| Perfect Ten: Strategies for juggling multiple MMOs Posted: 19 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Humor, Guides, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous Among my friends, I have a reputation for being "that guy who plays all the games." People are constantly asking me how I manage to handle so many MMOs simultaneously on top of work and family, as if I've managed to clone myself or I never sleep. The truth is far more mundane: Work and family get top priority with my time, and what I have left for gaming is simply spent wisely. The thing is that I'm just always enamoured with so many MMOs that I can't just play one and nothing else. I have to be a "juggler:" a player who balances online worlds. With limited time at my disposal and a desire to be in three or four MMOs at any given time, I've done a lot of experimenting with different ways to juggle titles. There is no one best way, I've found. It depends on how "fair" you want to be to your MMOs and whether it's a priority to you to give each of them more or less the same attention and time. Each of the following strategies has pros and cons, and if you're trying to handle two or more titles, you're simply going to need to figure out what works best for you and your allotment of time. Continue reading Perfect Ten: Strategies for juggling multiple MMOs  Perfect Ten: Strategies for juggling multiple MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WRUP: Oversaturation Posted: 19 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT |
| The Daily Grind: What naming restrictions do you approve of? Posted: 19 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous A recent beta patch in WildStar included several changes to its naming rules. Numbers in names are out but special characters are in. I'm really not a huge fan of most special characters because they're used to circumvent the fact that your desired name was chosen and so you're going to create a similar-looking name that will be all but impossible for your friends and guildies to type. Of course, in some games this isn't a problem because players can pick any name they like as long as it's attached to their permanent handle. But that's got its pros and cons too. What naming restrictions do you approve of? Personally, I wish all MMOs allowed for first and last names, since this usually solves the problem of taken names while increasing variety. I also don't know how prevalent "leet-speak" is these days to necessitate the removal of numbers.  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 naming restrictions do you approve of? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 Apr 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Skyforge posts Q&A on character development and more Posted: 18 Apr 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Classes, Game Mechanics, News Items, Free-to-Play, Community Q&A, Skyforge The Skyforge team today selected and answered 10 community questions on the official forums ranging from "when's beta" (effective answer: no comment) to "how will names work" (answer: given name plus surname). Perhaps the most interesting tidbits focused on character development: The team confirmed that you can switch classes on the fly "whenever you like" and that because of this mechanic, you're unlikely to need alts. Moreover, says the team, "character progression in the game is not level based," and "players will always have ways to advance their characters further." The free-to-play sci-fantasy MMORPG's full Q&A is available on the official forums. The developers have promised to post more answers every two weeks. [Thanks to Paul for the tip!] Skyforge posts Q&A on character development and more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: April 12 - 18, 2014 Posted: 18 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Business Models, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous This week, Trion expanded Trove's "adventurer" supporter tier, which costs $20, to include instant access to the game's ongoing alpha test. What else is new in the world of MMO betas this round? - Shards posted a survey for hopeful alpha test candidates (thanks, Siphaed!).
- WildStar showed off new body customization options in its latest round of beta.
- Face of Mankind's open beta begins... today!
- Swordsman joins our list with its closed beta signups.
- Archlord 2 opened its closed beta registration earlier this week.
- Landmark implemented a major building patch for its beta.
- We streamed Origins of Malu's alpha with the developer team.
- Icarus Online's Korean open beta got a video preview.
- HEX announced its closed beta will begin on April 23rd.
- Monkey King Online soft-launched into open beta.
- CasinoRPG, which does call itself an MMORPG, officially moved from beta to launch on April 16th.
