General Gaming Article

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• Best Gaming Mouse
• Microsoft Clears Regulatory Hurdles, Will Close Nokia Deal April 25
• AT&T Plans 1Gbps Push into 21 Additional Metropolitan Areas
• Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Superclocked, Corsair 1200W Platinum PSU, and More!
• G.Skill First to Offer Low Voltage DDR3 Laptop Memory Clocked at 2133MHz
• AMD Revitalizes Never Settle Game Bundle, Save Codes for Future Use
• AMD's A-Series 64-bit ARM Server SoCs Begin Sampling; Launch Set for Fourth Quarter
• Vast Majority of Top Sites No Longer Vulnerable to Heartbleed
• Facebook Begins Rolling Out ‘Nearby Friends’, Plans to Sell Data to Advertisers

Best Gaming Mouse Posted: 21 Apr 2014 02:09 PM PDT Best Gaming Mouse: Six cutting-edge gaming mice. Which one belongs in your paw? We tend to think of some PC components as having a longer shelf life than others. A video card gets out of date faster than a motherboard, which gets out of date faster than an optical drive, for instance. Some people think that a mouse falls way down at the bottom of that list, somewhere between a power supply and the screwdriver you use to put the whole thing together, but those people have got it all wrong. Eeny, Meeny, Miny Mouse Your mouse has a huge effect on how effectively you use your computer, and mouse technology evolves every year. Last year's killer feature becomes this year's baseline. Performance that was once top-of-the-line starts to make an appearance in the bargain bin. So if you're still using the same crusty old mouse from half a decade ago, or if you've never made the jump to a true gaming mouse in the first place, you owe it to yourself to take a look at what's on the market right now. To help you out, we've rounded up six premium gaming mice spanning multiple price points and niches and put them to the test in an attempt to find the best gaming mouse. Each one has been rated based on its features, build quality, performance, and software support. Some of these mice are among the best we've ever tested, so read on and find out how you're going to control your next PC. Logitech G602 Is it time to cut the cord? A lot of gamers still have the idea that a true gaming mouse can't be wireless—that wireless mice lag and are unreliable and will totally wreck your K/D in Call of Duty. Fortunately, that idea has been proven wrong repeatedly recently, as multiple companies have released high-quality wireless gaming mice. With the G602, Logitech has pounded another nail in that myth's coffin. The G602 is a wireless mouse with a solid, all-purpose set of features. It has plenty of buttons, including a bank of six bindable keys accessible to your thumb, which allows it to work fairly well for MMO or FPS gameplay. It's long, with a high-arched design that will work best for those who prefer a full-palm grip, and the construction is top-notch. A rubber pad on the palm makes the mouse easy to hold on to, and the textured plastic around the sides of the mouse feels very durable. The G602 isn't rechargeable, but it is designed for extreme longevity. Logitech claims that in gaming mode, a single set of two AA batteries will last for 250 hours. During our testing, we weren't able to make a dent in the battery meter, so we're not inclined to disagree. In order to provide longer battery life, Logitech went with an optical sensor. We found the tracking to be quite good, though the maximum 2,500 dpi and 500Hz polling rate might be too low for some gamers. Logitech's software is usually solid, and the G602 is no exception. The Logitech G602 features plenty of thumb buttons. If you're looking for a wireless-only mouse with plenty of features for any type of gaming, you won't be disappointed by the G602. Logitech G602 $80, www.logitech.com Mad Catz R.A.T. M A super-small mouse with some full-size problems You've got to hand it to Mad Catz—the company is not afraid to try new things with its peripherals. This derring-do was apparent with the über-customizable R.A.T. 7, which was truly innovative. With the R.A.T. M, Mad Catz tried something new again. This time, however, it didn't work out so well. The R.A.T. M is a gaming mouse designed for portable gaming. It's wireless, powered by two AAA batteries, and absolutely tiny, so you can throw it in your laptop bag. It can be used as a Bluetooth mouse, though it also comes with a low-profile USB dongle that stows away under the mouse when not in use. As is usually the case, we found the USB mode to be more dependable than Bluetooth. A laser sensor provides great tracking on nearly any surface. Unfortunately, for all its portable conveniences, the R.A.T. M just isn't comfortable to use. The palm rest on the mouse extends, increasing the overall length, but even at its very longest, the mouse is still quite small, leaving your hand in a cramp-inducing extreme arc. Worse, the palm rest doesn't lock into place, so during the course of normal use it would almost constantly get shoved back into its shortest setting, rendering the mouse incredibly uncomfortable to use for more than a short while. There are plenty of buttons on the R.A.T. M, but most of them are quite difficult to hit, due again to the mouse's small size. With the R.A.T. M's palm rest extended, the mouse is almost big enough to comfortably use. A portable mouse is always going to be a compromise, but at $130 MSRP, the R.A.T. M asks too much, and offers too little. Mad Catz R.A.T. M $130, www.cyborggaming.com Click the next page to read about the TT ESports Theron and Roccat Kone Pure.   TT ESports Theron Aside from some flashy lights, does this newcomer bring much to the table? TT ESports is the peripherals division of Thermaltake, and one of the newer entrants into the increasingly crowded market. While the Theron isn't the flashiest mouse we've seen, it's a very solid piece of hardware, and a sign that the company's serious about competing. The Theron is an especially boxy mouse, with very wide, flat buttons and a nice clicking action. When powered up, it emits light from the scroll wheel, dragon logo, and from three LEDs located around the bottom, lighting up your desk under the mouse. The mouse features the sort of "soft-touch" rubberized surface that's popular on a lot of gaming mice. Though it feels nice to the touch, these coatings have a tendency to make your hand feel sweaty quickly, and the Theron's in particular started to show grease and fingerprints right away. On the underside of the Theron is a hatch that opens up to reveal a bank of five 4.5 gram weights, which allows you to substantially alter the overall weight of the mouse. It has two additional thumb buttons, one pinky button, and two DPI buttons. All are bindable, though the DPI buttons are placed far enough back from the thumb wheel that there's no real hope of hitting them in the heat of battle. Our only real complaint about the construction of the mouse is that the scroll wheel felt a little flimsy in its socket—otherwise, the Theron is quite solid. Like a souped-up street racer, the Theron features customizable underlighting. The Theron doesn't do much to stand out among the other mice in its price range, but it's hard to find specific things to fault it for. It's an all-around respectable option. Tt eSports Theron $70, www.ttesports.com Understanding Mouse Settings In Windows, there are really only three important mouse settings, and they are all located in the Mouse Properties panel. You can access this panel by opening the Control Panel, clicking Hardware and Sound, and then Mouse. Here's what you need to know.  