General Gaming Article

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• Smartphone Theft in the U.S. Nearly Doubled Last Year
• Buggy Microsoft Security Essentials Update Kicks XP Machines While Down
• Reports Shows Over a Third of Purchased Steam Games Haven't Been Played
• Why You Must Upgrade From Windows XP
• Eurocom's Thin and Light Electra 2 Laptop Boasts Maxwell Graphics, TPM 1.2 Security
• IBM Posts Revenue Decline for Eighth Consecutive Quarter
• Newegg Daily Deals: EVA ACX Cooler GeForce GTX 780, Intel Core i5 4670K, and More!

Smartphone Theft in the U.S. Nearly Doubled Last Year Posted: 17 Apr 2014 11:51 AM PDT A potential solution to rising smartphone theft is still a year away It's easy to take for granted how much your smartphone is worth. You may have picked one up for free or not much more than that by agreeing to lock yourself into a two-year service agreement with a wireless carrier, but despite the subsidized price you paid, smartphones are worth several hundred dollars. It's no wonder that thieves stole around 3.1 million smartphones in U.S. last year. That figure comes from Consumer Reports, which notes that it's nearly double the 1.6 million smartphones that were stolen in 2012. In addition to thievery, another 1.4 million smartphones were simply lost and never recovered last year, up from 1.2 million in 2012. It's not just the hardware itself that's valuable, but what's kept on the phone as well. Things like photos, videos, contacts, email accounts, and more. Despite all this, smartphone owners aren't doing enough to protect themselves, Consumer Reports says. In a survey of smartphone owners, 34 percent told Consumer Reports they don't take even simple security measures, such as using a PIN or some other form of unlocking mechanism. Those same users said they're not running AV software or backing up their data. Come July 2015, smartphones sold in the U.S. will include a so-called "lock switch," which allows users to remotely delete data from a lost or stolen smartphone. The lock switch will also render the phone useless, as wireless carriers won't activate a device that's been reported lost or stolen. Whether this will actually curb smartphone theft is something that remains to be seen. Image Credit: Flickr (mkoolman) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Buggy Microsoft Security Essentials Update Kicks XP Machines While Down Posted: 17 Apr 2014 11:20 AM PDT Here come the conspiracy theories After more than 12 years of service, Microsoft finally pulled the plug on Windows XP by ceasing to support the operating system last week. However, Microsoft did promise to keep doling out updates for its Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) software, including the version that runs on XP, but in doing so, the Redmond outfit only made things worse. That's because the latest MSE update is causing some XP machines to freeze up and run slow. Anyone with a tinfoil hat will tell you this is entirely intentional on Microsoft's part and nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to get users to upgrade. The real explanation is likely far less insidious, though equally annoying for XP users who had hopes of holding onto the legacy OS for at least a little while longer. "I am a professional computer engineer and maintain many desktops and laptops for my customers on a daily basis: as of today (April 16th) I have seen about 12 computers on which Windows XP - after every boot up - throws up an error message referring to MSE, stating: 'MsMpEng.exe application error. The instruction at 0x5a4d684d referenced memory at 0x00000000 The memory could not be read', leaving the computer in an unusable state," a user wrote on Microsoft's Windows forum. He goes on to say that "the only solution is to disable MSE or uninstall it completely." Doing so will restore performance, but it comes at the expense of security protection, which is now more important than ever for XP users. Microsoft has yet to acknowledge the situation or issue a fix. One is likely coming, but in the meantime, there are third-party AV vendors that still support XP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Reports Shows Over a Third of Purchased Steam Games Haven't Been Played Posted: 17 Apr 2014 10:36 AM PDT Sales encourage gamers to stockpile more games than they have time to play It seems like there's always a major Steam sale taking place. There isn't, but certainly Steam sales aren't exactly rare. These sales introduce big discounts to popular titles, both current and ones that are slightly older, and we often find ourselves stockpiling titles with plans to play them at a future date. Apparently that's a common practice, as a new report suggests that nearly 37 percent of registered Steam titles have never been loaded. Aurich Lawson at ArsTechnica did some digging and uncovered some interesting numbers. He didn't pull any of these figures out of a hat, all the estimates are based on publicly available information, he says. So, what exactly did he find? As stated above, over a third of the roughly 781 million games registered to different Steam accounts have never been played a single time. Steam is far from a ghost town, however, as Dota 2 alone currently accounts for around 3.8 billion hours of play time. Lawson also discovered that Steam users have logged 600 percent more time into Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer mode than the single player campaign. Another thing we found interesting is that 17 percent of registered games on Steam have logged less than an hour of play time. If you add that to the games that have never been loaded, it means that 53.4 percent -- a little over half -- of Steam games have either never been loaded or played for less than an hour. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Why You Must Upgrade From Windows XP Posted: 17 Apr 2014 10:11 AM PDT Make your Windows XP-using friends/family members read this important PSA Microsoft has officially pulled the plug on support for Windows XP.  That's it.  Finite.  Done.  No more.  Don't expect to see any future patches, services packs, fixes, hotfixes, critical updates, anything — if you're one of the one-fourth of desktop users or so who are still running the antiquated operating system (yes, there's that many of you), you're about to enter the Wild Wild West of computing.  Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows XP. Which means, "hello, hackers!" So, what does that actually mean?  Simple: You have to upgrade.  There are no buts about it; staying on Windows XP is a bit like seeing a waterfall ahead on a river and opting to stay in the boat instead of safely paddling to shore.  