General Gaming Article

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• Rig of the Month: DotaBox
• Oculus VR Rumored to be Creating its Own VR Motion Controllers
• No BS Podcast #228: MSI Talks about the Current State and Future of Gaming Notebooks
• Heinz Zemanek, Inventor of Europe's First All-Transistor PC, Dies at 94
• MSI Drops RAM Heavy GT72 Dominator Pro into Gaming Laptop Arena
• Newegg Daily Deals: Toshiba 3TB Hard Drive, NZXT H440 Mid Tower Case, and More!
• Microsoft Takes a Battle-Ax to Staff, Plans to Cut Up to 18,000 Jobs
• Tesora's Tizona Mechanical Keyboard Features a Detachable Numpad
• PC Gamer Serving Up One Million Gun Monkeys Steam Keys

Rig of the Month: DotaBox Posted: 17 Jul 2014 03:16 PM PDT A scratch-built case straight out of Defense of the Ancients Jonathan '-=SpH!Nx=-' Garlit isn't a professional modder, but we're convinced that he's got potential. He's a die-hard fan of Dota, but with a son on the way he's giving up the game to become a full-time father. The DotaBox is a memento that represents seven years and countless hours of Dota matches. Jonathan says he wanted something to commemorate his favorite game and we think he did it justice. Enough that we're happy to make it our July Rig of the Month. The scratch-built creation combines acrylic and wood in 4 distinctly recognizable renditions of the Dota 2 logo. Each is mounted onto the square chassis with backlit sheets of green acrylic cut to shape with a jigsaw and a rotary tool.    It's not particularly powerful, but it doesn't have to be. Jonathan says he was on a tight budget and wanted a simple system that could handle Dota 2 and HD video. The AMD A10-7850K APU does both and is a great alternative to stuffing a giant graphics card into the 10x10x10-inch case.     Two Cooler Master JetFlo 120mm fans join a 120mm Scythe Slip Stream and a giant 230mm Bitfenix Spectre fan to keep the system cool. There's a lesson to be learned here: airflow is important—even outside of gaming rigs. A 256GB SSD gives it speedy boot-ups with larger files relegated to network attached storage. A 450W Silverstone SFX Series power supply keeps everything running.    Have a case mod of your own that you would like to submit to our monthly feature? Make sure to read the rules/tips here and email us at mpcrigofthemonth@gmail.com with your submissions. Follow Ben on Twitter and Google+.

Oculus VR Rumored to be Creating its Own VR Motion Controllers Posted: 17 Jul 2014 02:03 PM PDT Competition for third-party developers? Many third-party manufacturers are researching and developing motion control devices for the Oculus Rift such as the Virtuix Omni treadmill and PrioVR suit. However, according to CNET, Oculus VR is making its own VR motion controllers.  The tech website claims that that Oculus VR has been developing its own motion controllers that will work in tandem with the Rift and allow users to manipulate objects in game with hand and body movements. In addition, the device will supposedly use the Rift's camera to track the position of a player's hands. It's a concept that Sony's own Project Morpheus will be doing through the utilization of the PlayStation Move controller and PlayStation Camera. However, there are no details about how much the unnamed motion controllers will cost, when it will be made available to consumers, or when Oculus VR will announce it. In the meantime, the developer has begun to ship out the final version of the development kit and even announced that it will be hosting its first development conference. Maximum PC editor Jimmy Thang, back in January at CES, bemoaned the fact that he couldn't see his hands while checking out the Crystal Cove prototype. When Jimmy pointed this out, at the 1:40 mark, the representative replied, "We'll get them there. Just give us time."   Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