Pointer Speed This slider adjusts how fast your pointer moves, of course, but the real secret is that you shouldn't ever need to use it. Any modern gaming mouse will allow you to set custom dpi levels, which adjust how sensitive the mouse is. Higher sensitivity will make the pointer move faster. If you instead keep the mouse sensitivity set low, and increase the pointer speed in Windows or in a game, your mouse accuracy will suffer.  Mouse Acceleration Mouse acceleration causes the mouse pointer to move farther based on how fast you're moving the mouse. So, quickly jerking the mouse over an inch will move the pointer farther than slowly dragging it that same inch. Many people find that this feels natural, but for some types of games where extreme mouse precision is required it may be undesirable. To disable it, uncheck the box labeled "Enhance pointer precision."  Roccat Kone Pure Color Edition Sometimes beauty is more than skin deep "Pure" is a good name for this version of the Roccat Kone gaming mouse—it's all about pure performance. It doesn't have a billion buttons, or removable weights, or any other extraneous features. Instead, the Kone Pure focuses on doing a smaller number of things well. For one, the Kone Pure offers great tracking, with a top-notch 8,200 dpi laser sensor. The mouse's lift-off distance can be customized, if you like to really fiddle with your mouse's performance. It also features half a megabyte of onboard memory, and a 32-bit processor, so you can store your profiles and macros directly on the mouse, and use them anywhere. Because the mouse is a little on the shorter side, we recommend it most for those who hold their device with their fingers bent, or who have smaller hands. The Color Edition we were sent for review is treated with a breathable matte finish and bright "Cool Blue" paint job. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to our eyes this thing is absolutely killer. The Kone Pure's software is a little cluttered, but generally up to the task of accessing the myriad ways you can customize the mouse. The mouse features four buttons in addition to the standard three, but one of the thumb buttons acts as a shift key, effectively doubling the number of keys or macros you can bind. The Roccat Kone Pure comes in an array of limited-edition colors. The Kone Pure's the real deal. It may not be perfect for everyone, but for most folks it's a great option. Roccat Kone Pure Color Edition $70, www.roccat.org Click the next page to read about the Corsair Raptor M40 and Razer Ouroboros.   Corsair Raptor M40 What a difference $10 makes The Raptor M40 occupies a curious space in Corsair's too-dense lineup of gaming mice. With an MSRP of $60, it's priced right at the bottom end of what we'd normally consider the premium gaming mouse market, yet it's feature set is more in line with what you'd find in a budget mouse. It is, essentially, a stripped-down version of Corsair's M65 gaming mouse, which has an MSRP of $70. The two share the same overall shape and design, but the M65 features an aluminum baseplate, a useful DPS-switching sniper button, and, most importantly, a laser sensor. The M40, by comparison, is all plastic and has an optical sensor. We experienced a noticeable performance dip switching to this M40 from the other mice in this roundup, including tracking problems on some of our test surfaces. Without many other features to speak of, the optical sensor is a strike against the M40. Otherwise, the M40 is perfectly decent. The software is a little clunky but serviceable, and offers profiles with multiple DPI settings and user-defined macros. Under the mouse, three separate weight chambers allow you to customize how the M40's weight is distributed, which is a nice touch. Under the M40, you'll find three separate weight chambers. Ultimately, the M40 isn't bad, it just doesn't offer a great set of features at this price. If you like the design, we strongly recommend paying the extra $10 for the M65. Otherwise, you can get more mouse for $60 elsewhere. Corsair Raptor M40 $60, www.corsair.com Razer Ouroboros Razer redefines 'top of the line' The Ouroboros takes a page (or maybe even a whole chapter) from the Cyborg R.A.T., the mouse that introduced the idea of a fully customizable device. Like that model, the Ouroboros's length can be adjusted, and you can swap out the mouse's side-plates, choosing between flat panels and flared wings. You can also fine-tune the angle of the palm rest, giving the mouse more or less arch as you desire. Somewhat surprisingly, the Ouroboros does not offer any sort of weight adjustment—a feature that's started to pop up in a lot of high-end mice. The design and build quality on the Ouroboros are both excellent. It's got an aggressive, boxy look and lacks the swoopy lines of Razer's other mice. It's also perfectly symmetrical, so it works equally well for left-handed gaming. A detachable USB cord allows the mouse to be used wired or wirelessly, with a small recharging station that doubles as the wireless receiver. Razer's software is reliably high-quality, and the Ouroboros is no exception. As with all products using the Razer Synapse software, you have to sign up for an account to use it, which is silly, but once you do, you get access to pretty much every customization feature you could ask for in a mouse. Button bindings, macros, profiles, the works—in a slick, easy-to-use package. The Ouroboros can be adjusted to fit any size hand. The bottom line is that this mouse is top of the line, and it's priced to match. If you want a mouse that can do it all, and don't mind spending a bundle, this is a great choice. Razer Ouroboros $150, www.razerzone.com Know the Lingo There's a lot of jargon used in marketing material for gaming mice. Here are definitions for some of the most common terms. DPI Short for "dots per inch," dpi is the measure of a mouse sensor's maximum sensitivity. A higher dpi value lets you move the pointer faster without sacrificing any accuracy. Dpi is important, but note that dpi values higher than 2,000 only really matter if you prefer very fast, "twitchy" pointer movement. Anything much higher than 4,000 or so is unlikely to actually come up in real-world use. Polling Frequency This is how often the mouse sends new location information to your PC. A higher frequency means a quicker response time, though, as with dpi, it will be difficult for you to perceive differences in polling rates above 500Hz. Onboard Processor/Memory These features allow you to store profile information and performance settings directly on a mouse, so they'll work on any computer the mouse is plugged into. This is useful, but some marketing materials oversell the utility of having a processor in your mouse. Grip Style Razer marketing in particular likes to describe each mouse as being best for one particular grip style or another (see image). The major thing you should be aware of is whether you like to lay your palm and fingers flat on the mouse, or raise them up in an arch, so only your fingertips and the bottom of your palm touch it. The former favors a long mouse, with a higher, ergonomic arch.

