| Braben on Elite's GTA successors and friendly competition with Star Citizen Posted: 13 May 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Elite: Dangerous, Buy-to-Play Space sims are in vogue again, thanks in large part to crowdfunded darlings like Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen. Prior to the past couple of years, though, the genre was basically dead in the water aside from occasional indie gems. Elite mastermind David Braben says the lull happened because game devs and publishers lost sight of the freedom that defines space sims. "The true successors to Elite and Frontier were the Grand Theft Auto games. For me, the setting is secondary to the feeling of freedom," Braben recently told Tech Radar. "The success of the Elite series has always been based on the freedom that players are given. It's all about individual choice in an open world -- you don't select 'pirate' or 'bounty hunter' or 'trader' from a list, you simply do what you want and events will unfold accordingly." Braben also addresses the "friendly competition" between Elite and Star Citizen, saying that he and Chris Roberts are "both alpha backers of each other's games and both want the other to succeed."  Braben on Elite's GTA successors and friendly competition with Star Citizen originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 May 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Tamriel Infinium: An open letter to the creators of Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 13 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Business Models, Culture, New Titles, Opinion, Mac, The Elder Scrolls Online, MMORPG, Tamriel Infinium Dear ZeniMax, I understand that you are a new studio, but you stem from a studio with a long history of making good games. I understand that no game has ever been 100% bug free. I also understand that you are extraordinarily excited about bringing your game to the public. And I wanted to see Elder Scrolls Online as much as anyone. You're also a young studio, and I understand the feeling wanting to do things your own way. You want to make your individual mark on the world, but doing that at the expense of wisdom... well, I hope you can see where I'm going with this. On Thursday, I spoke to many people about the console delay. I mentioned to most of them that my last Tamriel Infinium about the PC gamers actually being console beta testers was meant to be hyperbole. Although it was based on truth, I extended my logic beyond what I thought a studio would actually do. I didn't think that you were actually using the PC version that people are playing and paying for as a beta test. Clearly, that's the case since you will not release ESO in its current state to consoles. I don't think all is lost. I believe you might be able to turn some things around. So here's my armchair developer's advice. Continue reading Tamriel Infinium: An open letter to the creators of Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Infinium: An open letter to the creators of Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 May 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| TERA brings out the Reaper Posted: 13 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Patches, Free-to-Play, TERA, Crafting Today's patch for TERA is bringing a brand-new class in a pint-sized package: the Reaper. Patch 26.04's star attraction is the new Reaper class, which only becomes available once a player hits level 40 with at least one character (And yes, there's an achievement to be the very first Reaper on any given server. Make us proud, Massively readers!). The Reaper is a leather-wearing, Elin-exclusive class that does mid-range damage with a scythe. It utilizes chains and combos extensively to do its DPS work. The patch also contains the new Reaper starting area of Ashen Hope, a big revamp to the crafting system, a production system, and an update to glyphs and the skills UI. It's a two gig patch, so you'll want to familiarize yourself with all of the ins and outs of the patch notes before you log in. TERA brings out the Reaper originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 May 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Star Citizen hires former D3, WoW producer Posted: 13 May 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play  Crowdfunded space sim sandbox Star Citizen has a new executive producer. Effective immediately, former Diablo III and World of Warcraft producer Alex Mayberry is joining Cloud Imperium Games. "After 10 years at Blizzard, I didn't think that there was anything that could ever get me to leave," said Mayberry via press release. "But then Chris invited me to come check out Star Citizen, and after seeing the game and listening to Chris talk about his vision, I knew that I had to be a part of it. Star Citizen is bold and ambitious, with a unique and innovative approach to game development. I am extremely excited to be joining the talented people at Cloud Imperium Games, and I strongly believe that together, with Chris Roberts' direction and the support of the player community, we will set a new standard for AAA games." Click past the cut for the full release. Continue reading Star Citizen hires former D3, WoW producer Star Citizen hires former D3, WoW producer originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 May 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Rebuild Lion's Arch in Guild Wars 2's Festival of the Four Winds Posted: 13 May 2014 07:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Business Models, Culture, Events (Real-World), Events (In-Game), Launches, Patches, News Items, Guild Wars 2, Promotions, Music, Buy-to-Play Guild Wars 2 officially launches in China this coming Thursday, but folks in the rest of the world have had little reason to get excited... until now. ArenaNet and Chinese publisher KongZhong have just announced a global in-game festival to celebrate the launch, one we'll get to enjoy ourselves come next week. The Festival of the Four Winds arrives on May 20th for North American and European players, who will "get the opportunity to help rebuild the beloved city of Lion's Arch that was destroyed by Scarlet [Briar] in Season 1." Future game updates will be "synchronized" across the eastern and western regions so that they launch within days of each other. We've embedded the (brief but beautiful!) teaser trailer for the festival after the break, and you can listen to Chinese singer/songwriter Jike Juan Yi's version of iconic Guild Wars 2 musical piece Fear Not This Night on KongZhong's promotional website. [Source: ArenaNet press release] Continue reading Rebuild Lion's Arch in Guild Wars 2's Festival of the Four Winds Rebuild Lion's Arch in Guild Wars 2's Festival of the Four Winds originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 May 2014 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WildStar unveils the details of raids Posted: 13 May 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, Interviews, Endgame, News Items, WildStar, Subscription, Buy-to-Play WildStar wants to have its raids be big. Big in size. Big in rewards. Big in engagement. Big in lots of ways, in short. The team has talked about them in passing elsewhere, most notably at PAX East 2014, but there still hasn't been a nice big info drop about raids that potential players could really sink their teeth into. Like the sort of reveal that accompanies a new DevSpeak video. So guess what's past the cut? Go ahead, guess. Very good, it's the raiding video (something you could have concluded from the headline, yes), but there's more besides. We had a chance to sit down and talk with Brett Scheinert, the dungeon & raid lead developer, regarding these high-end encounters and what will set WildStar apart from other titles offering a raiding endgame. And despite what those opening lines might have made you think, it's not just about size. (It's also Spinal Tap references. You can guess which ones.) Continue reading WildStar unveils the details of raids WildStar unveils the details of raids originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 May 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: What MMO would you like to see locked in time? Posted: 13 May 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous I logged into classic Guild Wars for the anniversary last month, and all it did was break my heart. I truly think it was one of the more original MMOs to launch in World of Warcraft's wake, and I'm still sad that it's essentially in permanent maintenance mode and eclipsed by Guild Wars 2, even though I understand the reasoning and am grateful that ArenaNet didn't just pull the plug. On the other hand, sometimes locking a game in time might be a good thing. My recent attempts to return to Lord of the Rings Online have been thwarted by several years' worth of expansions, the deflation of my characters' currency, multiple class reworks, and combat and crafting levels that have continued their powercreeping march upward. I don't really recognize much about the game, and it'd take me a lot of time (and money) to get caught up again. At least my Guild Wars characters are exactly the way I left them! LotRO is probably a bad example because it really does need to get to Pelennor Fields and beyond some day, but I'm sure many of you have an MMO you'd love to see locked in time for your own personal reasons. Which one and why?  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 MMO would you like to see locked in time? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 May 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Star Trek Online kicks off featured episode reruns Posted: 12 May 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), News Items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Subscription Star Trek Online is going to be in reruns on May 16th, and unlike television shows, this is a good thing. The featured episode reruns allow players to pick up special items that aren't obtainable in the game through any other means, including Breen and Reman bridge officers for Federation and Klingon captains and Lobi crystals for everyone. The event runs from May 16th until May 27th, with each featured episode series (Spectres, Cloaked Intentions, The 2800, and Cold Call) providing a special reward for characters that complete them. Players can also earn 15 Lobi crystals for completing at least one episode per day, making for a total of 180 available for free during the event. So if you haven't gotten the special rewards on a character, you want some crystals, or you just feel like going through some classic Star Trek Online missions, you'll want to jump in on the reruns. Star Trek Online kicks off featured episode reruns originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Not So Massively: GTA Online's expansion, Reaper of Souls on console, and LoL's Braum spotlight Posted: 12 May 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Horror, Trailers, Video, Business