No BS Podcast #228: MSI Talks about the Current State and Future of Gaming Notebooks Posted: 17 Jul 2014 01:56 PM PDT MSI Product Manager Clifford Chun and Associate Marketing Manager Vincent Chen join the podcast We've heard your cries to bring on more industry experts and so we got some special guests from MSI's notebook division to talk about the current state and future of gaming laptops. In episode #228 of the No BS Podcast, the crew is joined by MSI Associate Marketing Manager Vincent Chen and Product Manager Clifford Chun. In the podcast, the two show off some new fancy notebooks for us and discuss numerous topics that include 3K/4K panels on notebooks, why we aren't seeing touch on gaming laptops, laptop modularity, and much more. And because we love you, we even managed to toss them a few of your reader questions as well!    Stalk us on the following networks: Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes Become a fan on Facebook Tweet us on Twitter Subscribe to us on Youtube Check out our Windows 8 app in Microsoft's app store Subscribe to our RSS feed If you have any feedback or questions feel free to: Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or Leave us a voicemail at 877-404-1337 x1337 Subscribe to Maximum PC in print or on Google Play, iTunes, Kindle, Nook and Zinio. Thanks for listening!

Heinz Zemanek, Inventor of Europe's First All-Transistor PC, Dies at 94 Posted: 17 Jul 2014 10:31 AM PDT Austrian computing pioneer created "May Breeze" with 3,000 donated transistors Every so often we learn about the passing of a pioneer in the field of computing, and this time it's Heinz Zemanek, creator of "May Breeze" (or Mailüfterl in German) the first computer in Europe to run solely on transistors instead of vacuum tubes. With the help of students at the Vienna University of Technology (TUV), the Austrian engineer and programmer built the PC from 3,000 transistors donated from Philips, along with 5,000 diodes, 1,000 assembly platelets, 100,000 solder joints, 15,000 resistors, 5,000 capacitors, and 20,000 meters of switching wire. The transistors were slow and intended for hearing aids, Reuters reports. Nevertheless, they generated less heat and were much smaller than vacuum tubes, though May Breeze checked in at 4 meters wide by 2.5 meters high by 0.5 meters deep. May Breeze performed its first calculation in 1958 and stayed at TUV for several years before IBM swooped in and bought the system. In 1961, IBM built its Vienna Lab for Zemanek, where he remained as manager until 1976. During his time there, he directed the development of formal programming language descriptors and played a big role in Programming Language One (PL/I). Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

MSI Drops RAM Heavy GT72 Dominator Pro into Gaming Laptop Arena Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:54 AM PDT A desktop replacement that's short on compromises Looking to replace your desktop system with a laptop but weary of the performance you might be giving up? If so, then you owe it to yourself to check out MSI's new GT72 Dominator Pro laptop line. Available in two SKUs, the Dominator Pro is a 17.3-inch laptop that wields an Intel Core i7 4710HQ processor (2.5GHz to 3.4GHz), Nvidia GeForce GTX 880M graphics, and gobs of RAM. More specifically, the GT72 Dominator Pro-010 sports 24GB of DDR3L-1600 RAM, along with two 128GB SSDs in a RAID 0 array flanked by a 1TB hard drive (7200 RPM), Blu-ray burner, Killer E2200 Game Networking, Killer N1525 Wireless-AC, SD card reader, Dynaudio speakers with subwoofer, half a dozen USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 1.4, two mini DisplayPorts, 1080p webcam, SteelSeries full color backlit keyboard, Windows 8.1, and a 9-cell battery. If that's not enough horsepower, the GT72 Dominator Pro-007 ups the ante with 34GB of DDR3L-1600 RAM and four 128GB SSDs in a RAID 0 array, along with everything included in the 010 model. All of this hardware goodness comes wrapped in a completely redesigned one-piece aluminum chassis that's less than 2 inches thick with customizable lighting effects. Both the GT72 Dominator Pro-010 and GT72 Dominator Pro-007 are available now for $2,600 and $3,000, respectively. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Toshiba 3TB Hard Drive, NZXT H440 Mid Tower Case, and More! Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:32 AM PDT Top Deal: You've probably heard that we only use about 10 percent of our brains, though studies have debunked that myth. You actually use much more than you think, though one disadvantage to filling up that mysterious blob inside your skull is that you can't just hop online and order a bigger version. You can, however, upgrade your hard drive when it fills up, and like our brains, we tend to use more of our HDDs than we think until sudddenly we get a message saying we're low on space - do'h! Don't despair, you digital packrat -- just check out today's top deal for a Toshiba 3TB Internal Hard Drive for $105 with free shipping (normally $130 - use coupon code: [EMCPCWE27]). This retail drive sports a 7200 RPM spinkdle speed, SATA 6Gbps interface, 64MB of cache, and 3-year warranty. Other Deals: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory for $75 with free shipping (normally $83 - use coupon code: [EMCPCWE47]) New NZXT H440 Steel Mid Tower Case for $100 with free shipping (normally $110 - use coupon code: [EMCPCWE55]; Additional $10 Mail-in rebate) Corsair Hydro Series H80i High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 120mm for $75 with free shipping (normally $90 - use coupon code: [EMCPCWE63]) Patriot LX Pro Series 16GB microSDHC Flash Card for $8 with free shipping (normally $11 - use coupon code: [EMCPCWE84])