Microsoft Clears Regulatory Hurdles, Will Close Nokia Deal April 25 Posted: 21 Apr 2014 12:06 PM PDT Only a few days remain before Microsoft closes its acquisition of Nokia's mobile business If things had gone exactly to plan, Microsoft would have tied the knot with Nokia by now. However, red tape is sometimes sticky business, especially when it's coming from all directions. Regardless, Microsoft today announced that it's completed all the necessary steps to finalize its acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services business (mobile handsets and such, in other words). The transaction will be complete on Friday, April 25. The delay gave Microsoft and Nokia time to hammer out some additional specifics. For example, the original deal didn't make any mention of online asset management, but the two sides have since agreed that Microsoft will manage the Nokia.com domain and social media sites for up to a year. Microsoft also convinced Nokia to transfer its 21 employees in China working on mobile phones to join the Redmond outfit, whereas previously all workers in Nokia's Chief Technology Office would continue employment at Nokia. "The completion of this acquisition follows several months of planning and will mark a key step on the journey towards integration. This acquisition will help Microsoft accelerate innovation and market adoption for Windows Phones. In addition, we look forward to introducing the next billion customers to Microsoft services via Nokia mobile phones," Microsoft stated in a blog post. Timing of the finalized deal comes just as Microsoft has begun rolling out its Windows Phone 8.1 update with Cortana voice assistant software. Image Credit: Flickr (Janitors) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