You might not know when you're going to go over the precipice, but it's likely that something quite bad is going to happen to you at some point in your future. We're not just being overdramatic for the sake of it.  Why do you think a number of businesses (banks, especially) are spending a small fortune to get their systems upgraded as quickly as can be?  Why do you think that a number of them are likely going to be paying Microsoft a princely sum for XP support after the fact, as they've simply been unable to upgrade important devices like, say, ATMs before the big cutoff date? If you're still not convinced — or know those that need a little bit of extra convincing — we're going to run through a few Windows XP scenarios to show you that, yes, it's time to kick this legacy OS to the curb for good. Patch Tuesdays Could Break Windows XP Patch Tuesday sounds like it's a good thing, right?  That tried-and-true time that comes around once a month, on the second Tuesday of each month, where Microsoft dishes out new security updates for its operating systems.  Only, it's not going to be doing that for Windows XP any more.  And that doesn't sound quite so bad until you realize just what this might mean for the legacy OS.  Consider the following situation: Microsoft finds a security exploit in Windows Vista, 7, and 8 and decides to fix it up using a Patch Tuesday update.  Since Windows XP isn't being fixed anymore, an industrious hacker reverse-engineers Microsoft's fix and heads on over to his or her Windows XP installation to see if the exploit exists there as well. If it does, he'll most likely exploit it, and then we could be in some serious trouble.   In other words, Microsoft will now be feeding those interested in breaking Windows XP a constant stream of possible exploits to investigate.  It's like turning Patch Tuesday on its head. Disbelief A number of novice users might feel that they're protected from the effects of the Internet underground by running a box-copy virus or malware scanner on their system and calling it a day.  While that's certainly true in some cases, even the best malware scanner on the market isn't going to protect a person from any raw exploits that can be found or abused within the base level of the operating system itself. It's really apples and oranges.  Using Windows XP today is like dangling over a dangerous waterfall. You wouldn't do that now, would you? Malware might take advantage of core areas within the operating system, but running Avast, or Norton Antivirus, or what-have-you is only going to help a user out by scanning what he or she downloads from the Web (or plugs into his or her PC).  If a weakness is discovered that's core to Windows XP's operation, and doesn't need a software vector in order to affect one's system, then a scanning app isn't going to be able to do anything about it. What to do? If we've finally managed to convince you that it's time to switch – or you've successfully convinced a friend or loved one that it's time to move away from Windows XP for good — there are a few routes you can go.  The first and most obvious solution is to upgrade, and we recommend that you jump to Windows 7 or Windows 8 when you do.  You'll have an easier time finding copies of the latter and, while it's a bit of a learning curve for those accustom to the no-frills Windows XP UI experience, more changes coming as a result of Windows 8.1's official "Update 1" patch will hopefully ease the learning curve ever so slightly. Before you do, however, make sure that you download, install, and run Microsoft's official upgrade "advisors" for either Windows 7 or Windows 8.  They'll tell you whether your system will work well with the new OS from a hardware and software perspective, and they're valuable tools for getting a general sense of just how well your PC stacks up before you splurge money on an OS upgrade that might not work out that well for you. Read our Windows 8.1 review here. If you're stuck in that camp, those looking to use the death of Windows XP as an inspiration for a shopping trip can also benefit from some of the current promotions running as a result.  Microsoft, for example, is offering $100 off new PC purchases for those who access its online store from a Windows XP machine — or, if you want to be truly awesome, for those who drag a Windows XP system into one of the company's retail stores. Learn how to install Windows 7 from a USB key here. That said, some users will still face a bit of heartbreak when moving up to a new operating system.  Outlook Express, for example, does not exist in Windows Vista or higher – if that's your XP-using grandmother's favorite email client, you might need to help her out in moving on up to something a bit more comprehensive… and supported. Learn how to install Windows 8 from a USB key here. For what it's worth, you can go back to running Windows XP in a secure, virtualized environment.  While we don't recommend that you do anything super-secure in your virtual machine (Amazon shopping might be out), you can at least have access to legacy applications and/or anything else you need from good ol' Windows XP.  And, should this virtualized copy of XP get infected with (or exploited by) something horrible, it won't affect the contents of your primary operating system – and deleting it / restoring up a new version of Windows XP is super easy. The truly die-hard can also switch on up to a free Linux variant if they feel as if they're done with Microsoft now that Windows XP has been put out to pasture.  Newbies to Linux can give a Live CD a try, which packs an entire, working operating system onto removable media – an operating system whose contents cannot be affected beyond the point at which you power down your PC for the day.  If your sole interest in having a Windows XP machine is to have a simple way to browse the web and check email, this might be a great way to do that — on a legacy PC — without having to spend a penny post-XP. Stop reading; start upgrading We've covered some of the more general concerns and issues related to the imminent loss of Windows XP.  There are plenty more scenarios as to why upgrading is in your best interest, and there are surely quite a few more ways to do it.  What's clear is that Windows XP support is over.  Any additional days you spend chained to the legacy OS, you do so at your own risk.  Upgrading is easy.  Buying a new computer is easy.  Setting up your new apps and migrating your data over is… less easy, but it's better you spend the time doing that than, say, calling up your credit card companies because some industrious hacker connived their way into your Windows XP-based Web shopping, to name one example. If you're on Windows XP, stop reading right now.  Start upgrading.  Stay safe.