Microsoft Takes a Battle-Ax to Staff, Plans to Cut Up to 18,000 Jobs Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:16 AM PDT Microsoft prepares for the biggest round of layoffs in company history Satya Nadella is going to make history at Microsoft, though not the kind he'll ever want to brag about. Following up on an open memo sent out to employees last week, the CEO of Microsoft confirmed in another open email to all employees that job cuts are on the horizon as the company looks to reduce its workforce by up to 18,000 workers. No other round of layoffs in Microsoft's history have come close to that figure. As was rumored prior to today's followup email, a large chunk of the job cuts will affect employees absorbed through Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's mobile division. Of the 18,000 planned cuts, 12,500 will come from Microsoft's Nokia arm, comprising both professional and factory workers, Nadella said. Nadella is attempting to make Microsoft a more agile company that can move faster towards its goals. That entails fewer layers of management, both top down and sideways, to speed up the flow of information and decision making. When it's all said and done, Nadella hopes the remaining teams will have a greater impact and be more productive towards the company's goals. "Making these decisions to change are difficult, but necessary. I want to invite you to my monthly Q&A event tomorrow. I hope you can join, and I hope you will ask any question that's on your mind. Thank you for your support as we start to take steps forward in evolving our organization and culture," Nadella added. All workers affected by the cuts will receive some kind of severance package, as well as job transition help. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Tesora's Tizona Mechanical Keyboard Features a Detachable Numpad Posted: 17 Jul 2014 08:41 AM PDT A friendly plank for both lefties and righties It's estimated that around 10 percent of the world's population are left-handed. If you whittle that down to PC gamers, the market quickly shrinks, though that doesn't come as any consolation to left-handed gamers lamenting the fact that most peripherals are geared toward right-handed users. Most, but not all. For example, Tesoro's Tizona mechanical keyboard sports an optional mechanical numpad that can attach to either side of the plank. "Taking its name after Spanish Hero, El Cid's sword, Tizona allows gamers to choose the setup they want, either a comfortable space-saving tenkeyless or a classic full sized board with the numberpad on either the left or right side," Tesoro explains. Alternately, you can attach dual numpads to the Tizona, one on each side, and go hog wild with macros. Regardless of how you configure the keyboard, Tizona serves up a mechanical typing experience with laser-etched keys. Other features include N-Key rollover support (it can be switched to 6-Key rollover if you prefer), three thumb keys (configured as multimedia keys by default), two USB 2.0 ports, 1.8mm braided keys, and a few other tidbits. Tesora says the Tizona keyboard and numpad will be available in North America soon for $90 and $40, respectively, or as a combo for $109. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

