| WoW's Warlords of Draenor beta: A disappointing start Posted: 18 Jul 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Opinion, First Impressions, Subscription My time with the Draenor beta has been an overwhelming disappointment. Warlords of Draenor is to World of Warcraft as Man of Steel is to the Superman mythos. It's an effort to collect classic elements with no regard for the setting in which they make sense, throwing them together like line items. It's aware of the history of the franchise only as a resource to mine, and it's just giving us all of the old familiar pieces without the parts that made those pieces memorable. Imagine watching Harrison Ford pretending to be Indiana Jones despite being far too old for the role now, locked in a script with no sense of momentum or energy, going through the motions in a way that's not just lackluster but actively kind of shameful. Imagine Frank Miller writing Batman as a parody of what people thought his original versions of Batman were anyway without the slightest sense of irony. That should give you some idea of where I am when it comes to Warlords of Draenor. It's loads of classic ideas, stuff that I desperately want to like, but it's ultimately just not very good, and it certainly doesn't come together. Continue reading WoW's Warlords of Draenor beta: A disappointing start  WoW's Warlords of Draenor beta: A disappointing start originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Crew's PC closed beta starts July 21 Posted: 18 Jul 2014 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Real-Life, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items Ubisoft's open-world racer The Crew kicks off its PC closed beta on July 21st. The firm has posted a news blurb on its website stating that the first test phase will run through July 25th, which is earlier than previously announced. Players will be able to "explore the entire United States with no loading screen" including all missions and skill challenges in the Midwest, all skill challenges on the East Coast, and free roaming in the South, Mountain State, and West Coast regions. The Crew launches on November 11th. Continue reading The Crew's PC closed beta starts July 21 The Crew's PC closed beta starts July 21 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jul 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Report: SWTOR fourth biggest sub MMO, Elder Scrolls has over 770k subscribers Posted: 18 Jul 2014 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription Market intelligence firm Superdata says that Star Wars: The Old Republic earned $165 million in worldwide revenue last year. This would make SWTOR the fourth biggest sub MMO in the world (behind World of Warcraft, Lineage, and TERA). Superdata's report also says that the pay-to-play MMO market has been in a constant decline since 2010, with monthly active worldwide subscribers bottoming out at 23.4 million. "Despite the overall decline, this category has so far managed to maximize their ability to monetize a shrinking yet loyal player base," the firm says. Finally, Superdata says that Elder Scrolls Online has a subscriber base of 772,374 while WildStar is seeing "four to five times" as many concurrent users as it saw during open beta. Superdata's information is purportedly "pulled directly from publishers and developers." Report: SWTOR fourth biggest sub MMO, Elder Scrolls has over 770k subscribers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jul 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Tamriel Infinium: Elder Scrolls' ginormous post-50 update plan Posted: 18 Jul 2014 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, PvE, Opinion, The Elder Scrolls Online, Subscription, Tamriel Infinium Earlier this week, Elder Scrolls Online creative director Paul Sage dropped by the Elder Scrolls OTR podcast and proceeded to drop a ton of update info on fans of ZeniMax's fantasy themepark MMO. We put out a corresponding news post, of course, but there was so much meat on those bones that I couldn't let an issue of Tamriel Infinium go by without adding my two cents. Plus, hey, it was only two weeks ago that I was advocating for an adjustment to the game's post-50 approach. Ask and ye shall receive, right? Continue reading Tamriel Infinium: Elder Scrolls' ginormous post-50 update plan Tamriel Infinium: Elder Scrolls' ginormous post-50 update plan originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jul 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: What's the ideal death penalty for an MMO? Posted: 18 Jul 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous If your first MMO was a modern themepark MMO, you might not realize that a corpse run and a small repair bill are fairly light penalties for death. In Ultima Online, if you couldn't make it back to your body in time, a devious player (or mob) might come along and relieve your corpse of its loot. If you were a murderer, you'd even lose stats! Your gear was safer in EverQuest, but you'd lose experience, and you'd still have to run from your bind spot back to your body, assuming it wasn't in such a dangerous place that you needed a Necromancer to summon it. And games like Asheron's Call and City of Heroes once had experience penalties so harsh that it was possible to cripple a character so much that you might as well just reroll. MMOs are torn between wanting to make death feel meaningful enough that people are careful but not so punitive that players would rather log out than recover. What do you think is the ideal death penalty for an MMO?  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's the ideal death penalty for an MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jul 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Final Fantasy XIV offers a free weekend to lapsed accounts Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:00 AM PDT |