AT&T Plans 1Gbps Push into 21 Additional Metropolitan Areas Posted: 21 Apr 2014 11:27 AM PDT Faster Internet service could be coming to your city in the near future Forget about data caps, service fees, and other buzz kills of the broadband era. In regards to the high-speed infrastructure that can deliver blistering fast downloads, AT&T on Monday announced a major initiative to expand its fiber network to up to 100 candidate cities and municipalities nationwide, including 21 new major metropolitan areas. This fiber network is the tunnel through which AT&T's U-verse with GigaPower service travels through. For couch potatoes, that means access to AT&T's advanced TV services, and for Internet users, we're talking up to 1Gbps service. At that speed, you could download 25 songs in a single second, a TV show in 3 seconds, and a high-definition movie in as little as 36 seconds, assuming perfect conditions. "We're delivering advanced services that offer consumers and small businesses the ability to do more, faster, help communities create a new wave of innovation, and encourage economic development," said Lori Lee, senior executive vice president, AT&T Home Solutions. "We're interested in working with communities that appreciate the value of the most advanced technologies and are willing to encourage investment by offering solid investment cases and policies." The 21 lucky metropolitan candidates include Atlanta, Augusta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Greensboro, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Oakland, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, St. Louis, San Francisco, and San Jose. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Superclocked, Corsair 1200W Platinum PSU, and More! Posted: 21 Apr 2014 09:25 AM PDT Top Deal: Before there were 3D graphics cards, it was a dark and cold world. Text-based adventure gaming ruled the day, and as games grew more complex, it was up to the CPU to carry the heavy load. That all changed in the mid-1990s, and now decades later, we have awesome pixel pushing cards like the one offered up as today's top deal -- an EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti Superclocked Video Card for $685 with free shipping (normally $730; additional $10 mail-in-rebate). This card brings 2,880 CUDA cores to the party and chills out with EVGA's custom ACX cooler. Other Deals: AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Desktop Processor for $110 with free shipping (normally $120 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWB22]) OCZ VTX460-25SAT3-240G 2.5-inch 240GB SATA III MLC Flash Internal Solid State Drive for $150 with free shipping (normally $170 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWB29]) Corsair AXi series 1200W Digital ATX12V 80 Plus Platinum Certified Full Modular Power Supply for $290 with free shipping (normally $340 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWB42]; additional $30 Mail-in rebate) Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H FM2+ AMD A88X (Bolton D4) HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard for $65 with free shipping (normally $75 - use coupon code: [EMCPFWB35])