Eurocom's Thin and Light Electra 2 Laptop Boasts Maxwell Graphics, TPM 1.2 Security Posted: 17 Apr 2014 08:32 AM PDT Eurocom's latest laptop is an ultraportable that starts at $825 Most of the time when we receive word of a new system offering from Eurocom, it's a desktop replacement-class laptop with all the bells and whistles, and price tag to match. This time around, Eurocom dropped us a line to let us know about its new Electra 2, a thin and light ultraportable that starts out at $825. It comes standard with a 15.6-inch Full HD 1080p IPS display and Intel Core i5 4200M (Haswell) processor clocked at 2.5GHz (3.10GHz Turbo). Other baseline parts and features include 8GB of DDR3-1600 SO-DIMM memory (single stick), Nvidia GeForce GTX 850M graphics based on Maxwell, 500GB hard drive (7200 RPM), 8X DVD burner, 1080p webcam, 802.11n Wi-Fi, 9-in-1 card reader, GbE LAN, Bluetooth, two USB 3.0 ports plus an eSATA/USB 3.0 combo port, a single USB 2.0 port, HDMI and VGA output, and 6-cell battery. Windows 7 and 8 options are available at an additional cost. The Electra 2 also features Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 hardware data encryption, which indicates that Eurocom is targeting IT environments and business users. However, the Electra 2 is configurable and upgradeable, so you can configure a system that's custom tailored to your needs. Eurocom's Electra 2 is available now. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

