MMO Updates |
- BioWare opens Ireland customer service center
- Informal RMT study looks at microtransaction effects across multiple titles
- Turbine to bring back LotRO's Fellowship Maneuvers to boss fights
- MV Guide: September 26-October 2, 2011
- The Daily Grind: Are you a fan of attunement?
- End of Nations not launching in 2011, aiming for 2012
- Guild Wars 2 Necromancer, Thief gameplay videos captured at Eurogamer Expo
- MMO Week in Review: Superhero season
- EVE Evolved: Ship spinning and Incarna
- One Shots: Once more into the breach
- Rise and Shiny recap: Starjack Online
- Dawntide launch delayed, new date undetermined
| BioWare opens Ireland customer service center Posted: 26 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  European fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic have long been clamoring for more information regarding the title's presence in the mythical land across the Atlantic, and we have some potentially good news for those people. EA announced today that a new BioWare customer service center has been opened in Galway, Ireland. Speaking at the facility's inauguration ceremony, EA Senior Vice President Ray Muzyka said "MMO launches are complex, and we are determined to set a new standard for a high quality, stable, smooth launch for our fans. Our new BioWare facility and team in Galway is critical to ensuring we deliver on that goal." It's a first for BioWare as well, considering that this is BioWare's premiere location outside of North America. Hopefully the studio's opening will live up to its goal of ensuring that the inevitably massive launch of The Old Republic goes smoothly both in North America and across the pond.
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| Informal RMT study looks at microtransaction effects across multiple titles Posted: 26 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  Among the surveyed games are MMORPGs that include World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Realm of the Mad God and EVE Online. The study includes data collected on over 800 RMT items, and while the conclusions are somewhat lacking in terms of objective analysis ("nobody likes Battlefield," etc.), there is nonetheless a fair bit of interesting info on display. Ultimately the piece reaches the familiar conclusion that RMT is here to stay and that it's OK as long as the implementation avoids the dreaded pay-to-win stigma. That said, "even just cosmetic items will breed a bitter culture of haves and have-nots if you can't reasonably get them for free in a game for which you're already paying," the article states. Be sure to check out Massively's own RMT studies for more insight into the value offered by your favorite microtransaction games.
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| Turbine to bring back LotRO's Fellowship Maneuvers to boss fights Posted: 26 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Free-to-play  In the past, Turbine had disabled Fellowship Maneuvers for tough boss fights, fearing that it would make the encounters too easy. However, the devs want to start giving the system more love again, and has a two-step plan to do that. The first step is to allow players to create customizable Fellowship Maneuvers on a per-mob basis, allowing players to fine-tune their approach to each deadly encounter. The second step is to lift the ban on Fellowship Maneuvers during boss fights -- but making them much tougher to pull off successfully. This latter step is still in the planning stages, but the team wanted players to know that it was in the works. There's more information in this developer diary about Conjunctions, especially in regard to the new 24-man Draigoch raid, so it's worth checking out if you're a serious dungeon crawler.
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| MV Guide: September 26-October 2, 2011 Posted: 26 Sep 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide  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 titles to take a look at. During livestream events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply 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've got a hefty lineup on MV Guide this week: Newly launched games and expansions, a detailed tour of an old favorite, PvP, and more. Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule! Continue reading MV Guide: September 26-October 2, 2011
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| The Daily Grind: Are you a fan of attunement? Posted: 26 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Massively meta, Humor, Miscellaneous  World of Warcraft had keys too, even for basic 5-man dungeons, but it also introduced long, convoluted quest chains that players had to complete in order to become "attuned" to certain raid instances -- witness the quest map above, courtesy of WoWpedia. Both of these games have since heavily toned down these content blockades due to player feedback, but their influence is seen across the genre. What about you folks? Are you a fan of gating content until some grind (be it farming for an item or completing lengthy quest lines) is completed? Or do you just want to push the hokum to the side and get on with dungeoning?  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!