| Vindictus highlights its new character with fashion silhouettes Posted: 17 Jul 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Vindictus When you think about it, catwalk struts are seriously underused as a means of introducing new content to an MMO. Vindictus is taking the genre in a bold new direction with its latest reveal. The Korean reveal page for the new character makes it clear that Arisha is bringing a whole new style to the game. That style is... well... style, perhaps? Seriously, the trailer doesn't reveal anything but a silhouette. Datamining has revealed that she's a hybrid melee/magical character, although that could go a lot of different routes. Still, you can get a very shadowy peek at her in the trailer past the break. Based on that, she'll attack primarily with six-inch heels and fishnet stockings because hot pants, heels, and plunging necklines are crazy useful in combat. Continue reading Vindictus highlights its new character with fashion silhouettes Vindictus highlights its new character with fashion silhouettes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| World of Tanks delivers big Xbox 360 update Posted: 17 Jul 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Trailers, Video, Patches, War, Free-to-Play, Consoles, World of Tanks, MOBA The Xbox 360 edition of World of Tanks has grown by leaps, bounds, and treads today with the sizable Rapid Fire update. This patch added two new maps to the game: Arctic Region and Erlenberg. In addition, Rapid Fire has introduced American autoloader tanks and a group of additional German tank destroyers. We've got the action-packed trailer for this update lurking right below the cut, so be careful! Continue reading World of Tanks delivers big Xbox 360 update World of Tanks delivers big Xbox 360 update originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Building with water in Landmark Posted: 17 Jul 2014 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Free-to-Play, Livestream, Sandbox, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content, Landmark There's a new building material in Landmark town, and Massively's MJ is eager to get her hands on it! Non-dynamic water has been introduced, and the possibilities are endless. Could MJ make a water trap deep in her maze? What about a moat? She could even just build a water house, declare herself a mermaid, and swim through the walls! Come share your ideas. As a bonus, MJ also has a few more of the popular portcullis item codes as well as beta codes to give away. Join us live at 7:30 p.m. to check out some wet and wild building! Game: Landmark Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Thursday, July 17th, 2014 Time: 7:30 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Building with water in Landmark The Stream Team: Building with water in Landmark originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MapleStory details Tower of Oz content coming July 23 Posted: 17 Jul 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, MapleStory, Patches, Free-to-Play MapleStory's new Rising Heroes: Tower of Oz update is highlighted in this week's official update notes on the site. This Wizard of Oz-themed content allows players to traverse 50 levels of monsters, jump quests, and more, including battles with the monstrous versions of Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion, and Dorothy herself. This new v.151 content will be available for free in game on July 23. Continue reading MapleStory details Tower of Oz content coming July 23 MapleStory details Tower of Oz content coming July 23 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Dota 2's 10 million dollar e-sports tourney will stream on ESPN Posted: 17 Jul 2014 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Business Models, Culture, Events (Real-World), PvP, News Items, Promotions, Miscellaneous, MOBA Whether or not you believe e-sports are real sports, Dota 2 is at least big enough for sports TV. Valve today publicized a deal that will bring streaming coverage of its MOBA's The International tournament to ESPN. Well, ESPN3, which is sort of like ESPN in the same way Dota 2 is like a sport. We're kidding. ESPN3 will broadcast matches live, and come Sunday, "viewers can tune in to ESPN2 for an exclusive preview of the tournament's final match, featuring highlights from the games, expert analysis, plus interviews with the players and Valve's Gabe Newell." The International championships begin tomorrow in Seattle with a prize pool worth over $10 million. It turns out your mom was wrong: You can get rich and famous playing video games. [With thanks to tipster Mike!] Dota 2's 10 million dollar e-sports tourney will stream on ESPN originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Think Tank: Star Citizen and armchair speculation Posted: 17 Jul 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Humor, The Think Tank, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen This week, Star Citizen announced it's now raised a total of $48 million in crowdfunding and revealed its $50 million stretch goal, which is an absurd amount of money (but still not as absurd as how much some other AAA MMOs reportedly spent). "As a professional gamer and armchair developer with several failed armchair projects under my belt," wrote Massively commenter computerhelfer with his tongue firmly in cheek, "I can safely say this project has acquired too much money. This project makes my armchair feel uncomfortable." Apparently, large sums of money and large-scale projects make a lot of people uncomfortable, at least judging by the huge and sometimes nonsensical debates that sprawl across our Star Citizen posts. In today's Think Tank, I've asked some of the Massively writers to speculate on the future of the game, its impact on the genre, and how much higher that crowdfund number might go before all of the core pieces of the game have launched. Continue reading The Think Tank: Star Citizen and armchair speculation The Think Tank: Star Citizen and armchair speculation originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Yogscast's TUG partnership comes alongside a cancelled game Posted: 17 Jul 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, News Items, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding If you're a fan of Yogscast and TUG, you're probably happy to learn that Yogscast is going to be working closely with Nerd Kingdom to promote the game. Of course, you might not be such a fan if you were originally a backer of Yogventures!, the Yogscast-inspired game that very recently announced it was cancelled despite reaching double its Kickstarter goal in 2012. All of the Yogventures! assets and code are being transferred over as well, allowing TUG to reap the benefits of what had been done on the cancelled game. According to the Yogscast crew, the partnership with TUG and the distribution of serial codes are meant as an effort to make things right, although the official communication makes it clear that they are not on the hook for the game's cancellation (which might be legally debatable). Many