PC Gamer Serving Up One Million Gun Monkeys Steam Keys Posted: 17 Jul 2014 08:09 AM PDT Week four of a five week, five million Steam key giveaway For the past several weeks, our sister site PC Gamer in collaboration with Bundle Stars has been giving away millions of Steam keys for a new game each week. Past titles have included SpaceChem, Dino D-Day, and Really Big Sky. Ready to grab another one? Now in week four of a five week promotion, PC Gamer is giving away one million Steam Keys for Gun Monkeys, a procedurally generated, physics based, online deathmatch platform game. "In Gun Monkeys, you'll take charge of a modern-day power company. In the distant future, a catastrophic experiment into Perpetual Energy obliterates all human life, leaving the world choc-full of free-for-the-taking energy, but unpleasantly lacking in people to take advantage of it. Your job as CEO is to send a legion of pleasingly-expendable monkeys forwards in time to collect Power Cubes and return them to present-day, all from the comfort of your PC," the game's description reads. Since the maps levels are procedurally generated, you'll never play the same level twice. There's high-octane action in this always-online title, and if things are slow, there's an offline local play mode. Interested? If so, head over to PC Gamer and claim your key! Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

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MMO Updates

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• Camelot Unchained's territory control isn't just for uberguilds
• The Elder Scrolls Online coming to Steam today
• Age of Wushu Warrior's Ascension expansion coming July 31
• Trion boosts RIFT's subscriber benefits
• The Daily Grind: What upcoming MMO are you giving a second look?
• Watch a TUG artist design a hostile predator
• Heroes of the Storm's Garden of Terror swaps between night and day
• Choose My Adventure: The crafty side of life in ArcheAge
• Final Fantasy XIV offers a free weekend to lapsed accounts
• Elder Scrolls Online offers new guild heraldry
• Leaderboard: Which ArcheAge race will you pick for your main?
• Lord of the Rings Online has a free epic battle and story in store for Update 15
• Massively Exclusive: Grand Chase goes live on Steam tomorrow
• SOE gives free game time for yesterday's login issues
• Camelot Unchained plans a robust, anti-mule crafting economy
• Wizard101 introduces Fishing
• Lineage II's new expansion to launch on July 30

Camelot Unchained's territory control isn't just for uberguilds Posted: 17 Jul 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Historical, Game Mechanics, Guilds, Previews, PvP, News Items, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained, MMORPG Welcome back to our coverage of City State Entertainment's batshit-crazy days for Camelot Unchained! A few weeks ago, we spoke with CSE co-founder Mark Jacobs about each of the topics being revealed this week via livestream; this afternoon, we're examining the RvR map and territory control. Massively: Taxes and maintenance costs are absolutely necessary to keep territory from being owned by absent players, but if they're too burdensome, they can prevent people from wanting to claim or improve land at all, figuring that a richer guild will do it. How does the team plan to solve that problem? CSE's Mark Jacobs: Balance is always a PITA, and this is a perfect example. There is no magic formula to solve this problem, but one thing I will say is that while money may not buy happiness, it may also not buy a piece of land. Just like crafters, players will not be able to simply have money dumped on them by an alt, friend, etc. and then be able to buy whatever land they want. They will have to earn the right to buy it, and that won't happen Launch Day +1 (or 2 or 3). Continue reading Camelot Unchained's territory control isn't just for uberguilds Camelot Unchained's territory control isn't just for uberguilds originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Elder Scrolls Online coming to Steam today Posted: 17 Jul 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, New Titles, Promotions, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription Starting later today, The Elder Scrolls Online Standard and Imperial Editions will be available to download on Steam. This announcement was made to kick off QuakeCon 2014 in Dallas, Texas, where Zenimax Online will be hosting a panel entitled "The Future of The Elder Scrolls Online." The presentation will begin on Friday at 6:00 p.m. EDT and can also be viewed on Bethesda's Twitch.tv channel for those not able to attend. [Source: Bethesda press release] The Elder Scrolls Online coming to Steam today originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Age of Wushu Warrior's Ascension expansion coming July 31 Posted: 17 Jul 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Age of Wushu Snail has announced that Age of Wushu will be getting its "next major expansion" on July 31. The new content is called Warrior's Ascension and it includes a cross-server PvP tournament system called the Sky Ladder as well as new level six gear. The firm hasn't gone into a lot of detail just yet, but you can check out the full verbiage as well as a couple of images on the official announcement page. Age of Wushu Warrior's Ascension expansion coming July 31 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Trion boosts RIFT's subscriber benefits Posted: 17 Jul 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, RIFT RIFT subscribers are getting some benefit boosts, according to a new Trion website blurb. Patrons already enjoy extra currency, summons, mount speed, artifact tracking, daily quests, bonus loot, and store discounts. Now, though, they'll also receive 40 percent experience, favor, notoriety, prestige, and token boosts. New benefits also include faster planar ability cooldowns, a fast pass teleport, and more! In other RIFT news, Trion adjusted the Stormcaller soul in yesterday's hotfix. Trion boosts RIFT's subscriber benefits originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

