform that developer One Thumb Mobile is now releasing it for the Android. Published with the popular Unity game engine, Celtic Heroes is a mobile 3D MMO that focuses heavily on a rich fantasy storyline and is said to rival any other browser or desktop MMO. "Our team has created something very special with the launch of our new cross-platform engine," states Executive Producer Paul Simon. "We look forward to massively expanding Celtic Heroes and providing the biggest, most social gaming experience on mobile." You can download Celtic Heroes now for free from the Google Play store or the Apple store. [Thanks for the tip, Dengar!] Celtic Heroes mobile MMO launches for Android originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Apr 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: How important is the setting of your MMOs? Posted: 08 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Star Wars Galaxies, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Massively reader dirtyklingon recently wrote to us with an interesting observation. He was surprised at the backlash that was generated when SOE's John Smedley teased a new MMO for Star Wars Galaxies fans but then revealed it would not be Star Wars but a survival-based contemporary sandbox setting -- by most guesses, zombies. I don't think most people really expected Star Wars Galaxies II (or Star Wars at all, for that matter), but I was pretty disappointed. The setting of SWG wasn't essential, but I expected something much closer to it in theme from the new game, something a bit more space cowboyish without the Star Wars name. I'll tolerate a lot of settings to play a good sandbox, but a few are real turn-offs and can actually be dealbreakers. Like, you know, zombies. What about you, Massively crew -- how important is the setting of your MMOs? Can it make or break your experience? 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: How important is the setting of your MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Apr 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Not So Massively: LoL's Twitch revamp, Dota 2's tourney sales, and D3's hotfix Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Business Models, Classes, Game Mechanics, News Items, Free-to-Play, Miscellaneous, Not So Massively, Transformers Universe, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Crowdfunding, Elite: Dangerous Welcome back to No So Massively, where every Monday we round up the highlights from the past week in the world of MOBAs, roguelikes, MMOTCGs, and other games that aren't quite MMOs. League of Legends is reworking neglected character Twitch. Dota 2's The International tournament sold out within an hour. We previewed Hearthstone's soundtrack. Elite: Dangerous discussed its alpha progress. Heroes of the Storm released its Haunted Mines patch. Diablo III posted patch 2.0.3, primarily focusing on bugs and tweaks. Transformers Universe announced two new heroes; the videos (and more news!) are below. Continue reading Not So Massively: LoL's Twitch revamp, Dota 2's tourney sales, and D3's hotfix Not So Massively: LoL's Twitch revamp, Dota 2's tourney sales, and D3's hotfix originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Darkfall's territory control update has arrived Posted: 07 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Darkfall, Game Mechanics, Patches, Previews, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, MMORPG Greek indie dev Aventurine has just announced that the much-foreshadowed territory control update for PvP sandbox Darkfall: Unholy Wars arrives today. The studio hopes to draw upon its "sandbox PvP and massive-battles heritage" for the update, which allows players to claim, hold, and control "areas of influence" and tax each other into oblivion -- just in time for tax day in the US! Enjoy the patch notes on the official site and the new trailer below. [Source: Aventurine press release] Continue reading Darkfall's territory control update has arrived Darkfall's territory control update has arrived originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Patch notes

Destiny screenshots show the wonders and horrors of space Posted: 07 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Galleries, Screenshots, MMOFPS, Destiny Outer space won't be the technocolor thrill-romp that one might assume from pulp sci-fi, at least when it comes to Destiny. Bungie released five new screenshots showing some of the visually impressive if intimidating vistas as well as one or two of the threats that players will encounter in the game. The studio also mentioned that it won't be utilizing NPC companions, players will be able to customize and upgrade gear, and Guardians can change loadouts on the fly. Check out the new screenies in the gallery below. Destiny screenshots show the wonders and horrors of space originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: VG247, TotalXbox.com