Models, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Consoles, Crime, MMOFPS, MMORTS, Community Q&A, World of Tanks, Post-Apocalyptic, Not So Massively, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Infinite Crisis, Path of Exile, Hearthstone, H1Z1 Welcome back to No So Massively, where every Monday we round up the highlights from the past week in the world of MOBAs, roguelikes, MMOTCGs, and other games that aren't quite MMOs. Continue reading Not So Massively: GTA Online's expansion, Reaper of Souls on console, and LoL's Braum spotlight Not So Massively: GTA Online's expansion, Reaper of Souls on console, and LoL's Braum spotlight originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Yes, people still play Meridian 59 Posted: 12 May 2014 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Meridian 59, Interviews Meridian 59 may not enjoy the population numbers it did almost 20 years ago, but there are still a handful of dedicated players playing every day. A recent article at The New Yorker takes a more personal look at a few of these remaining players. "I've tried to leave the game many times over the years," admits Tim Trude, a 33-year-old player from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tim first started playing the MMO at the age of 15. "But I always return. Some of these people I've grown up with. We have been enemies or friends forever." The article goes on to quote other players and document a brief history of the game's development, including the source code release in 2012. Meridian 59 is looking to launch on Steam sometime this year, and its current code-maintainer is looking forward to the possibility of bringing in new players once again. Yes, people still play Meridian 59 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Space Faction opens up a huge galaxy for you to explore and exploit Posted: 12 May 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, New Titles Is intergalactic multiplayer the new hotness on the MMO scene? It seems as though outer space has finally opened up for business, and we have another title that's eager to get in on the spaceship and ray gun fun. This new game is Space Faction, a PvP MMO that features ground and space exploration and combat. The factions part of the name comes into play because, according to the official site, "to conquer the unknown, these newcomers must learn to hone their abilities and create factions with others, because as large as the galaxy is, it isn't nearly large enough for everyone." Space Faction purports to feature a wide variety of classes and activities, from treasure hunting to collecting bounties to surveying planets. And also fighting. Lots and lots of fighting. The game looks to be in early development and is currently working on setting up a Steam Greenlight campaign. [Thanks to Thomas for the tip!] Space Faction opens up a huge galaxy for you to explore and exploit originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Online explains its new expansion model, opens store testing Posted: 12 May 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Business Models, Expansions, Patches, News Items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox If you followed EVE Fanfest 2014 closely, you already know that CCP is planning on reworking EVE Online's twice-yearly-expansion schedule, but today's dev blog aims to flesh out that plan. Writes CCP Seagull, Instead of doing two big expansions per year, we are moving to a model where we do about 10 releases per year, or one release every 6 weeks. In general each of those releases will be smaller than what you have seen with our expansions, but overall we will get you more per year and an overall better EVE Online because of the two big benefits this new model brings: Smaller and medium size features get to you faster, and we can make bigger features and changes to EVE Online because these can take the time they need to mature before going out, without needing to time a rare expansion. Seagull further explains that the new expansion cycle will help the team deliver speedier content for a wider variety of playstyles. In other EVE news, CCP has announced that EVE's store is open for testing on the Singularity server. "The new store will be instrumental in the future for offering ship skins, and other character and account related services," says CCP Falcon. EVE Online explains its new expansion model, opens store testing originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Neverwinter's heroic encounters bring dynamic events to Icewind Dale Posted: 12 May 2014 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Neverwinter Neverwinter's Module 3 is on track to release tomorrow, and with it arrives a new type of quest for the game: heroic encounters. Cryptic put up an overview of heroic encounters today, calling these quests "challenging" and "exciting." They sound an awful lot like other MMO's dynamic events, as these variable-sized public quests will spawn on the landscape with different types of tasks. Some of the encounters will require more than one party to complete, and the biggest ones for each map will begin only about every 90 minutes. Rewards from heroic encounters include profession assets, Black Ice, weapons, and consumables. Neverwinter's heroic encounters bring dynamic events to Icewind Dale originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Highlights from WildStar's Friday livestream extravaganza Posted: 12 May 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, Launches, News