MMO Updates |
- Leaderboard: Mining vs. woodcutting
- Lime Odyssey dev blog highlights Muris race
- MV Guide: February 6-12, 2012
- The Daily Grind: What's the highest sub fee you'd pay?
- MMO Week in Review: Don't call it F2P
- EVE Evolved: The benefits of a subscription
- Meet the guild that's lasted over 16 years
- Earn prizes in Allods Online's 14-day giveaway event
- Star Vault memo reveals Mortal Online expansion date
- Rise and Shiny recap: PlaneShift
| Leaderboard: Mining vs. woodcutting Posted: 06 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Polls, Opinion, Crafting, Leaderboard  So today we turn our gaze away from manslaughter and onto gathering natural resources. In most MMOs, two harvesting professions come almost standard with any title: mining and woodcutting (or, if you're feeling Monty Pythonish, lumberjacking). Which is more noble and more worthwhile to pursue? Mining has the appeal of precious metals and the near-universal utility of these resources in a wide range of crafting recipes, but one must not underestimate how essential wood is. After all, can you imagine swords without hilts, ships without hulls, or campfires that had to resort to burning dung every night in lieu of a better fuel source? Inconceivable! Get your hands dirty today and vote on the better career path for the burly outdoorsman or woman! Continue reading Leaderboard: Mining vs. woodcutting
|
| Lime Odyssey dev blog highlights Muris race Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Races, Dev Diaries  Aeria Games has released a new cinematic and a couple of screenshots to go along with its textual description, and after viewing all of these after the cut, you'll have a clearer picture of who the Muris are (and why you might want to play one). Despite their cute factor, the Muris can be deadly, and they may be used in tandem with any of Lime Odyssey's four battle classes (Warrior, Thief, Mage, or Cleric). [Source: Aeria press release] Continue reading Lime Odyssey dev blog highlights Muris race
|
| Posted: 06 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, 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 our streamed 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, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule! Continue reading MV Guide: February 6-12, 2012
|
| The Daily Grind: What's the highest sub fee you'd pay? Posted: 06 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  But if the game is good enough, why wouldn't we pay what it's worth to us, no matter its age? Consider Fallen Earth, which offers, as its highest subscription tier, a $30-per-month plan. I might pay $30 a month for a really awesome MMO (or to resurrect one I'm fond of). But what's the limit? $50? $100? What's the highest sub fee you'd pay -- and what would you expect out of the game for that price?  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!
|
| MMO Week in Review: Don't call it F2P Posted: 05 Feb 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous  This week, classic EverQuest announced it will soon go fully free-to-play; meanwhile, RIFT boldly announced a lite version that will see its first 20 levels free as well. In more meta news, Massively bids a fond farewell to Community Manager Rubi Bayer as she migrates to a job with ArenaNet. Think you're the perfect person to take over her role as our Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 columnist? We're accepting applications for this paid position through Monday. Enjoy the rest of the week's top MMO stories after the break. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Don't call it F2P
|
| EVE Evolved: The benefits of a subscription Posted: 05 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, EVE Evolved, Sandbox  We've established that a free-to-play EVE could potentially be viable, but this week I'd like to take the debate one step further and ask whether EVE is actually doing the right thing with its current subscription model. Subscriptions may no longer appear to be the dominant business model in the MMO landscape, but they have some major advantages that are rapidly becoming apparent as more and more games drop their monthly fees. The sale of cosmetic enhancements will only net so much money, and if a game expands into selling convenience items that circumvent grind, there's a strong financial incentive to develop grindy gameplay and then sell shortcuts. This produces a conflict of interest between developing fun games and making money that isn't present with the subscription model. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the benefits of the subscription model, the unique position CCP is in with its PLEX system, and the hidden dangers of convenience-based microtransactions. Continue reading EVE Evolved: The benefits of a subscription
|
| Meet the guild that's lasted over 16 years Posted: 05 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, Guilds, MMO industry, Ultima Online, Miscellaneous  The Syndicate is currently active in Ultima Online and World of Warcraft, having previously been active in EverQuest, Shadowbane and other games. All members agree to follow a charter that forbids stealing, cheating, non-consensual player-killing, and immature behaviour. The Syndicate takes its identity so seriously that it's even trademarked its name and has worked with MMO companies to rename guilds using it. Developers have in turn taken advantage of The Syndicate's huge community size and code of conduct to beta test upcoming games. With its 16th birthday behind it, the guild predates most MMOs on the market today and is still going strong.
|
| Earn prizes in Allods Online's 14-day giveaway event Posted: 05 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Expansions, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Allods Online  Prizes start with special coins for the first day and rapidly ramp up to consumables and costumes, with a Sinister Lion mount for players who log in during all 14 days. To qualify each day, one hour must be spent playing the game before midnight by your server's clock; the time can be split across multiple characters on your account and the prizes are limited to one set per account. gPotato requests that all players entering the contest log out before midnight each day as staying logged in may make you ineligible for that day. As this is a tiered event, players who miss even a single day will never be able to get the top prize of a Sinister Lion mount. For a full list of prizes and contest terms, head over to the official contest announcement.
|
| Star Vault memo reveals Mortal Online expansion date Posted: 05 Feb 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, MMO industry, PvP, News items, Mortal Online, Sandbox  The Awakening is slated for an April 2012 release, with May and June dedicated to magic and balance updates. The company expects to break even on a monthly basis between July and August of this year and sign a deal with publishers in August. Star Vault's plan is to have the game published in China between July and September and then release an as-yet unannounced expansion in October, with another in April next year.
|
| Rise and Shiny recap: PlaneShift Posted: 05 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Video, Bugs, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Humor, Rise and Shiny, Livestream, Crafting  Without those key words, a player can become confused. Is this quest broken, missing parts, or just poorly designed? Is the game world empty because it's midnight or because the testing crowd is on at different times? I've heard from developers who keep their games in a beta state for years and years, and it usually means that they simply want a sort of explanation as to why the game feels incomplete. I say release it already and perhaps you'd attract more players anyway. Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: PlaneShift
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Massively To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