IBM Posts Revenue Decline for Eighth Consecutive Quarter Posted: 17 Apr 2014 08:02 AM PDT Declining hardware sales and expensive layoffs hurt IBM's bottom line It was another rough quarter for IBM, which reported a drop in revenue. That marks eight quarters in a row of revenue declines. For the first quarter of 2014, IBM's total revenues reached $22.5 billion, down 4 percent from the first quarter of 2013. On the plus side, IBM is still making a profit -- $2.4 billion in Q1 2014, though even that figure is marred by the fact that it's down 21 percent year-over-year. Part of the reason why the numbers are down this time around is because of IBM's recent layoffs. The company took an $870 million "workforce rebalancing charge" as it makes changes and reductions to staff that it hopes will pay off in the long run. IBM's bottom line was also affected by a drop in hardware revenue. The company's Systems and Technology segment totaled $2.4 billion for the quarter, down 23 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. Total systems revenues decreased 24 percent, including a 40 percent reduction in revenues from its System z mainframe server products. "In the first quarter, we continued to take actions to transform parts of the business and to shift aggressively to our strategic growth areas including cloud, big data analytics, social, mobile and security," said Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer. "As we move through 2014, we will begin to see the benefits from these actions. Over the long term, they will position us to drive growth and higher value for our clients." IBM benefited from a bump in software sales. The company's Software segment generated $5.7 billion in Q1, up 2 percent year-over-year. Revenues from IBM's middleware products jumped 4 percent to $3.7 billion. Included in that is a 12 percent year-over-year jump in WebSphere sales. Image Credit: Flickr (br1dotcom) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: EVA ACX Cooler GeForce GTX 780, Intel Core i5 4670K, and More! Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:33 AM PDT Top Deal: Come May 27, 2014, Ubisoft is going to let the dogs out -- Watch Dogs, that is. We've already been given the heads up that in order to run the game at Ultra settings, some burly hardware is needed, including a GeForce 780 GPU. With that in mind, say hello to today's top deal -- an EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Superclocked w/ ACX Cooler for $490 with free shipping (normally $520 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWE36]; additional $20 mail-in-rebate). Other Deals: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory for $128 with free shipping (normally $150 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWE32]) Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics for $220 with free shipping (normally $240 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWE33]) Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case for $40 with free shipping (normally $50 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWE29]) Acer B6 B296CL 29-inch 8ms (GTG) HDMI UltraWide (21:9) LED Backlight LCD Monitor IPS 300 for $350 with free shipping (normally $400 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWE89])

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MMO Updates

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• Norrathian Notebook: Landmark update highlights the power of players
• Trion hosting ArcheAge combat and crafting livestream tonight
• Archlord 2 closed beta registration is open
• The Secret World's new ARG opens signups for loyalists
• The Daily Grind: What's your favorite browser MMO?
• A fierce weather front is blowing into Age of Wushu
• Richard Garriott holds contest to recreate his first teletype RPG
• The Stream Team: Advancing as Firran in ArcheAge's alpha
• Leaderboard: Does Elder Scrolls' lack of an auction house bother you?
• Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot embark on Steam Greenlight campaign
• RIFT sends players back in time to fight dragons
• Hearthstone comes to iPad
• Today's Landmark update introduces glass, removes air
• Guild Wars 2's megaserver update and patch primer [Updated]
• The Elder Scrolls Online patches for quest bugs
• Trove empowers community to pitch biomes and classes
• Final Fantasy XIV surpasses 2 million registrations
• Watch the first 14 minutes of the Icarus Online Korean open beta
• Here are lots of helpful EVE UI tips