Read on for the complete Betawatch roundup! Continue reading Betawatch: April 12 - 18, 2014 Betawatch: April 12 - 18, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Camelot Unchained dishes on design progress, racial lore Posted: 18 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Game Mechanics, Lore, News Items, Dev Diaries, Camelot Unchained, MMORPG City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs has been a busy bee over on the Camelot Unchained blog today, delivering two posts about the game. The first discusses the world editor and progress on the programming front. Writes Jacobs, We've kicked it up a notch with our combat system. We've now got character stats in the game. We've got more interesting abilities that can apply buffs and debuffs and affect your character's stats. Active effects on the character are passed to the UI layer so you can see what effects are active on your character. Abilities are saved to the database and updates can be pushed straight to the Live or Stable server. Cooldowns are in place and can affect one or more abilities. The second blog post includes new concept art and a lengthy lore piece on the Caretakers of the Tuatha De Danann. Enjoy both on the official site. Camelot Unchained dishes on design progress, racial lore originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Dark Age of Camelot plans character transfer service and new art Posted: 18 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Dark Age of Camelot, Previews, Community Q&A, Family, Sandbox, Subscription Dark Age of Camelot's grab bag -- written by Sir Grabford B. Bagsworth III Esq., no less -- is back, and at the top of the most pressing questions is the issue of character transfers. Broadsword said that these are indeed in the works: "We would like to provide the opportunity to allow consolidation. This will be among the many updates and upgrades to the Broadsword account center that is currently underway. Currently, it's planned as a premium service -- but there are no details on the prices as yet." Broadsword mentions how art improvements have been going in the game following the studio's acquisition of DAoC. "We have renewed investment in this area, and we're really excited about updating art for various features in DAoC. Things we're currently discussing are: fixes for art-related bugs, new maps, UI skins, new items, monsters, and more!" Other topics in the grab bag include the return of in-game surveys, the status of the new website, and details of the next patch. The studio teased that it will be adding "a new long-term live event with a very cool surprise" with the update. Dark Age of Camelot plans character transfer service and new art originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hands-on with Windborne's early access Posted: 18 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, New Titles, Previews, Opinion, Hands-On, Sandbox, Buy-to-Play The breakout success of Minecraft has inspired a slew of creative sandbox games since its release in 2011, and the trend has shown no signs of dying down given the ever-increasing number of sandbox titles hitting the market. Hidden Path Entertainment's in-development title Windborne is certainly one such game, and at first glance one might be tempted to write it off as a clone of Mojang's golden child, but that would be more than a little disingenuous. The folks at Hidden Path were generous enough to provide me with a key to get some hands-on experience with Windborne, but I'd like to make special mention of the fact that the game is currently part of Steam's Early Release program, which of course means that it's still unfinished and under constant development. With that in mind, I dived into Windborne's world of mystical floating islands, and I've got more than a few thoughts about the game, where it's going, and where it needs to be. Continue reading Hands-on with Windborne's early access Hands-on with Windborne's early access originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Ascent: The Space Game on building a better sci-fi sandbox Posted: 18 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, Business Models, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvE, Browser, Sandbox, MMORPG You'd be forgiven for not having heard of Ascent: The Space Game before. EVE Online is the sci-fi sandbox dominating headlines, and Star Citizen and other upcoming games are breathing down its neck. Is there room in the genre for, well, an indie space MMO that isn't all about cutthroat politics or hardcore ganking? James Hicks, the founder and CEO of Fluffy Kitten Studios and the man behind Ascent, says yes. He took the time this week to answer our questions about his already-playable-but-still-in-development game in deep detail, focusing on the game's complexity, player feedback, business model, mechanics, and how Ascent can truly expand the genre. Continue reading Ascent: The Space Game on building a better sci-fi sandbox Ascent: The Space Game on building a better sci-fi sandbox originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Check out WildStar's new body customization options Posted: 18 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT |
| Atlantica Online gets new class, dungeons, and more Posted: 18 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play Nexon has added new dungeons, a new merc, and a new class to Atlantica Online. The Empires of Gold update boasts dungeons including the Forgotten City of Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, the Golden City of El Dorado, and the Gold Empire of Defense. Atlantica's new class is the Celestial Hunter, "a fierce archer who can best any challenger with her bow and arrow skills." We've embedded the update trailer for you after the break! Continue reading Atlantica Online gets new class, dungeons, and more Atlantica Online gets new class, dungeons, and more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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