G.Skill First to Offer Low Voltage DDR3 Laptop Memory Clocked at 2133MHz Posted: 21 Apr 2014 08:07 AM PDT Low voltage RAM for mobile enthusiasts Little by little, we're seeing memory makers push the envelope in mobile and small form factor (SFF) setups by introducing high-performance SO-DIMM RAM. So it goes with G.Skill, which claims its latest Ripjaws are the industry's first DDR3L SO-DIMM clocked at a blistering fast 2133MHz. Not only is this a high-performance memory kit, it's also available in large capacities, up to 32GB (4x8GB). G.Skill's DDR3L kit operates at just 1.35V yet is able to reach 2133MHz with 11-11-11-31 timings. The sales pitch from G.Skill is that you're getting desktop performance and capacity on a laptop, and we won't argue against that claim assuming the kit works as advertised. It's also worth mentioning that SO-DIMM memory is becoming popular in SFF systems and mini PCs, like Intel's NUC and other similar systems. G.Skill posted a series of screenshots of its RAM powering an MSI GT70 2OC gaming laptop and running stable "under extreme load." MemTest shows no errors as the laptop successfully completes a Hyper Pi run with 97 percent RAM usage. There's no mention of price or availability, though as a point of reference, G.Skill's equivalent on the desktop runs about $330 street. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

AMD Revitalizes Never Settle Game Bundle, Save Codes for Future Use Posted: 21 Apr 2014 07:33 AM PDT Score free games with the purchase of select AMD graphics cards from qualifying vendors In an effort to help tip the scales in its favor, AMD's been enticing gamers in need of a new graphics card with free game offers if they purchase a select Radeon GPU. AMD's Never Settle bundle has proved popular and continues to evolve with better offers and more robust terms. With that in mind, AMD just expanded its Never Settle Forever program to include more titles, more graphics card options, and a delayed redemption option. For the first time as part of the Never Settle promotion, AMD is letting gamers save their codes in anticipation of upcoming titles. The codes issued now are good until August 31, 2014, which is a little more than four months away. AMD didn't say which upcoming games will quality for redemption, but it's a neat option for those who already own many of the games being offered or otherwise aren't intrigued by the current crop of games. Another change is the introduction of indie packs. Indie packs consist of two games from independent developers, but they're bundled as one and only count as one choice in your reward tier. These aren't necessarily crap titles, either -- AMD says they're among the top downloads on Steam. As for the reward tiers, those who purchase a Radeon R9 295X2, 290 series, or 280 series graphics card from a qualifying vendor are eligible for the Gold tier. This includes three selections from a bunch of title options made up of Thief, Tomb Raider, Hitman: Absolution, Sleeping Dogs, Just Cause 2, and many more. Those who purchase a Radeon R9 270 series or R7 260 series qualify for the Silver tier and can choose two free games, while purchasers of the R7 250 series or R7 240 fall into the Bronze category and can select a single title. For more details, along with where to purchase a qualifying graphics card, visit AMD's Never Settle Forever page. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

AMD's A-Series 64-bit ARM Server SoCs Begin Sampling; Launch Set for Fourth Quarter Posted: 20 Apr 2014 10:39 PM PDT Opteron A1100 chips support up to eight 28nm Cortex A57 cores AMD began sampling its Opteron A1100 64-bit ARM processors (codenamed "Seattle") last month, the chipmaker announced during its first quarter financial results conference call Thursday. Hailing it as a key milestone "in our ambidextrous strategy," AMD CEO Rory Read said that the company planned to begin shipping the chips in the final quarter of 2014. "We have introduced Seattle, our first 64-bit ARM server processor and the industry's first at 28nm technology, positioning AMD as the only SoC provider to bridge the x86 and ARM ecosystems for server applications," Read said. "We're catching it just as the wave is forming. This is going to be an important market over the next three, five, 10 years." Meanwhile, Lisa Su, AMD's SVP and GM of global business units, talked of the immense interest Seattle has managed to inspire in customers. But even she isn't sure how much of that interest will actually translate into revenue for the beleaguered company. "Relative to revenue, it's probably too early to tell what's going to happen in 2015," she said, "but I'd say the interest in the platform is quite high." "I think the important thing for us and what we're working with the customers on is platform development and software development and ensuring that we get some of the ecosystem there." When asked about Seattle finding its way into SeaMicro systems, Su had this to say: "One of the advantages of having a systems business is that we can do co-development between our chip development and our systems development. So it will be quite important for us to have Seattle in SeaMicro systems, and that's in development." However, she refused to put a date on the launch of such SeaMicro Fabric servers, clarifying that the "Q4 statement was a chip statement." The upcoming 64-bit ARM-based server SoCs (system-on-chip) from AMD will be available with four or eight ARMv8-based Cortex A57 cores, up to 4MB of shared Level 2 cache, 8MB of shared Level 3 cache, eight PCI-Express Gen 3 lanes, two 10 GB/s Ethernet, and eight SATA 3 ports. Further, the A-series chips support up to 128GB of DDR3 or DDR4 ECC memory as unbuffered DIMMs, registered DIMMs or SODIMMs. Follow Pulkit on Google+