Norrathian Notebook: Landmark update highlights the power of players Posted: 17 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, New Titles, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Housing, Player-Generated Content, Norrathian Notebook, Landmark As a long-time gamer, I have to admit: I never expected I'd really see the day. What day is that? The one where a studio says one thing... and does it! True to SOE's word, the development process for Landmark has been quite open. Between social media, livestreams, and posts, the devs have been very forthcoming about where they are and where they are going, giving players a pretty clear picture of what's going on. But that's only the half of it. What impresses me most about this whole situation is that player input is actually recognized as a valuable commodity, not a nuisance to be brushed aside and ignored. I'm not just referring to the opinions offered during the various Round Table polls either, even though those are a welcome component to the the mix. I'm talking about the fact that players are a driving force behind the direction of Landmark's development. And yesterday's update really brought that fact home. Continue reading Norrathian Notebook: Landmark update highlights the power of players Norrathian Notebook: Landmark update highlights the power of players originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Trion hosting ArcheAge combat and crafting livestream tonight Posted: 17 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Crafting If you're an ArcheAge fan and you're not in Trion's alpha, you'll want to set aside 45 minutes starting tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT to watch the latest dev livestream hosted by producer Victoria Voss and community guru Evan Berman. The duo will examine ArcheAge's combat classes and crafting skills live on Twitch. Trion also announced its first official AA competition which takes the form of a caption contest. The prize is a spot in the sandpark's alpha, and you've got until April 23rd to work on your entry. [Thanks WNxArcticwolf!] Trion hosting ArcheAge combat and crafting livestream tonight originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Livestream announcement

Archlord 2 closed beta registration is open Posted: 17 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play Webzen wants you to play Archlord 2, and as such the company is inviting you to pre-register for the fantasy sequel's upcoming closed beta test. You can use your existing Webzen, gPotato.com, or gPotato.eu account as well as your Facebook profile. It's worth noting that registration does not guarantee closed beta access, according to the company's press release. Rather, you'll be entered into a key lottery. The closed beta is currently scheduled to begin in June. "Archlord 2 is a medieval fantasy-based MMORPG that takes place in the mysterious and dangerous world of Chantra," Webzen explains. "Players will join in a never-ending conflict between the two opposing factions of the Azuni and the Crunn. They will be able to satisfy their thirst for power by participating in enormous PvP battles holding up to 400 players and fighting to claim the ultimate prize and to become the Archlord -- the world's supreme ruler." [Source: Webzen press release] Continue reading Archlord 2 closed beta registration is open Archlord 2 closed beta registration is open originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Secret World's new ARG opens signups for loyalists Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Trailers, Video, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, The Secret World, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding A newsletter sent yesterday to current and former players of The Secret World invites them to sign up for the game's upcoming Black Watchmen alternate reality game, which is due to officially kick off in September. Here's the hard pill to swallow for those of you used to the B2P nature of TSW: The ARG isn't free. Players who sign up will be funding the game's previously announced Crowdtilt crowdfunding campaign and will receive a year's worth of ARG gameplay and missions and a special in-game outfit for $20 ($10 off the normal fee). Massively's MJ explored the ARG in detail just a few weeks ago. Enjoy the trailer below! [Thanks to Dengar for the tip.] Continue reading The Secret World's new ARG opens signups for loyalists The Secret World's new ARG opens signups for loyalists originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: ARG website