of the Yogventures! backers are still very unhappy with the situation, though, as TUG is not the game they backed in the first place. Time will tell how this shakes out in the long run, as very few Kickstarter backers are likely to be fully mollified by receiving a copy of a game they never wanted. Yogscast's TUG partnership comes alongside a cancelled game originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hearthstone's Naxxramas adventure begins rollout next week Posted: 17 Jul 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Launches, Free-to-Play, Hearthstone Naxxramas is almost open for business once more. Blizzard announced today that Hearthstone's Curse of Naxxramas solo adventure will begin its rollout on Tuesday, July 22nd. Initially, Naxxramas will only feature one wing, the Arachnid Quarter, but will open one of the remaining four wings each week thereafter. While the first wing is free, subsequent wings will cost to purchase, either with money or with in-game gold. Curse of Naxxramas will be launched across all of Hearthstone's platforms: Windows, Mac, and iPad. By beating each of the wings, players can earn new cards to use in competitive matches. Hearthstone's Naxxramas adventure begins rollout next week originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Warlords of Draenor's Talador is at the heart of the Draenei civilization Posted: 17 Jul 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Expansions, Lore, Dev Diaries, Subscription World of Warcraft continues its exploration of the new zones of Warlords of Draenor, this time with the gorgeous land of Talador. Talador is the predecessor to what eventually becomes Outland's Terokkar Forest, and while players will see familiar sights like Shattrath, it won't be quite as they remember. The area is a warzone as the Iron Horde has besieged it, and players must do all they can to push back the wave of invaders. "Talador is home to the heart of Draenei civilization," Blizzard writes. "It is stunningly beautiful, and the zone has a palette of oranges, golds, and greens that make it incredibly vibrant. The zone really showcases the breadth of Draenei life: the sprawling trade hub of Shattrath, the massive mausoleum that is Auchindoun, the iconic city of Tuurem, the mythical Telmor (it does exist!), and so many others." Warlords of Draenor's Talador is at the heart of the Draenei civilization originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| ArcheAge begins beta with one million sign-ups [Updated] Posted: 17 Jul 2014 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-Play, ArcheAge, Sandbox The world is ready and eager for ArcheAge's beta program, as evidenced by the million-plus sign-ups on the site. The first closed beta event started today and will continue through July 21st. "We're also happy to announce today that over one million of you have already joined our community of ArcheAge supporters, even before the first beta event began!" Trion Worlds posted today. In fact, the beta launched to far more players than Trion anticipated, prompting the studio to open up two new servers to handle the demand. To bring the Korean MMO overseas, Trion has translated two million words, set up technical infrastructure, and localized quests. The closed beta event will feature the version 1.2 patch for both North America and Europe. Continue reading ArcheAge begins beta with one million sign-ups [Updated] ArcheAge begins beta with one million sign-ups [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Camelot Unchained emphasizes horizontal progression, won't rule out story Posted: 17 Jul 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Historical, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Lore, Previews, PvP, News Items, PvE, Camelot Unchained 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, on the last and final day of BSC, let's tackle character power and progression. Massively: We're curious about how, exactly, the vertical progression will keep new players competitive. After the initial rush, new players will spend a long time being less powerful than their player enemies. What exactly is the benefit to creating the equivalent of a long level grind in a PvP game that lacks PvE? Isn't the team worried that power discrepancy might cause newcomers to wash out the same way raid gear or levels might in a game with both PvE and PvP? CSE's Mark Jacobs: Not at all. First, the horizontal nature of this game means that while the veteran player will have some scaling in his stats and abilities, the difference will be a lot less than in any MMORPG I've played. Please keep in mind one of the things I said during our Kickstarter, which is that I want a new player to be able to meet a veteran (just for example, say a six-month one) on the field in a 1:1 match. The new player needs to know he has a chance of either winning or at least putting up a good fight. Now, compare that to any other MMORPG that has meaningful PvP or RvR, and can you say the same thing? I know it wouldn't be true in any I have played. Continue reading Camelot Unchained emphasizes horizontal progression, won't rule out story Camelot Unchained emphasizes horizontal progression, won't rule out story originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Norrathian Notebook: The ups and downs of Landmark's open development Posted: 17 Jul 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Norrathian Notebook, Landmark Open development: It definitely has its ups and downs. And Landmark players are getting plenty of first-hand experience with this fact. Back in the early stone ages of MMOdom (think baby Ultima Online and EverQuest first crawling on the scene), massively multiplayer online games were more like boxed single-player games: You waited and pined for it until it shipped out (in yes, an actual box!) and then you ran to the local games shop to nab your copy on the launch date. If you even knew about the existence of the game before, you still had to wait until that box was in your physical possession and the game loaded on your PC to find out what it was actually like. Before that moment, only the devs and reviewers at gaming magazines really knew. Boy, have things changed! Continue reading Norrathian Notebook: The ups and downs of Landmark's open development Norrathian Notebook: The ups and downs of Landmark's open development originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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