Vast Majority of Top Sites No Longer Vulnerable to Heartbleed Posted: 20 Apr 2014 10:07 PM PDT Over 20,000 top sites still vulnerable Many a heart skipped a beat when it emerged earlier this month that millions of web servers around the world were vulnerable to a yawning hole in the open-source OpenSSL cryptographic software library. The discovery sent IT execs and web admins around the world scampering to plug the hole. Ten days after coverage of Heartbleed first began, security research firm Sucuri decided to scan the Internet's top one million websites (as ranked by Alexa) to see how many of them were still vulnerable. "After 10 days of massive coverage, we expected to see every server out there patched against it. To confirm our expectations, we scanned every web site listed in the Alexa top 1 million rank," Sucuri CTO Daniel Cid wrote in a blog post Thursday. "Yes, we scanned the top web sites in the world to see how many were still infected." Here's what the firm found: "We were glad to see that the top 1,000 sites in the world were all properly patched, and that just 0.53% of the top 10k still had issues. However, as we went to less popular (and smaller) sites, the number of unpatched servers grew to 2%. That is not surprising, but we expected better." If you are a website owner, Sucuri suggests that you use this website to check whether or not your site is affected and, in case it is, to patch the Heartbleed OpenSSL vulnerability post-haste. Follow Pulkit on Google+

Facebook Begins Rolling Out ‘Nearby Friends’, Plans to Sell Data to Advertisers Posted: 20 Apr 2014 09:46 PM PDT New location-sharing feature is optional Facebook recently announced the addition of a new feature called Nearby Friends to its Android and iOS apps. No prizes for guessing that the new feature, which is thankfully optional, lets Facebook users discover friends who are nearby. Currently being rolled out to Facebook for Android and iOS users in the States, it remains turned off by default. You will need a bit more than merely turning it on to make the most of Nearby Friends, though. "Sharing your location with Nearby Friends goes two ways — you and your friends both have to turn on Nearby Friends and choose to share with each other to see when you're nearby," Facebook said in a news release Thursday. "Your friends will only be able to see that you're nearby if you share this info with them and vice versa." Although many see this feature as facilitating greater offline interaction among Facebook friends, there is no dearth of those who are not entirely comfortable with the idea of letting Facebook keep track of their every move. According to an in-app description of the Location History option — something that needs to be enabled in order for Nearby Friends to work — Facebook does this by "building a history of your precise location, even when you're not using the app." But why is it building this history in the first place? When TechCrunch's Josh Constine questioned the social networking site on the real purpose of preserving the user's location history, the company replied saying that although "at this time it's not being used for advertising or marketing, but in the future it will be." While it is possible for you to clear your Facebook location history, it does not appear to be something Facebook would like you to do: "Location History helps us know when it makes the most sense to notify you (for example, by making sure we don't send you a notification every time a Facebook friend who works with you is also in the office)." Follow Pulkit on Google+

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MMO Updates

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• The Nexus Telegraph: In which no WildStar injuries happened
• Trials of Ascension video demonstrates dynamic spawning
• Guild Wars 2's Tournament of Legends expands
• Here's a breathtaking Black Desert fly-through trailer
• The Daily Grind: Which NPC is the most annoying?
• MMO Week in Review: The end of the World of Darkness
• ArcheAge boasts 120 class combinations
• Mortal Online patch will add more blood and Oculus Rift support
• Elder Scrolls Online accidentally bans legitimate accounts
• PAX East 2014: The future looks bright for the next generation of MMOs