The Daily Grind: What upcoming MMO are you giving a second look? Posted: 17 Jul 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, PvP, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Sandbox, Camelot Unchained, Subscription Up to this point I've been pretty meh about Camelot Unchained. It's nothing personal, I always enjoy Mark Jacobs' game development perspectives, but to be frank neither Warhammer Online nor Dark Age of Camelot held my attention for more than a month. Blame Star Wars: Galaxies, I guess. Then I started reading some of these "batshit crazy" CU reveals and now I'm thinking that this game might be for me. I'm saying "might" because I've followed this genre long enough to take grandiose design docs with a grain of salt. But hey, at least I'm hooked and will keep reading, right? What about you, Massively readers? What upcoming MMO are you giving a second look? 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 upcoming MMO are you giving a second look? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Watch a TUG artist design a hostile predator Posted: 16 Jul 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, PvP, News Items, Sandbox Mountain lion butts! That's what's in store for you in the latest TUG "In the Works" behind-the-scenes video. Nerd Kingdom "Ninja Rigger and 3-D Artist" Eric Stodolnik is featured in the brief clip as he shows viewers how one of the game's many hostile predators is modeled from start to finish. The video is included below! Continue reading Watch a TUG artist design a hostile predator Watch a TUG artist design a hostile predator originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube

Heroes of the Storm's Garden of Terror swaps between night and day Posted: 16 Jul 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, MOBA It's the gimmick, the hook that makes a well-designed MOBA battleground truly memorable, and Heroes of the Storm's Garden of Terror thinks it has its hook: a night-and-day sequence. Unlike the mostly cosmetic lighting filters in MMO day/night cycles, Garden of Terror's transition between the two will change the fundamental rules of the match. While during the daytime players can check out mercenary camps, the nighttime is a whole different story. The camps go away when the sun goes down, and out pops nighttime horrors as players' visibility decreases. The daytime only comes back when all of the horrors are killed, giving players control over how long the dark lasts. One of the Garden of Terror's objectives is gathering up seeds to plant so that a huge player-controlled mob can be summoned. Learning when and how to use the summon will be a key to dominating the match. Heroes of the Storm's Garden of Terror swaps between night and day originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Garden of Terror

Choose My Adventure: The crafty side of life in ArcheAge Posted: 16 Jul 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Video, Free-to-Play, Choose My Adventure, Livestream, ArcheAge, Sandbox, The Stream Team After last week's exciting dungeon and boating adventure, Massvely's MJ was ready to settle into the quiet life of crafting in ArcheAge. And crafting can definitely be a whole way of life, taking all your time, attention, and funds. If you want to specialize in multiple crafts, it can gobble up that much more! Since you voted for MJ to try all the crafting, she's been trying to dabble in everything. However, getting all the various materials necessary for all the different professions turned out to be quite the undertaking, so she's been paying special attention to armor (which tied for first in votes) and housing items (which came in second). Join us live at 7:00 p.m. to see the crafty side of life in ArcheAge and help direct MJ's two-hour adventures during this CMA Live. Then don't forget to vote and direct next week's (and this weekend's) adventures! Game: ArcheAge Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Wednesday, July 16th, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: The crafty side of life in ArcheAge Choose My Adventure: The crafty side of life in ArcheAge originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Final Fantasy XIV offers a free weekend to lapsed accounts Posted: 16 Jul 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV, Promotions, Subscription Final Fantasy XIV is looking to pull back in its lost brothers, sisters, and furries with a free login weekend. From 3:00 a.m. EDT on Friday, July 18th, through Monday at the same time, inactive accounts will be switched on. The free weekend is only for previous players who purchased the game and have since stopped paying for it. Square Enix is hoping that the new Patch 2.3 and its features will woo returning players to sub back up after getting a taste during these three days. Final Fantasy XIV offers a free weekend to lapsed accounts originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Free login weekend details