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| End of Nations not launching in 2011, aiming for 2012 Posted: 25 Sep 2011 09:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Launches, Free-to-play, MMORTS  The news came at this past weekend's Eurogamer Expo 2011, where Trion demoed the game live to an excited crowd. The studio also showed off some of the in-game store options that players have to pick from, including unit colors and skins. End of Nations will be free-to-play with these optional microtransactions, but Trion promises that there will be no way for players to "pay to win." Trion was mum when asked about End of Nations' beta at the expo. The studio announced last month that the title would be going free-to-play from the get-go, a move that it hopes will draw in prospective armchair generals by the droves.
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| Guild Wars 2 Necromancer, Thief gameplay videos captured at Eurogamer Expo Posted: 25 Sep 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Classes, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2  The site sent a gaggle of its community members to the event, and their impressions are collected in an ever-expanding threadnaught sure to put a smile on ArenaNet fan faces. The news post also features a series of gameplay videos shot live at the event, and all told the three clips clock in at just under an hour of footage. The videos feature both Norn Thief PvP and high-level Sylvari Necromancer shenanigans. Check them out after the break and head to Cynical Brit for more info. Continue reading Guild Wars 2 Necromancer, Thief gameplay videos captured at Eurogamer Expo
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| MMO Week in Review: Superhero season Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Massively meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous  This week, Sony Online Entertainment's John Smedley announced that DC Universe Online will soon make the transition to a hybrid freemium payment model. That makes it the last of the "AAA" superhero titles to go free-to-play -- in fact, City of Heroes flipped a similar switch this very weekend, inviting former players back to preview the F2P conversion Freedom before it launches officially. (Oh and there might have been an announcement about an obscure little indie MMO that's coming out on December 20th, but we're sure you don't want to hear about that.) Don your capes and fly past the break for a look at this week's other top MMO stories. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Superhero season
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| EVE Evolved: Ship spinning and Incarna Posted: 25 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Sandbox  Last week, EVE Online developer CCP Games released a devblog about an upcoming patch designed to re-introduce the ship hangar removed as part of the recent Incarna expansion. The old system involved docking into a ship hangar in which players can spin their ships around to look at them from any angle. With Incarna, the hangar was replaced by a new captain's quarters interface in which the player gets out of his ship and walks about his quarters in a full-body avatar of his character. Amidst a flood of complaints from players whose computers couldn't handle the Incarna environments, CCP reluctantly built a temporary disable switch into the system. Developers repeatedly stated that they had no intention of letting players opt out of Incarna forever as the company wants it to be a seamless part of the game world rather than a separate game in and of itself. The announcement of the ship hangar's return has effectively overturned that statement by giving players a way to stay out of Incarna environments indefinitely if required. This is a big deal for current EVE players, but most of my friends and colleagues who don't play EVE don't see the importance of what is on the surface a purely cosmetic change. In this week's short EVE Evolved column, I discuss the plans to bring back ship-spinning in EVE and explain why this change is a big deal for players. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Ship spinning and Incarna
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| One Shots: Once more into the breach Posted: 25 Sep 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Age of Conan, One Shots  This was taken overlooking the Gateway to Khitai just outside The Breach, a solo instance located in the mountains behind me.That's it for aerial week here on One Shots! Next week we're throwing the ball back to you. There's no theme and no requirement; just send us your favorite screenshots and tell us why you love them. Add your name and a little bit about the image, send it in to oneshots@massively.com, and we'll feature it in this week's One Shots!
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| Rise and Shiny recap: Starjack Online Posted: 25 Sep 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, New titles, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, MMORTS, Rise and Shiny  Want to know those reasons? Good! Click past the cut and we'll get right to exploring this indie free-to-play game based in the harsh, cold realities of space! Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Starjack Online
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| Dawntide launch delayed, new date undetermined Posted: 25 Sep 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Dawntide, Sandbox  No time table is forthcoming as of yet, but we suspect the delay is likely for the best, given the consensus among the game's devoted community that the fantasy title was not ready for launch. There is a silver lining, though, as you can help test Dawntide and get a preview of the game for free by signing up for the ongoing open beta. WAI also released a new trailer for the game a few weeks back, and we've got it for you after the break in case you missed it. [Thanks to Bartillo for the tip.] Continue reading Dawntide launch delayed, new date undetermined
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