The Nexus Telegraph: In which no WildStar injuries happened Posted: 21 Apr 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), Endgame, Opinion, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph, Subscription, Buy-to-Play My performance on the dance floor during PAX East 2013's WildStar party is the stuff of dark legends (in my mind, anyway), but it was not replicated this year. Indeed, when I tried to get into this year's WildStar community party, the entranceway was inaccessible due to the sheer mass of people. As I naturally handle crowds about as well as a Mechari handles knock-knock jokes, I opted to turn around and go back to my hotel room. There was a Ghostbusters marathon on, so it was still kind of awesome. This did not, however, mean that the convention was devoid of interesting stories; it just was devoid of stories in which I sustained injuries greatly impacting my normal hiking routes. So let's talk about what things really stuck out in my mind through the whole con. For my money, that comes down to the focus on the endgame and a really stupid statement. Where to start? Continue reading The Nexus Telegraph: In which no WildStar injuries happened The Nexus Telegraph: In which no WildStar injuries happened originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Trials of Ascension video demonstrates dynamic spawning Posted: 21 Apr 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding A few weeks back we told you about sandbox MMO Trials of Ascension's work-in-progress dynamic spawning feature. Essentially it allows GMs to mark points in the world and allow the game's automation to adjust everything from animal migration to flora growth. While it sounds cool in theory, seeing it in action is even better, which is where the latest ToA video comes in. Click past the cut to watch an alpha-state example that includes developer commentary. [Thanks Android!] Continue reading Trials of Ascension video demonstrates dynamic spawning Trials of Ascension video demonstrates dynamic spawning originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Apr 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dynamic spawning

Guild Wars 2's Tournament of Legends expands Posted: 21 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play ArenaNet has made some changes to Guild Wars 2's upcoming Tournament of Legends PvP event due to an "overwhelming turnout." The tourney will now feature 64 teams per region instead of the original 16, and two additional rounds have been added as a result. The EU region tournament begins on April 26th, while the North American edition starts May 3rd. Additional details including start times, prizes, and the scheduled map rotation are available at the GW2 website. Guild Wars 2's Tournament of Legends expands originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Apr 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Here's a breathtaking Black Desert fly-through trailer Posted: 21 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Black Desert Pearl Abyss has released an 11-minute trailer for Black Desert, the entirety of which features a breathtaking fly-through of the sandbox's huge fantasy world map. Steparu reports that all of these areas are seamless, including the game's many dungeons which don't make an appearance in this particular clip. You can watch the full trailer just past the cut. Continue reading Here's a breathtaking Black Desert fly-through trailer Here's a breathtaking Black Desert fly-through trailer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Apr 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Steparu

The Daily Grind: Which NPC is the most annoying? Posted: 21 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription "Do you know the old saying? 'Neither a borrower or a lender be?' Rubbish! Without borrowers and lenders, how would we ever be able to buy or sell anything? But pardon me. Welcome to the bank of Daggerfall." So says one Angier Stower, clerk for Elder Scrolls Online's aforementioned institution and quite possibly the most annoying NPC I've ever encountered. It's not that she feels the need to justify her existence to me every time I need to use the bank, it's that she just... keeps... talking. And talking. And talking. Going through that entire spiel in full voiceover mode every time I open the banking UI. She's so annoying that some enterprising soul has made a mod designed expressly to shut her the hell up! So thanks very much for that, Wobin. How about it, Massively readers? Who's your pick for the most annoying NPC of all time? 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: Which NPC is the most annoying? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Week in Review: The end of the World of Darkness Posted: 20 Apr 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post. Early this week, CCP announced it had canceled World of Darkness, a hardcore Vampire: The Masquerade sandbox that had been languishing in development since 2008. A pre-production video was shown at 2013's EVE Fanfest, but layoffs slammed the studio last December. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: The end of the World of Darkness MMO Week in Review: The end of the World of Darkness originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Apr 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

ArcheAge boasts 120 class combinations Posted: 20 Apr 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Classes, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Crafting Forget MMOs that have a petty eight, 16, or even 23 classes; ArcheAge is strutting about with 120 builds thanks to its mix-and-match class structure. In a new developer diary and video, the team talks about the way classes are set up in the game as well as the crafting options at the player's disposal. Players construct their class by picking three skillsets at levels 1, 5, and 10, with the option to respec for a fee. Skillsets can be leveled up independently, allowing players to invest in far more than three of them, and those skillsets have certain synergies between them. The 10 skillsets in the game are Archery, Auramancy, Battlerage, Defense, Occultism, Shadowplay, Songcraft, Sorcery, Vitalism, and Witchcraft. ArcheAge wants you to know that you have the option to level to the cap entirely through crafting professions if desired. The 21 professions are leveled through a slowly regenerating resource called Labor, and eventually they hit a hard cap until the player chooses a handful for specializations. You can watch the dev video walk you through the intricacies of classes and crafting after the break! Continue reading ArcheAge boasts 120 class combinations ArcheAge boasts 120 class combinations originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Apr 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Classes and crafting