Elder Scrolls Online offers new guild heraldry Posted: 16 Jul 2014 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Game Mechanics, Guilds, Lore, Previews, News Items, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription If you're excited for August's Elder Scrolls Online upcoming update, then today's ZeniMax devblog will be a welcome one... though not one that promises sweeping changes for the game. Specifically, the new post previews some of the new symbols that guilds can adopt as their official crests. "You'll probably recognize some of them, like the symbols for the Divines and the Daedric Princes," write the developers. "Combine these with even more crests, a huge color palette, and different tabard shapes, and your guild will have its own memorable look." We've included the images below. See one you like? Continue reading Elder Scrolls Online offers new guild heraldry Elder Scrolls Online offers new guild heraldry originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev blog

Leaderboard: Which ArcheAge race will you pick for your main? Posted: 16 Jul 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Races, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Leaderboard I am so damn excited for ArcheAge! And with closed beta starting this week, it seems like an opportune time to translate that excitement into a Leaderboard poll. I'd like to ask which class(es) you plan to play, but that might prove a bit cumbersome since there are over 100 choices. Instead, let's talk about the game's four races. Which one will you roll as your main? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard! Continue reading Leaderboard: Which ArcheAge race will you pick for your main? Leaderboard: Which ArcheAge race will you pick for your main? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lord of the Rings Online has a free epic battle and story in store for Update 15 Posted: 16 Jul 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play With Update 14 fresh out of the door, Lord of the Rings Online is free to fully focus on developing Update 15. Executive Producer Aaron Campbell teased a few more details about the upcoming patch during a recent stream. Update 15 will be adding on at least one more zone, with a new part of the epic story and an epic battle that will be free for all players. Players will be teaming up with Aragorn to retake Pelargir and fighting the Haradrim in Gondor. Campbell said that the decision to nix the level cap increase to 105 allowed the team to work on the legendary item revamp instead. Between Updates 14 and 15, the team will release a smaller patch with four session play encounters in the Dead Marshes. Lord of the Rings Online has a free epic battle and story in store for Update 15 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: LOTRO Players

Massively Exclusive: Grand Chase goes live on Steam tomorrow Posted: 16 Jul 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), News Items, Free-to-Play, Promotions, Miscellaneous Grand Chase is pursuing its way onto Steam on Thursday, July 17th, and you know what that means: welcome events. After all, when a free-to-play game shows up on a popular digital service, there will be a lot of new arrivals. New players can look forward to the Welcome Heroes event, which provides a free bundle of prizes to any one character on a player's account. They can also take advantage of the Character Jumping event, which allows everyone to kick a character straight to level 70 (the current cap is 85). A Steam-specific stat-boosting title is also available to everyone, along with new item packages. These packages include a new set of equipment with stats and a new pet, both of which have never been available elsewhere. If you're a long-time Grand Chase player or just can't wait to get a free-to-play brawler on your hard drive, take heart because the game will be available tomorrow. [Source: KOG Games press release] Massively Exclusive: Grand Chase goes live on Steam tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE gives free game time for yesterday's login issues Posted: 16 Jul 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: MMO Industry, Giveaways, Miscellaneous If you were one of the players affected by Sony Online Entertainment's network-wide downtime yesterday, we have some good news. The company has announced on various social media outlets that it will be giving away two days of free access time to all accounts. This includes those on Landmark's beta access accounts as well. "We deeply regret the recent service interruption that is currently impacting all SOE games," DCUO Community Manager Mepps said in a forum post. "As a thank you for your patience, we will add two days of membership time to all members' accounts." According to EQ2wire.com, this downtime was caused by the SonyOnline.net domain name expiring, which SOE president John Smedley addressed in a tweet: "Sorry for the DNS problems folks. Won't happen again. Notices sent to wrong email. Doh." SOE gives free game time for yesterday's login issues originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Mepps' forum post