The Daily Grind: What's your favorite browser MMO? Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, Browser, The Daily Grind Browser-based MMOs aren't normally my bag, but yesterday's Heroes & Generals update reminded me that there are a couple of nifty ones out there. Aside from H&G and SOE's late great Clone Wars Adventures, though, I don't have much experience with the genre. So, help me out, Massively readers. What's your favorite browser-based MMO title? 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: What's your favorite browser MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A fierce weather front is blowing into Age of Wushu Posted: 16 Apr 2014 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Trailers, Game Mechanics, Previews, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Age of Wushu Age of Wushu is introducing dynamic weather effects that will do more than look moody; they will actually herald several events. Each weather effect will have a different event that it will trigger. The great fog will start a school assassination PvP contest, the sandstorm will begin a treasure hunt in the desert, the eclipse will launch an invasion by the Prince of a Thousand Sentiments, and the thunderstorm will give you the opportunity to find the fight of the century. This weather system will be coming with the Age of Wushu: Tempest of Strife update. You can check out the weather effects preview video after the break! Continue reading A fierce weather front is blowing into Age of Wushu A fierce weather front is blowing into Age of Wushu originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dynamic weather preview

Richard Garriott holds contest to recreate his first teletype RPG Posted: 16 Apr 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Events (Real-World), Crowdfunding, Shroud of the Avatar Before Tabula Rasa and even before the Ultima games, Richard Garriott made a teletype game he called D&D #1. A high school student at the time, Garriott built the RPG after his astronaut dad told him he'd split the cost of an Apple II as incentive. D&D #1 eventually branched out into 27 more versions of the game, with D&D #28 being rewritten as Akalabeth, his famous first money-maker sold in plastic Ziploc bags. But now Garriott wants fans of his work to play that first D&D #1 game once again. No, not on a teletype machine, but from within his upcoming Shroud of the Avatar MMORPG. Starting today, a new contest will reward the best version made on Unity and the best version made as a plug-in browser port. Winners will receive the Citizen-level Kickstarter pledge reward ($550 value) and both runners-up will receive the Collector's level pleadge reward ($165 value). If this sounds like something up your programming alley, snatch up the original code for the game at Shroud of the Avatar's official site. Richard Garriott holds contest to recreate his first teletype RPG originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Polygon

The Stream Team: Advancing as Firran in ArcheAge's alpha Posted: 16 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, New Titles, Livestream, ArcheAge, The Stream Team Last week Massively's MJ showed off character creation and the beginning quests for ArcheAge's feline race, the Firran. Can her continuing adventures top that first rush of leaping off a cliff with a hang glider and lighting everything on fire? There is so much more of the world to see, including farming and intercontinental transport (and definitely more trouble for her Sorcerer to cause!) Join us live at 8:00 p.m to see how the rest of the beginner quests play out. Game: ArcheAge Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Wednesday, April 16th, 2014 Time: 8:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Advancing as Firran in ArcheAge's alpha The Stream Team: Advancing as Firran in ArcheAge's alpha originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Leaderboard: Does Elder Scrolls' lack of an auction house bother you? Posted: 16 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvE, Opinion, Leaderboard, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription Yesterday's Massively Speaking took Elder Scrolls Online to task for not having an auction house. Normally I would agree, given my long-standing passion for MMO economies and crafting. So far, though, the lack of an AH hasn't affected my playstyle at all through the first 30 levels. I'm a member of two trading megaguilds as well as my normal guild, and from the inside looking out, there's no difference between selling to thousands of faceless people in your "guilds" or selling to thousands of faceless people via an AH. I can't say whether ZeniMax purposefully designed ESO's economy this way or simply ran out of the time and money necessary to make an AH. But it doesn't really matter, personally, because my pre-launch expectations amounted to "yet another themepark crapfest," so I continue to be pleasantly surprised by how wrong those expectations were -- even without an AH! What about you, ESO players? Does the game's lack of an AH bother you? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard! Continue reading Leaderboard: Does Elder Scrolls' lack of an auction house bother you? Leaderboard: Does Elder Scrolls' lack of an auction house bother you? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot embark on Steam Greenlight campaign Posted: 16 Apr 2014 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dark Age of Camelot, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Ultima Online, Promotions, Sandbox, Subscription, MMORPG Since its acquisition of Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot in February, Broadsword Online Games has not been content to let the titles sit around merely getting older. Earlier this month, the team hosted a large state-of-the-game chat about the future of UO's design, and now the developers have posted their latest ambitions: a spot on Steam bathed in green light for the venerable old MMORPGs. "We are in the process of getting UO on Steam but need your help. Please go here and vote for UO! Thank you for all your support!" wrote UO Producer Bonnie Armstrong on the official site today. DAOC's Steam Greenlight campaign is likewise now live. You heard the lady. Chop, chop. Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot embark on Steam Greenlight campaign originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: UO Herald, DAOC Steam Greenlight, UO Steam Greenlight