Mortal Online patch will add more blood and Oculus Rift support Posted: 20 Apr 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Previews, PvP, Mortal Online, Virtual Reality Mortal Online is about to both look better and play better with the coming of Patch 1.80.00.00. Wait, is that a patch version or an IP address? Never you mind. The new patch contains a boat-load of tweaks and upgrades, including the switch to an updated Unreal Engine. The dev team has improved the UI, rebuilt the gathering system, added more custom helmet overlays, created a unified options system, and even added support for Oculus Rift rendering and control. And if you worried that Mortal Online might be losing its savage edge, then you'll be glad to read the following patch note: "Tweaked decapitation blood for more... blood." [Thanks to Graham for the tip!] Mortal Online patch will add more blood and Oculus Rift support originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Apr 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Patch notes

Elder Scrolls Online accidentally bans legitimate accounts Posted: 20 Apr 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Legal, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription Mark this down in the "oops!" category: ZeniMax admitted that it got a little too zealous in its war against EULA breakers in Elder Scrolls Online by accidentally banning some players who had done no wrong. "As part of our continuing effort to combat gold spammers, botters and exploiters, we recently banned a number of accounts," the studio posted. "After several players appealed, we were able to investigate the matter further and discovered some legitimate accounts got caught up in the sweep. We unbanned accounts last night, and have email responses going out for those affected from our support group. It is never our intention for legitimate players to be harmed as we work to keep your game free of cheaters, and we sincerely apologize for the mistake." ZeniMax also said that this past week's maintenance accidentally deleted some characters' bank expansions and the items held inside of them. The studio put up a process how to regain those slots and items if it happened to you. Elder Scrolls Online accidentally bans legitimate accounts originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Apr 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Account bans, Restoring missing bank slots

PAX East 2014: The future looks bright for the next generation of MMOs Posted: 20 Apr 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding, Player-Generated Content, MMORPG While last weekend saw a surprising lack of noteworthy announcements at PAX East 2014, one panel gathered several industry veterans to answer a not-so-simple question: How does the future look for the MMO industry as a whole? The panel, titled Next Generation MMO Games: What's Next for Multiplayer Trends?, featured Ian Fisher (Director of Design, Robot Entertainment), Stephen Frost (Game Design Producer, Carbine), Dave Georgeson (Director of Development, SOE), Kjartan Pierre Emilsson (Principal Game Designer, CCP), and Stephen Johnston (President, Guild Launch) in a roundtable discussion about where MMOs have been and where they're headed. While panelists agreed that there is a huge barrier to entry when funding, developing, and launching a new MMO, their outlook was positive overall, and in general they believe there is still plenty of room for growth in the industry. Continue reading PAX East 2014: The future looks bright for the next generation of MMOs PAX East 2014: The future looks bright for the next generation of MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Apr 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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MMORPG News

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• Black Desert: The Beauty of the World Displayed in New Video
• Shards Online: Rethinking the Meaning of Sandbox
• General: This Week's Live Stream Schedule

Black Desert: The Beauty of the World Displayed in New Video Posted: 21 Apr 2014 07:39 AM PDT The beauty that is the world of Black Desert shines in the latest video from the game's second closed beta in Korea. From cities to raging rivers to small hamlets, the gorgeousness and activity of the Black Desert world sparkles. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Shards Online: Rethinking the Meaning of Sandbox Posted: 21 Apr 2014 07:31 AM PDT Developed by a core team spanning decades of MMO development (Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot, Warhammer Online), Citadel Studios is filled to the brim with people whose games you've loved and lost (poor Tabula Rasa). During PAX we met up with Derek Brinkmann and Chris Ondrus to get an early look at the pre-alpha client of their game and talk with them about the direction they want it all to go.

General: This Week's Live Stream Schedule Posted: 21 Apr 2014 07:09 AM PDT Join the MMORPG.com Live Stream team this week as they show off some of the hottest games on the market today. Join the MMORPG.com Live Stream channel at the appointed time and have a blast!

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