MMO Updates

MMO Updates

Lost Pages of Taborea: Comparing RIFT's looting and multi-class systems to Runes of Magic's

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 11:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Sometimes I feel like I'm playing the best MMO that no one's ever heard of. Lately, all I see are new games on the horizon that promise new flexible class systems, better functionality in old standard mechanics, improved pet systems, and so on. Every time I read these press releases, announcements, or blogs, I lean back, tilt my head a bit and say, "Interesting. But Runes of Magic already does that." It's why I have a lot of faith -- even if I disagree from time to time -- in Runewaker. The company has made all these great systems that are exactly what newer games are promising, and players are stoked about it. It really has me wanting to embark on a series comparing systems between RoM and other MMOs.

RIFT has bulk-looting and class combining that I want to compare with similar features in RoM for this week's Lost Pages of Taborea. I'm tired of feeling like I'm playing an MMO no one's heard of, even if it isn't true -- RoM is very popular and it keeps growing at a fast pace. But dagnabbit, sometimes I want to tell everyone RoM did it before the other guy gets all the credit. Let's look at RoM's dual-class and pet systems to compare looting and multi-classes between these two games.

Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: Comparing RIFT's looting and multi-class systems to Runes of Magic's

MassivelyLost Pages of Taborea: Comparing RIFT's looting and multi-class systems to Runes of Magic's originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Artist to lock self in crate with no contact with outside world but Lord of the Rings Online

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 10:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , ,

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be locked in a crate with absolutely no contact with the outside world except via an online game? No? Well, neither have we. Artist Jordan Long, however, apparently has, and for his first solo show he intends to ship himself in a crate from Bald Knob, AK to Portland, OR with Lord of the Rings Online as his only contact with the outside world.

You may be asking yourself, "What exactly is the purpose of this little stunt?" A fair question. According to Mr. Long, the focus of his art is the study of trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and claims that he has found that many who are confined to their homes due to such trauma tend to find their escape in the form of online games such as LotRO where they can "enter and exit whenever they choose, be whoever they want to be and feel like functioning members of society again." An interesting concept, to say the least. If you want to follow Jordan's project, you can keep an eye on his official site.

MassivelyArtist to lock self in crate with no contact with outside world but Lord of the Rings Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE's Alliance Tournament IX ends in controversy

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

The Alliance Tournament is one of the highlights of the EVE Online calendar. Every year, tens of thousands of people tune in to watch teams from competing alliances battle it out in a massive knock-out style tournament. With rules in place to limit the number and value of ships a team can field, the Alliance Tournament is as close to a fair fight as you'll find in EVE. This year's tournament came to a close last night after two weekends of qualifying rounds, exciting knock-out matches and a controversial final.

Skip past the cut to find out how this year's tournament ended. Be warned that this post will spoil the outcome of the tournament. For those of you who missed the live stream, we'll be compiling an in-depth summary with links to videos of all the matches once CCP has uploaded the matches to YouTube.

Continue reading EVE's Alliance Tournament IX ends in controversy

MassivelyEVE's Alliance Tournament IX ends in controversy originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively Exclusive: Battle of the Immortals Titan update lore blog

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 08:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , ,

Perfect World Entertainment's Battle of the Immortals -- which hit its one year anniversary just last month -- is gearing up for its upcoming Titan update. Precious little information about this upcoming addition to the game has been released (all we know right now is that two new instances will be introduced, along with updates to the game's existing features), but today PWE has treated us to an exclusive tidbit of lore to fill players in on the events leading up to the update.

Unfortunately, that's about all we have in regard to this brand-new update, but be sure to check back with us from time to time because we'll be keeping you up to date on all the freshest information on Battle of the Immortals and its Titan update as the news drops. So without further ado, head on past the cut for the first lore blog post from Battle of the Immortals' Titan update.

Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Battle of the Immortals Titan update lore blog

MassivelyMassively Exclusive: Battle of the Immortals Titan update lore blog originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

MV Guide: June 20 - 26, 2011

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 07:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , ,

MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel.

Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, Livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program! The Massively crew is recovered from E3 and ready to dive back into livestreaming. We've got plenty lined up this week, so follow along after the jump and see what's coming up on MV TV!

Continue reading MV Guide: June 20 - 26, 2011

MassivelyMV Guide: June 20 - 26, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What "optional" features do you consider mandatory?

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 06:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , ,

Whatever your preferred style of gaming within the MMO sphere, there are certain elements that were once seen as essential to the genre that just aren't as important any longer. Blaming World of Warcraft for eliminating a lot of the depth from online worlds may not be fair, but when the market leader doesn't bother with player housing or endgames that aren't gear grinds, it's not hard to see why other games have followed suit. And even that game boasts some features -- like altering character features post-creation -- that others have yet to adopt.

