| Perfect Ten: The MMOs that influenced me greatly Posted: 31 May 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Anarchy Online, City of Heroes, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Fallen Earth, Guild Wars, Warhammer Online, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous Every one of us has an "MMO resume": a list of titles that we've played, whether briefly or extensively. Some of those are just games, casual flings that meant nothing. But others can take a more meaningful role in our lives, influencing how we experience and view MMOs. I would scarcely say that my resume is one of the most robust you'll ever see; I'm sure plenty of you have played more than I. However, I like to think that I've had a journey over the course of a decade or so that's shaped who I am as a gamer. Since it's my birthday today, I'm going to share 10 of those influential MMOs with you and what they've done for me. You're going to get me cake. Continue reading Perfect Ten: The MMOs that influenced me greatly  Perfect Ten: The MMOs that influenced me greatly originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively's first impressions of Black Gold Online's beta Posted: 31 May 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Free-to-Play, First Impressions, Steampunk, Black Gold Do you prefer a steampunk or fantasy flavor in your MMO? With Black Gold Online you don't have to choose! And for those who vehemently dislike one or the other, you're welcome to express that distaste on the battlefield; Snail Games' upcoming free-to-play game features realm versus realm warfare that pits machine against magic. With these two different genres represented, the game looks to please a broader spectrum of players than the traditional single-genre titles that populate the MMOverse. The question is, will it succeed? Even though we've perused available news and watched a variety of videos about everything from the various classes and different races to action combat to guild vs. guild systems, nothing beats getting into the MMO and experiencing it for yourself. Closed beta for Black Gold Online began mid-May, so I jumped in to get a taste of what awaits players when the game hits open beta this summer. What I found is that while the game excels in some areas, it comes up short in others. Here's a run-down of my first impressions. Continue reading Massively's first impressions of Black Gold Online's beta Massively's first impressions of Black Gold Online's beta originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Perpetuum playerbase trending upward, game enhancements coming Posted: 31 May 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Perpetuum, Sandbox The Perpetuum team released a new dev blog this week, the better to remind players of where the sci-fi sandbox stands after its payment model switch and its Steam launch. The post says that the game's average player count is nearly five times higher than it was before, and that's with a Steam Early Access tag scaring people away. The blog doesn't disclose financial details, but it does say that the game is succeeding. "After months (years?) of worrying about what to put on your plate tomorrow, it's a liberating feeling to have that off of the list of things to worry about, and being able to just focus on making the game better," the post explains. With that in mind, it's time to delve into improvements. Those mentioned include a gamma revamp, quality-of-life upgrades, an assignment system revamp, and more! [Thanks Zoltan!] Perpetuum playerbase trending upward, game enhancements coming originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Heading into WildStar's head start Posted: 31 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Video, Launches, New Titles, Livestream, WildStar, The Stream Team, Subscription How smoothly will WildStar's launch go? Will it go down in flames like an Exile ship blasted by the Dominion? Massively's MJ is more likely to roll a Dominion character, and you know how she feels about the Dominion! But don't take our word for it -- watch and see for yourself as MJ dives into the first few hours of the head start. She's live at 12:00 p.m. EDT! Game: WildStar Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Saturday, May 31th, 2014 Time: 12:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Heading into WildStar's head start The Stream Team: Heading into WildStar's head start originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WRUP: Who's not playing WildStar edition Posted: 31 May 2014 08:00 AM PDT |
| The Daily Grind: Are digital game platforms a convenience or an annoyance? Posted: 31 May 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Everyone wants to be Steam, I guess. These days, it's all the trend for studios and publishers to tie their products down to a digital game platform for the "convenience" of offering news and game access in one place. Glyph and Arc are just two of the more recent high-profile programs taking a shot at Steam's dominant grip on the gaming community, and I suspect that more will come. So do you see digital game platforms as a convenience or an annoyance? I am of a divided opinion on the subject. Yes, it's nice to have multiple game launchers streamlined into one place, but that's convenient only if I'm playing more than one title. More often than not, it's an extra click or two plus an ongoing background program that I didn't really need in the first place. What say you? What say we all?  