RIFT sends players back in time to fight dragons Posted: 16 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Free-to-Play, RIFT, Dungeons Set your time machines back 1,500 years, RIFT players, because Patch 2.6.1 is flinging Ascended heroes into the past to help round up a few rowdy dragons. The patch, which landed today, opens up a new Tier 3 raid called Bindings of Blood. In this raid, players are experiencing the binding of the dragons from a first-hand perspective, and in so doing they actually change the "present" history of their personal game. Trion Worlds told us on the phone that the 20-person raid contains four portals to four instances, each with its own mini-boss, dragon, and unique theme. The instances are on separate lockout timers, and currently two are open with two more scheduled for next month. The bosses are reworked versions of Greenscale, Akylios, Laethys, and Maelforge, and will drop best-in-slot gear and weapons. RIFT sends players back in time to fight dragons originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hearthstone comes to iPad Posted: 16 Apr 2014 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Launches, Free-to-Play, Trading Card Games, Hearthstone After a soft launch in a few countries, Hearthstone is now available to iPad owners worldwide. Blizzard announced today that Hearthstone is on the app store as an alternative to the PC version. The title is available on iPads 2 and newer as well as the iPad minis. New and returning players will be treated to a free card pack as part of this release. Hearthstone has a funny trailer for the Apple release, which you can watch after the jump. Continue reading Hearthstone comes to iPad Hearthstone comes to iPad originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Release announcement

Today's Landmark update introduces glass, removes air Posted: 16 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, New Titles, Patches, Free-to-Play, Housing, Player-Generated Content, Landmark Life just got easier for Landmark developers: Today's update introduces new crafted glass props to enhance building as well as makes construction itself more precise by eliminating air when copy and pasting. Although not a building material (yet), the glass props will enable players to put windows into their homes or construct any number of transparent creations. A more widely applicable change, however, is the ability to remove the air when putting down templates or pasting something. Previously, empty space in a template counted as a voxel itself, meaning that the space would be placed or pasted along with the filled voxels. While helpful in some cases, this same principle caused undesirable effects when trying to combine templates. As promised previously, the light orbs that were made available for purchase in the Showcase last week can now be crafted in game. Additional tweaks and fixes, including a UI compass, are detailed in the update notes. Today's Landmark update introduces glass, removes air originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Update notes

Guild Wars 2's megaserver update and patch primer [Updated] Posted: 16 Apr 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Hands-On, Buy-to-Play If you're still reeling from playing dress-up and retraiting your stable of characters thanks to Guild Wars 2's feature pack launch yesterday, then friend of Massively Richie "Bogotter" Procopio has just the video for you. He's put together a patch primer that walks current and returning players through the new wardrobe system, dye system, and trait system. He also gives a few more obscure tips that aren't obvious from the patch notes. Meanwhile, ArenaNet has posted that the patch's promised megaserver tech is slowly rolling out to key zones. Here's what's been activated so far: The Grove, Heart of the Mist, Black Citadel, Timberline Falls, Southsun Cove, Rata Sum, Straits of Devastation, Fields of Ruin, Brisban Wildlands, Hoelbrak, Iron Marches, Blazeridge Steppes, and Dredgehaunt Cliffs. [Update: Lion's Arch, Lornar's Pass, Kessex Hills, Diessa Plateau, and Metrica Province were just converted this afternoon, according to the official site.] Enjoy the primer video after the break! Continue reading Guild Wars 2's megaserver update and patch primer [Updated] Guild Wars 2's megaserver update and patch primer [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Megaserver post, Bogotter's YouTube