Appearance tabs, social mechanics, player housing, player transports that do more than just increase speed -- all of these elements are now considered to be highly optional. But are they? From open-world PvP to simple roleplaying amenities, we all have certain features that are treated as optional by designers but aren't optional to our tastes. So what features are generally seen as not necessary to a game that are necessary for you to even consider playing?

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!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What "optional" features do you consider mandatory? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Week in Review: F2Pocalypse

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 06:00 PM PDT

Filed under: , ,

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. Miss a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week? You've come to the right post.

This week, after much post-E3 speculation among staff and players about GamersFirst's intentions as to Fallen Earth, the company gave us the exclusive news that it had acquired the post-apocalyptic IP and planned to overhaul it into one of its tiered free-to-play offerings a la All Points Bulletin: Reloaded. The existing Fallen Earth dev team, fully intact and eager to parlay its acquisition into enhanced game development, followed up the announcement with a new dev blog that promised love for often-overlooked populations like roleplayers and PvPers, leaving sandbox aficionados to wonder whether the revitalized wastelands might just have a long life ahead of them.

Join us past the break for a look at this week's other top MMO stories!

Continue reading Week in Review: F2Pocalypse

MassivelyWeek in Review: F2Pocalypse originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: Third-party development

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 04:00 PM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , , ,

When EVE Online was first released in 2003, it was a primitive beast from a small indie studio operating out of a tiny office in Reykjavik, Iceland. Although EVE has been expanded over the years, not all of that development has come from creator CCP Games. EVE players routinely step in to fill gaps in the game's functionality through the development of third-party applications, websites and tools. Early apps like the EVEMon skill planner were very limited in what information they could access about a player's character, but with the introduction of the EVE API system, a huge wealth of information became available.

Since then, we've seen a resurgence of third-party app and tool development, producing impressive apps like Capsuleer and Aura for the iPhone. We've also seen some incredibly useful websites like the ICSC jump planner suite, gambling site SOMER.blink and the Dotlan EVE maps with regularly updating statistics. Most app developers work on the projects in their spare time, and until now they've relied on donations or advertising revenue to keep up with server costs or keep development worth the time invested. As EVE is CCP's intellectual property, it's illegal for anyone to make money from it without the company's permission. This week, CCP released the first draft of a contract that would allow developers to monetise their apps, but the proposal was not received well by the EVE community.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at third-party app development and what's wrong with the proposed deal.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Third-party development

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Third-party development originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

One Shots: Bidding farewell to guild week

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 02:00 PM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , ,

We're wrapping up guild week on One Shots with one final Lord of the Rings Online guild from Massively reader Palantorio of the clan Bewahrer des Lichts (Keepers of the Light):
Our clan belongs to one of the three oldest on this server (only three German servers existed in 2007). This picture was taken last year. If we invite someone into our clan, he first spends some time as a recruit. At the end of this time, there is a big event, which promotes the recruit to a full member.
Next week is Massively staff pick week, so check back every day as the team shows off its favorite games -- and keep an eye out for our upcoming theme!

Gallery: One Shots: 2011

MassivelyOne Shots: Bidding farewell to guild week originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rise and Shiny recap: Pockie Ninja

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 12:00 PM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , , , , , ,

Well, it's nice to finally get back to my regularly scheduled columns after attending E3 last week. I have to say, I loved all of the new games and gadgets that I got to check out at the event, but I missed the rhythm of my columns. So this week I decided to get back to Rise and Shiny in full force by attacking Pockie Ninja, an odd-looking little game that I have been hearing about for quite a while. In fact, it doesn't take much to see that it has grown pretty popular, but I still wasn't sure why.

So I signed up (thank you, Facebook connect!) and jumped into the game. It should be noted that a lot of the game has not been translated very well. This is a real problem when you consider some of the learning curve involved in Pockie Ninja. Sure, the English is there, and there are words that I know, but they are often arranged in such a strange order or just come out sounding so... odd that I have no idea what is going on.

Click past the cut and let's see if I can explain what I found.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Pockie Ninja

MassivelyRise and Shiny recap: Pockie Ninja originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pocket Legends teams up with Sony for Xperia PLAY event

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 11:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Spacetime Studios and Sony recently teamed up to put on a unique event inside Spacetime's Pocket Legends mobile MMO. A new press release touts the "world's first in-game mobile flash mob," which happened during this month's E3 convention in Los Angeles.

