| Perfect Ten: Great MMO time travel adventures Posted: 10 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, EverQuest II, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, Opinion, Star Trek Online, RuneScape, The Secret World, RIFT, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous Writers and geeks alike can't seem to get enough of time travel, although the ratio of horribly crafted time travel tales to fun and smart ones is pretty lopsided. I've come to realize that MMOs are positively littered with ways that players are invited to jump around the internal timeline of the game, and I wanted to share a few of them in this week's countdown. When you think about it, the proliferation of time travel quests makes a lot of sense from a developer viewpoint. There is a ton of lore that goes into each one of these virtual worlds, but for the most part the players are affixed to a very specific (and unmoving) point in time. Hopping about in time is a great way to experience other eras and actually see history instead of just reading it in a quest box. Plus, if done right, these quests can be quite memorable. Continue reading Perfect Ten: Great MMO time travel adventures  Perfect Ten: Great MMO time travel adventures originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 May 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WRUP: Never use the word 'first' Posted: 10 May 2014 08:00 AM PDT |
| The Daily Grind: Should players be blamed for using exploits? Posted: 10 May 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous There's no doubt that exploits are controversial and often very destructive to the fabric of a massively multiplayer game. They can throw economies out of whack in mere hours and decimate entire cities. But the question that's on my mind today is whether or not players should be blamed for using them. In my opinion, the onus for maintaining the game's codes and rules is fully on the developers. Thus, if an exploit is found, it's the fault of the devs for not closing that loophole or forseeing that problem, not the players who take advantage of it. Now, I would certainly advocate that any players who find an exploit consider not being jerks and leaving well enough alone, but I also don't think that exploiters should be singled out for blame while the devs paint themselves as victims. You made the game, you made the rules. If a player can do something in a game without hacking or botting it, that's within what you created. It's up to you to make sure that your boundaries are ironclad, not me. What do you think? Should players be blamed for using exploits?  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: Should players be blamed for using exploits? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 May 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: May 3 - 9, 2014 Posted: 09 May 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding WildStar officially entered open beta yesterday, upping its level cap and unveiling a new trailer. What else is new in the land of MMO betas? - Landmark patched oceans into its ongoing founder beta.
- Like dinosaurs? Good. Survival MMO The Stomping Land hits Steam early access later this month.
- Destiny rather casually announced that its beta is coming in July.
- Heroes & Generals updated with the most massive patch its open beta has seen to date.
- World of Warcraft took us on a tour of a Warlords of Draenor zone.
- Elite: Dangerous clarified the timeline for its alpha and premium beta phases.
- The Repopulation likewise posted its alpha schedule.
- Shards Online started a mysterious countdown. [Thanks, Aimee!]
Read on for the complete Betawatch roundup! Continue reading Betawatch: May 3 - 9, 2014 Betawatch: May 3 - 9, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Transformers Universe adds Showdown and Mismatch to its roster Posted: 09 May 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game Mechanics, News Items, Transformers Universe, MOBA A pair of new bots joins the Transformers Universe roster today: Showdown and Mismatch. Showdown is a "crowd-pleasing, hard-scrapping Autobot" who "built his celebrity hammering 'Cons in the Kaon fight pits back in the dark days on Cybertron." He specializes in defending himself and his squad with shields. Mismatch, on the other hand, has thrown together his look from mismatched spare parts. "His minigun has been known to overheat and blow up in his face, but he'll roll with that because his enemies will taste the shrapnel too. When the dust settles, you'll find him scavenging for vital components." Rock out to the two new trailers, one for each character, embedded below. [Soure: Jagex press release] Continue reading Transformers Universe adds Showdown and Mismatch to its roster Transformers Universe adds Showdown and Mismatch to its roster originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Elder Scrolls Online's Craglorn zone 'harkens back to old school games' Posted: 09 May 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Lore, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription The folks over at ZeniMax have started a new series on the official Elder Scrolls Online website called the Loremaster's Archive, with the very first issue dedicated to the not-smelly-at-all-why-do-you-ask topic of the undead. The post differentiates between the four varieties of undead -- Reanimated, Returned, Accursed, and Abominable Miscegenations -- and provides a some backstory as to why people would pursue necromancy as a hobby. Meanwhile, on the fansite Tamriel Foundry, there's an interview with Lead Content Designer Rich Lambert about the development of the upcoming Craglorn zone. Citing his history of extensive raiding in MMOs, Lambert said that he was excited about developing this high-level group PvE area: "It harkens back to some of the old school games, (ugh I said 'old school') where grouping was really important for survival and stuff was hard." Lambert goes on to explain the various mechanics and specifics of how group adventures will proceed in the area, so check it out if you've hit level cap already and are ready for the next big challenge. Elder Scrolls