The Elder Scrolls Online patches for quest bugs Posted: 16 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Patches, News Items, Consoles, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription The Elder Scrolls Online didn't have a bad launch by any means, but it was certainly not free of lag or of bugs. Not much can be done about lag, but bugs exist to be squashed, and the latest patch from the game aims to do that. The patch notes clearly outline several known quest issues that should be eliminated after this latest update, giving players a much more stable story experience than has been on the table before. Other minor fixes and improvements include slight UI tweaks and minor bugs regarding movement and abilities. Players will also no longer accidentally deconstruct their equipped helmets, which is good news for players but bad news for the haberdashers of Tamriel. Check out the full list of fixes and changes in the official patch notes, and enjoy a smoother questing flow the next time you log into the game. The Elder Scrolls Online patches for quest bugs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Patch 1.0.3

Trove empowers community to pitch biomes and classes Posted: 16 Apr 2014 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Contests, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Music, Trove Trion Worlds is empowering the Trove community even further by inviting players to pitch ideas for a new biome and class to be added to the game. A Reddit thread has the details of how this process will unfold. Players will begin by brainstorming ideas for biomes, and after some time, the dev team will pick the best (and top-voted) submissions and allow players to vote on the very best one. Following that, the team will poll players for decorations, dungeon designs, and enemy ideas, and then get the biome into the game within the month. There are also plans for a similar pitching-and-voting process afterward in regard to a new class. On a phone call, Trion told Massively that it's looking to push the crowdsourcing aspect further and further as time goes on. The team is incredibly impressed with what the community has created so far with weapons, hairstyles, dungeons, and hats, and it can't wait to see what comes from this experiment. One thing that the team revealed is the upcoming addition of music blocks: Physical objects that make notes (and even chords) when walked on. We asked if Trion was looking to crowdsource the soundtrack for the game as well, and while the devs said that no players had yet stepped forward, they promised that if some did with great tunes, those would definitely be included into the game proper. Trove empowers community to pitch biomes and classes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Reddit

Final Fantasy XIV surpasses 2 million registrations Posted: 16 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, Subscription There are two million people playing Final Fantasy XIV right this second. All right, maybe not quite that many, but it's certainly possible. The launch of the game's PlayStation 4 version has seen the game climb to surpass two million registered accounts, an increase of 500,000 over the 1.5 million stated in November. No hard data have been offered on how many of those accounts are subscribing to the game at this point, although an interview with Naoki Yoshida in March stated 500,000 players were logging into the game daily. With a recent patch and a new platform, the revitalized game seems to be doing quite well for itself as it approaches the one-year mark for its relaunch. [Source: Square-Enix press release] Final Fantasy XIV surpasses 2 million registrations originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Via: Joystiq

Watch the first 14 minutes of the Icarus Online Korean open beta Posted: 16 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE WeMade Entertainment's new fantasy MMO Icarus Online began its Korean open beta yesterday. ThisIsGame was there, and the site has published a 14-minute video detailing the tutorial, early gameplay, and a few cutscenes. The open beta client features five classes (Berserker, Guardian, Assassin, Wizard, and Priest) as well as a level 25 cap, the new Hakanas Ocean map, and a new raid. TIG reports that WeMade will add a dedicated player-killing area and an Archer class "after the OBT." Click past the cut to watch the gameplay clip. Continue reading Watch the first 14 minutes of the Icarus Online Korean open beta Watch the first 14 minutes of the Icarus Online Korean open beta originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: TIG

Here are lots of helpful EVE UI tips Posted: 16 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Guides, Sandbox, Subscription If you're confused by EVE Online's UI, CCP Karkur has made a new video that you'll want to watch. Actually, you'll want to watch it even if you aren't confused, because it's full of tips and tricks relating to searches, inventory, the market, fittings, fleet settings, and more. Click past the cut to have a look! Continue reading Here are lots of helpful EVE UI tips Here are lots of helpful EVE UI tips originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

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