Camelot Unchained plans a robust, anti-mule crafting economy Posted: 16 Jul 2014 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Historical, Economy, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Crafting, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained, MMORPG Welcome back to our coverage of City State Entertainment's batshit-crazy days for Camelot Unchained! A few weeks ago, we spoke with CSE co-founder Mark Jacobs about each of the topics being revealed this week via livestream; this afternoon, we're digging into my personal favorite: crafting and economy. Massively: I just wrote about a game with excessive recovery time for crafters, likewise implemented for economic reasons, and wow, players hate those restrictions. Doesn't introducing (I'm going to say it) "designed downtime" for crafters encourage crafter mules and arbitrarily interfere with the natural economy? Aren't there more organic ways to slow down crafting? Why allow combatants to fight 24/7 but not allow crafters to craft equivalently? CSE's Mark Jacobs: It's a really good question and a definite concern for us. My feeling was that I wanted to create a system where crafters don't have to sit around, crafting 24/7 in a manner that could lead to carpal tunnel. Other games, including Dark Age of Camelot, were more like that. Crafters shouldn't have to sit around and simply click-click-click, etc. The comparison isn't totally correct though, because combatants have downtime to recover their health or power, during travel, etc. (especially in an RvR MMORPG), while crafters can sit in a shop and use the Vox Magus to craft. Continue reading Camelot Unchained plans a robust, anti-mule crafting economy Camelot Unchained plans a robust, anti-mule crafting economy originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Wizard101 introduces Fishing Posted: 16 Jul 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Kids, Wizard101, Family Fishing is the eternal side activity of MMOs, the reason for players to sit about and cast their line over and over in the hopes of receiving something worthwhile. Wizard101 joins the lineup of fantasy games offering a fishing option today with a new patch, although you will be fishing in an appropriately magical fashion. Rather than a mundane line and sinker, players summon magical orbs to help snare fish; the ones they catch can be sold, used for crafts, or displayed as trophies around your house. If this is the one thing you've been waiting for before you get into the game, you can also take advantage of the new promotional bundle on sale at Target. The Spiral Cup Gauntlet Bundle includes a new housing item, a new pet, new clothes, and a new mount for players, along with either a month's subscription or 5000 crowns. You can pick it up for $39 and then jump right back into casting orbs and looking for fish. Or doing other things, presumably. [Source: Kingsisle Entertainment press release] Continue reading Wizard101 introduces Fishing Wizard101 introduces Fishing originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Patch notes

Lineage II's new expansion to launch on July 30 Posted: 16 Jul 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Expansions, Lore, Free-to-Play NCsoft has announced today that its classic fantasy MMO Lineage II will be launching its next expansion on July 30. Entitled Ertheia, this free expansion brings new hunting zones, new adventures, and reveals the lore that explains the arrival of the Ertheia race. "As the last of Einhasad's four original races (Elves, Orcs, Dwarves, and Ertheia) enters the playing field, they will join forces with the other races and Heroes of Aden to save their world, all a part of the continuing saga within Lineage II's epic storyline," according to an NCsoft press release. Check out the video after the cut for more information on Lineage II's Ertheia. [Source: NCsoft press release] Continue reading Lineage II's new expansion to launch on July 30 Lineage II's new expansion to launch on July 30 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Jul 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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