Online's Craglorn zone 'harkens back to old school games' originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SOE's Jimmy Whisenhunt on the paranoia and potential of H1Z1 Posted: 09 May 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Horror, Interviews, Previews, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox, H1Z1 What's more dangerous to your survival after the apocalypse: undead abominations or your fellow humans? OK, that's certainly not a new question in the zombie gaming genre, although it's not going to stop H1Z1 from asking it. In fact, there's a haze of extreme familiarity that's settled around this title, even though it's the first full MMO on this scale to tackle a zombie survival sandbox. Is it almost too familiar for its own good? Will that familiarity be an asset or a drawback? Is SOE merely trying to cash in on the DayZ craze without trying much new? Or are these assumptions blinding us to the grander plan? To get a better feel for H1Z1, we got on the phone with Senior Designer Jimmy Whisenhunt. To start off, Whisenhunt gave us a quick summary of the game for those who aren't clued in to the whole. H1Z1 is a post-apocalyptic survival MMO that's more focused on physicality than stats. So instead of needing to level up, you'll find your initial challenges will be things like foraging for food, finding a shelter, building a campfire, and getting your hands on a weapon because everything wants to kill you. And when Whisenhunt says "everything," he means not just zombies but the environment, infection, weather, wildlife, and even other players. Continue reading SOE's Jimmy Whisenhunt on the paranoia and potential of H1Z1 SOE's Jimmy Whisenhunt on the paranoia and potential of H1Z1 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Star Trek Online selling ships at a discount Posted: 09 May 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, News Items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Promotions, Subscription It's a boring weekend, a sedate weekend, a weekend in which you're just not sure what you want to do. You could go cruising around in Star Trek Online, but you don't want to do it your busted old ship that looks as close to an El Camino as a futuristic warship capable of moving faster than the speed of light is capable of looking. No, you want a new ride. Fortunately for you, getting a new ride is fairly easy this weekend, as the game is having a sale on all ships until 1 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 12th. A 20% discount has been applied across the board to everything other than the new Patrol Escort Refit, giving plenty of incentive to pick up some new refits and new ships if you've got money to burn. Star Trek Online selling ships at a discount originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Elite newsletter talks star systems and an unofficial dangerous rating Posted: 09 May 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Elite: Dangerous, Buy-to-Play It's Friday, which must mean that there's an Elite: Dangerous newsletter winging its way across the universe toward my inbox. Yep, there it is now. Issue #22 covers everything from Pilots Federation lore and rankings to capsules on the three power blocs (Empire, Federation, Alliance) you'll encounter whilst adventuring through ED's vast virtual universe. There's also a blurb about the five star systems centered around the Bootes constellation as well as a shout-out to Commander Starwind, who is the first player to reach the coveted -- and currently unofficial -- "dangerous" rating with over 2000 confirmed alpha kills. Elite newsletter talks star systems and an unofficial dangerous rating originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Fallen Earth posts its update on development in May Posted: 09 May 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Fallen Earth, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox If you're a Fallen Earth player eagerly awaiting the release of the Outpost (the player-built town originally meant for live implementation this month) you're going to have to wait a little longer. But you're not being forgotten, either. The latest development update states that while it's taken a while to even bring the new feature to the test server, the team is still hard at work testing all of the ways it interacts with other systems in the game, and it's still on its way. Additionally, this update reveals that another developer has joined the team. The Scapegoat is a systems developer who will be responsible for tweaking the game's skills and mutations, with a build and patch notes due to arrive on the test server very shortly. While it's still largely quiet for the post-apocalyptic game, players should be happy that there are still signs of life. Fallen Earth posts its update on development in May originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Final Fantasy XIV's next live letter is on its way Posted: 09 May 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Previews, News Items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, Subscription Are you ready to take on the Lord of Levin, the primal Ramuh? To brave the depths of Stone Vigil and Tam-Tara Deepcroft in Hard mode? To see what the deal is with Hullbreaker Isle? Well, then, you're going to want to tune in to the next Final Fantasy XIV Letter from the Producer LIVE, currently scheduled for May 24th at 7 a.m. EDT. Because yes, the topic under discussion is the upcoming patch 2.3 and all that it entails. As always, a thread is available for players to ask questions for the live letter, and a translated transcript will be made available on the official forums. Aside from the aforementioned topics, the letter will also cover Item Desynthesis, Daily Hunts, and an interview with lead designer Takeo Suzuki regarding gear, monsters, emotes, and hairstyles. If you've got a burning question on any of these topics, you've got a chance to get it answered live when the next letter comes around. Final Fantasy XIV's next live letter is on its way originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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