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: Are digital game platforms a convenience or an annoyance? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: May 24 - 30, 2014 Posted: 30 May 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous ArcheAge's alpha is so popular that Trion had to upgrade its hardware to support "the massive number of Archeum Founders." Yes, I know, this is Betawatch and not Alphawatch, but since alpha is the new beta it seemed like an appropriate story to mention. But that's not all that is happening this week in MMO beta news. Click past the cut for the full Betawatch roundup. Continue reading Betawatch: May 24 - 30, 2014 Betawatch: May 24 - 30, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 May 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SMITE makes all gods playable this weekend Posted: 30 May 2014 05:00 PM PDT |
| H1Z1 floats possible server rulesets Posted: 30 May 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Horror, Free-to-Play, Post-Apocalyptic, H1Z1 A short Reddit post from SOE revealed a few possible server rulesets that the team has been discussing for H1Z1. While these aren't set in stone, it is an interesting peek into the possibilities of both official and player-run servers. The possible server rulesets include: - Hardcore ruleset (wipes all ownership and recipes upon death)
- PvP vs. PvE
- Military weapons toggle
- Guns toggle (melee/bows only server)
- Roleplay (VOIP attracts zombies and other tidbits)
- World chat vs. area chat
- Hardcore ruleset #2: Starvation! (food and water consumption are much higher)
- Hardcore ruleset #3: Zombies and wolves are deadlier, faster, and hardier
- Base destructibility (easy, hard, not at all)
SOE also indicated that it would be possible to create rulesets that mix-and-matched between these ideas. H1Z1 floats possible server rulesets originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 May 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Online: Kronos brings the fight to uppity pirates Posted: 30 May 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Subscription EVE Online: Kronos is on deck for next Tuesday's release, which means that CCP Games is going into overdrive to inform the community as to what to expect with the newest expansion. As such, today we have a pair of lengthy posts talking about new exploration sites and ship/module balancing. In the expansion, players will be tasked with hunting down a particular sect of pirates, the Guristas, by hunting through a null-sec system for the prized data. CCP will be dangling eight new ship skins as potential rewards for a successful search. Kronos will also include a rebalance of 38 ships, a "heap" of modules, and a total overhaul of the drone weapon system. CCP stated that the two themes of the expansion's balancing are the ascendancy of pirates and mercenaries and advancements in industrial technology. CCP also just posted the patch notes from Kronos, so give them a look! EVE Online: Kronos brings the fight to uppity pirates originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 May 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Pathfinder focuses on crafting in latest dev video Posted: 30 May 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, MMO Industry, New Titles, Dev Diaries, Crafting, Crowdfunding, Pathfinder Online Pathfinder Online's crafting system is the focus of this week's dev blog by Goblinworks CEO Ryan Dancey. Through crowdforging, the company hopes to develop improvements and features with the help of the community. In the included video diary, designer Stephen Cheney talks more about how resources and materials are gathered for crafting, the importance of tiers, refined items, and how important crafting will be in the game. The dev blog also discusses the Kickstarter rewards, the status of the guild land rush, and more. Check out the complete dev video embedded after the cut. [Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!] Continue reading Pathfinder focuses on crafting in latest dev video Pathfinder focuses on crafting in latest dev video originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 May 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Latest Landmark tour and code giveaway Posted: 30 May 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, New Titles, Free-to-Play, Giveaways, Livestream, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content, Landmark Now that we know claim wipes won't be leveling the landscape, the construction business in Landmark has been revitalized. Players are digging back in, sometimes quite literally, and Massively's MJ is going to peek in and poke through more marvelous creations. Don't have a claim of your own yet? Don't miss out on the fun; we have a slew of new beta codes to get you in on the Landmark action! So tune in live at 3:00 p.m. to finish off the workweek with us and nab a code for yourself. Game: Landmark Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Friday, May 30th, 2014 Time: 3:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Latest Landmark tour and code giveaway The Stream Team: Latest Landmark tour and code giveaway originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 May 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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