Pocket Legends players took part in a "Find the Droid" competition in which an Android mascot would make its way through the game world while enterprising players gave chase. The promotion was designed to draw attention to the new Sony Xperia PLAY platform, and Spacetime gave away more than 11,000 themed vanity items during the course of the event.

Pocket Legends, the world's largest mobile MMO in terms of downloads (4 million and counting), will be expanding to the Android-powered Xperia PLAY later this summer.

MassivelyPocket Legends teams up with Sony for Xperia PLAY event originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted by Shri Krishna

MMO updates

MMO updates

Duke of Mount Deer Online - First impression

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 06:54 AM PDT


Before I begin, please be informed that this is just a small preview, with me barely scratching the core content even at level 40. Duke of Mount Deer Online is based on Louis Cha's final martial arts novel, developed for around 5 years by China MMO giant, ChangYou. While the game stays true to the novel in terms of storyline, characters etc, additional elements are added to boost the game's lore and content. Let's take a look!

↑↑ Running the client, the first page you will see contains all of the events running for today and tomorrow, including which is running currently. An abundance of events as you can see on the left window.
↑↑ Choosing a main server to play in.
↑↑ Each server will have 4 shards. The red ones represent the imperial faction, while the blue ones represent the martial arts alliance. As you can see, there will be PvP events on a daily and regular basis between the 2 sides. If the preview wasn't wrong, you can switch between either shards if you are in the same faction. And there will be a global auction system where all items from any servers can be seen by every players.
↑↑ Game view option, but it can also be changed within the game.
↑↑ Another option for selecting target which can be changed in the game.
Shown below is the character creation footage. As you can see, there are non-combat classes to choose from at the beginning. However, they are still under testing and only those with special access codes can give them a run at this point of time. The class I chose was the Sage, also known as the healer.


And now, some brief footage of the early game. There are quests, tons of them right from the beginning. A nice feature is the automated mount system, where characters automatically mounts if the distance to the next location is further than a few steps. There are quite a few cut scenes as well. Continuing parts of the footage can be seen at my YouTube channel.



As you can see, there are 2 followers and 1 golden floating blob aiding me in fights. One of them is the normal pet, one is a mercenary while the floating blob is actually a... Let's call it the Spirit (it is directly translated as Tail). For pets and mercenaries, players can actually hold up till 4 each and switch any time. They gain experience points as well through each fight and will evolve up to a tune of 10 stages. The Spirit can transform into the appearance of the last mob you fight and aid players in battle for a short time until the skill cools down and there is enough "Spirit points" to consume. It levels by feeding equipments to it. The skills available are also affect by the horoscope you chose when creating characters.

↑↑ Pet window and showing the many stages it can go evolve into.
↑↑ Mercenary window on the left and Spirit window on the right.
Below is a small footage displaying how to capture pets and convince mercenaries. There is actually a pet island where they can be caught, each at different levels. For example, a level 30 character will be unable to use a level 40 pet. Players can breed pets of the different gender to produce a stronger 2nd generation. For mercenaries, players will have to battle them and win them over. Some mercenaries require players to party as well in order to defeat it like a boss battle.


Let us now skip to around level 40, which is my current level after a few hours of gameplay. From level 30 and onwards, players will get to add stats for their characters. There will be prompts every time a level is gained, including suitable players to be my disciple or my master. Every time a new member is added into the guild, players have the option to send some Cash Shop credits or just a gesture to welcome him. If I missed out, there are quests which reward players with a small amount of Cash Shop gold. Talking about the social aspects of the game, there is also a family system which is different from the guild.


There is a slightly worrying feature found in the experience system though. There are 2 different experience bars for each character, one being the normal experience while the other being the job experience points. Normal experience points are needed to upgrade skill levels together with in-game gold. If the character is level 40, skills can be upgraded to a maximum of 45 (5 above base level). All these need huge amount of gold and experience points.


For job experience, the only way I have so far found to obtain it is through doing the class quests. However, the quests are mostly "go there and get something for me" or just playing mini-games at a NPC nearby within the class' main town. After level 30, job experience points are needed to level up the job (different from based character level) and also to upgrade the equipped Holy Gear. Holy Gear is different for each class and it acts as a bonus equipment to give extra stats to characters. It can also  "reborn" and be upgraded into a stronger one... At a cost again. This part of the game seems very tedious to me.