Items, WildStar, Subscription, Buy-to-Play If you missed WildStar's big livestream on Friday, don't worry; you didn't miss a whole lot aside from information regarding the gameplay, the lore, and the first few patches. Nothing major, right? Fortunately, you can hunt down the full six-hour video... or you can take a quick gander at a recap from WildStar Report hitting all of the highlights of the livestream that didn't involve the Carbine Studios team being goofy. It's entirely up to you. The plans for early updates include a new zone with the first major patch, another in the third major patch, and further improvements and installments in future updates. Players can also look forward to another battleground in the second patch, followed by a second arena map. And you can look into an exploration of the apparently monogendered Chua (who use the pronoun "he" simply to avoid calling them "it" throughout the game). The full recap has plenty of extra details, and while you might miss some nuance of the video, it's probably going to take you less than six hours to read. Highlights from WildStar's Friday livestream extravaganza originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Mog Log: Whispers of what comes next for Final Fantasy XIV Posted: 12 May 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Patches, Previews, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log, Subscription When I find myself in times of trouble, friends of mine will comfort me, speaking words of wisdom: "There are more patches coming to Final Fantasy XIV." And it's true! While I'm not as happy with 2.2 as perhaps I would like to be, as odd as that statement sounds, it's not the end of the world. In fact, there's a lot of stuff around the corner that should make me a lot happier. We've heard rumblings about what we'll see at E3 next month, we're hearing discussion of what's next on the docket for patch 2.3, and there are tantalizing hints about what's going to be arriving beyond even that. Some of these are things that I've discussed elsewhere; some I haven't had the opportunity to chat about yet (we only got the live letter announcement on Friday, after all!). So let's go ahead and dive into what's on the horizon for the game. Continue reading The Mog Log: Whispers of what comes next for Final Fantasy XIV The Mog Log: Whispers of what comes next for Final Fantasy XIV originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Pirate101's spring 2014 update is live Posted: 12 May 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, Kids, Family, Pirate101 Pirate101's spring 2014 update is now live. The patch has added new free-to-play areas, advanced pets, and advanced companions to the game. KingsIsle has published a lengthy list of update notes, and you'll probably also want to take a(nother) look at the update trailer. We've embedded it for you after the break. Continue reading Pirate101's spring 2014 update is live Pirate101's spring 2014 update is live originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Final Fantasy XI's May version update is on its way Posted: 12 May 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Final Fantasy XI, Patches, News Items, Consoles, Subscription You there! Are you ready for Final Fantasy XI's May version update? Are you ready for all of it? Do you know everything that's in it? Because there's a lot of stuff in there, as listed in the patch notes and as revealed in the official trailer just past the break. Sure, you could probably guess at the inclusion of new Seekers of Adoulin missions and more high-level battlefields, but there's a lot more in there. For example, new alter egos are being added to the Trust system, including everyone's favorite limit break questgiver, Maat. Adventuring fellows get a level cap bump to 99, new Abyssea objectives are being introduced, new Job Point categories are being added... heck, there's even new food in place that can affect your pet. That's a lot of good stuff. Maybe you should watch the trailer past the break, read the patch notes, and get ready for the full update to go live on May 15th. Continue reading Final Fantasy XI's May version update is on its way Final Fantasy XI's May version update is on its way originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Elder Scrolls devs: Low-percentage drops on AH would harm 'gear chase' Posted: 12 May 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, PvE, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription ZeniMax has released an Elder Scrolls Online Ask Us Anything variety pack that covers everything from taunts and maintaining aggro to server maintenance times. The devs also field a question about guild stores and why they're for guild members only. "Our goal is to make the economy more player-based, but not to have a system that allows you to find anything at any time because there are so many players involved on a megaserver," ZeniMax says. "With extremely large communities, low-percentage drops can become highly available in auction houses. It ends up harming the 'gear chase' portion of the game." Elder Scrolls devs: Low-percentage drops on AH would harm 'gear chase' originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 May 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Basically a netbook with Android running the show
SanDisk's first attempt at offering a self encrypting SSD
Revisiting a classic 20 years after its release
A pair of new products aimed at business users