Pox Nora transferred from SOE to original developers Posted: 07 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Trading Card Games Desert Owl Games has announced it has taken control of Pox Nora from Sony Online Entertainment, a transition that's been months in the planning. "It's unprecedented to have a big game studio return a title to the original creators. Sony Online Entertainment could have easily gone the more common route: stopped producing content and letting Pox Nora fade away. Instead, they chose to do what is best for the players! It's amazing, and we are so excited to continue to support such a great game," said Art Griffith, CEO of Desert Owl Games. Pox Nora is a free-to-play, collectible digital miniatures game that was first launched in 2006 but was officially transferred to its new owner last month. It was developed by many of the same people who make up Desert Owl Games today, including the three founding members of the new indie studio. Be sure to visit this page for more information on transferring your existing SOE account, and keep an eye on the Desert Owl Games forums for the latest updates. [Source: SOE press release] Pox Nora transferred from SOE to original developers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Guild Wars 2 encourages patch mystery and player speculation Posted: 07 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Patches, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play Death to Guild Wars 2 patch notes? ArenaNet might not be going that far, but it may be getting a lot more secretive about them in the coming months. In an interview on IGN today, Lead Developer Colin Johanson said that the team learned a lot from the first season of GW2's living world, especially how much the players loved to speculate and discover patch additions organically. He said that the team observed players becoming more engaged when ArenaNet dropped in content that wasn't spelled out in the patch notes. Johanson said this trend will continue: "You don't know what's going to happen and you don't know what you're going to find. Every week you want to search every corner of the world because the next hint for the living world could be hidden anywhere." Johanson talked about the great changes to the world, especially in regard to the team nuking the city of Lion's Arch. He mentioned a player who predicted that the event would occur back in January: "It was really interesting for us to see that, and to be able to point back at him and say, 'Hey man, you nailed it!' and to be able to call that out was really cool." Guild Wars 2 encourages patch mystery and player speculation originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: IGN

NBA's Jeremy Lin: 'Dota is a way of life' Posted: 07 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, MOBA NBA player Jeremy Lin recently expanded upon his remarks in the documentary Free to Play that "Dota [2] is a way of life." Talking to OnGamer, Lin said that the MOBA brought him, his family, and his friends closer together. "When I say it's a way of life, it's more than just a game, it's a chance for us to play and catch up on life," he said. "It's something that's been really incorporated into our lives for years and years, consistently, no matter where you are." Lin said that he normally played Dota 2 two to three times a week and admires the dedication and drive that exists in the community. In fact, he sees professional gamers in a similar light as professional athletes: "It takes a ton of work, it takes a lot of strategy, it takes a lot of commitment and takes a lot of discipline... You definitely have to understand the game and work on it, hone your skills. NBA's Jeremy Lin: 'Dota is a way of life' originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: OnGamers

Wargaming earmarks $10m for e-sports, WoT up to 80m registered players Posted: 07 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Historical, Business Models, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, World of Tanks, World of Warplanes Wargaming CEO Victor Kislyi recently announced that the developer behind World of Tanks and World of Warplanes will invest $10 million into its burgeoning e-sports business. Kislyi said that 30,000 pro players fought in 120 WoT tourneys in 2012 while in 2013 those numbers rose to 200,000 players and 1,000 tournaments. "With our e-sports team we founded a company within the company," Kislyi said. "They take care not only about game features to cater to spectators, but also about the physical organization of the tournaments." Kislyi also explained that the e-sports initiative was driven by player requests rather than Wargaming desires. Finally, Kislyi said that World of Tanks now boasts 80 million registered players. Wargaming earmarks $10m for e-sports, WoT up to 80m registered players originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GI.biz Via: MCV

Lead producer pens requiem for Molten Games Posted: 07 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, News Items Former Molten Games lead producer Oksana Kubushyna has penned a lengthy requiem for the recently closed studio on her personal blog. Molten was working on a title called Blunderbuss when it unexpectedly lost its funding last month. The post features a series of snapshots and videos detailing what it was like to work at the San Diego studio on a daily basis, and Kubushyna also says that the game itself was pretty far along. "It was a complete vertical slice with an installer, patcher, back-end platform (multiplayer, basic matchmaker, persistence, monitoring, telemetry), back-end administration tools, automated deployments, automated test framework, gameplay systems, UI, and of course content -- multiple champions and a beautiful map," she writes. You can view the Blunderbuss cinematic demo after the cut. [Thanks Paul!] Continue reading Lead producer pens requiem for Molten Games Lead producer pens requiem for Molten Games originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Apr 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Molten requiem Via: MMO Culture

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