↑↑ 2 of the 3 mini-games found for the job experience quests. The one on the left requires players to hit the nail when the meter is near full and complete it before time runs out, while the right game requires players to shake the vial until the pointer is of the same color at the end of the timer.
I am nearing the end of my brief look at the beginning part of the game. There are still tons of features I have not touched, including the triple class feature within one character (at level 75), personal housing and farming, guild housing and farming, family housing and farming, guild leveling arena, family leveling arena, instances, Realm Vs Realm, imperial examinations, cooking mini-games, crafting, live skills and more importantly, visiting the "new" dimension not found in the original novel.

Note that this is just the Closed Beta phase and the amount of content available is already very impressive, although it might overwhelm players as well. The English teaser website seems back online now, so have a read and understand more about the game as well! You can also read through my previous posts about the game.

Rusty Hearts (KR) - 4th character teased

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 12:51 AM PDT


Rusty Hearts North America will be going into Closed Beta soon, and the Korean server today teased about the upcoming 4th character (shown above), the gun-slinging Natasha. From the teaser video below, it seems that she will be able to wield both dual pistols and rifles as well. And she comes packed with several AOE skills and the ability to dish out some insane combos! The official English website can be found here while more information is available here.

The Weekend Journal

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 08:49 AM PDT


Hello folks, how was your week? Mine started off slow but suddenly picked up speed near the end of the week... phew. I am working on the small preview for ChangYou's multi-million MMORPG, Duke of Mount Deer Online and it is late due to some technical hiccups video wise. The game's graphics engine is nothing to wow about when compared to Unreal or CryEngine, but the content available will put most online games to shame. And yes, combat is still point and click, but leveling is really smooth and fast via questing.


I will be starting my new role as a junior manager at a online publisher in a few hours, one which most probably hasn't heard of yet. I will try my very best to hear what the community has to say and at the same time balance with the company's goals. Fret not, the company will avoid from being a greedy money grabbing machine and become one which has a human touch... while making profits at the same time of course. My apologies for this short post, but my bed is summoning me! Have a good week ahead! Oh, and in case you do not know, all the female models I posted are connected to the online gaming world~
Posted by Shri Krishna

MMORPG News

MMORPG News

Runescape: Phishing Scam

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 06:41 AM PDT

RuneScape developers have confirmed that a very legitimate looking email is being sent to players that is, in reality, a phishing scam. The email indicates that the recipient has received an infraction for the use of macros and tells them to click a link to review the issue. Therein lies the problem.

Final Fantasy XIV: Instanced Raids Detailed

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 06:34 AM PDT

A new blog post on the Final Fantasy XIV Lodestone has new information about upcoming instanced raid dungeons that will make their collective appearance in patch v1.18. The post lays out how long each raid takes, number of players and other information as well as the rewards gained for completion.

Lord of the Rings Online: Performance Art to Prove a Point

Posted: 20 Jun 2011 06:19 AM PDT

As an avid Lord of the Rings Online player and arts, Jordan Long is taking his theories about in-game communities and their benefits for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to new levels. Long has 'mailed' himself from his home in Arkansas to a final destination in Oregon locked in a crate with nothing but his computer and his LOTRO companions along for the ride.

Age of Empires Online: Questgivers Animations

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 10:24 AM PDT

Developer Chaz offers us a look into how QuestGivers in the forthcoming MMORTS have come to life. Take a look!

Champions Online: Concepts and Costumes: Hideouts

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 09:58 AM PDT

Lead Artist Brad Stokan is at it again, this time taking a look at the hideouts that they create for the game, taking aim at two real-world hideouts: the Vigilante Safe House, and, my favorite, Mom's Basement! See what he has to say this week.

Star Trek Online: Engineering Report

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 09:52 AM PDT

Executive Producer of Star Trek Online, Dan Stahl, has written and posted his June Engineering Report over on the official Star Trek Online Forums. Check out what he has to say about Season 4 (currently being tested on the Tribble test server).

City of Heroes: Keep Galaxy City Clean

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 09:44 AM PDT

The other day, the City of Heroes team added a news item that was simply a torn out article of an in-game newspaper, it's prominent headline pronouncing to "Keep Galaxy City Clean". The article then goes on to talk about litter in the city. On the right hand side, there's an article about meteors hitting the ground. Could this be a teaser for a coming event, expansion, or chapter? There's plenty of speculation on the forums already!

CrimeCraft: New Objective-Based Game Mode

Posted: 19 Jun 2011 09:38 AM PDT

With the summer update, CrimeCraft has been releasing details for several weeks now, hoping to entice players and cause a bit of anticipation amongst its hardcores, and potential new players. Now, they're talking about the new objective-based gameplay mode that they hope can whet the appetites of players and non-players alike. Check it out.
Posted by Shri Krishna
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats