MMO Updates |
- Bounty Hounds Online closed beta featuring new content
- The Secret World sketches out the Templars
- Massively Exclusive: WindSlayer 2 dev diary talks in-game events
- Hangame MMO accidentally deleted, shut down forever
- The Daily Grind: Do you play your favorite MMO with your kids?
- Earthrise killing subscriptions, going free-to-play in 2012
- Pocket Legends launches the Mount Fang expansion
- Not So Massively: It's major game update week
- Lineage II Goddess of Destruction and Truly Free transition coming November 30th
- Neverwinter was 'almost ready to ship' before F2P MMO retooling
- Unveiled: The Supernatural trailer shows off gameplay, customization [Updated]
- Wings Over Atreia: TORn away
- Flameseeker Chronicles: The news doors haven't shut... yet
- Leaderboard: SWTOR vs. GW2 cinematic cutscenes
| Bounty Hounds Online closed beta featuring new content Posted: 15 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play  Beginning today, Wicked is rolling out a substantial update to the title's closed beta client. The new content includes five high-level Cambria group instances. There are also new missions and events on tap including objectives in the Wastelands that give both stat and skill point reset items. Finally, earned character titles now unlock unique stat-boost accessories, and XP requirements have been adjusted "so you'll spend less time grinding." Sound interesting? Head to the official Bounty Hounds website to learn more. [Source: Wicked Interactive press release]
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| The Secret World sketches out the Templars Posted: 15 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, Previews, The Secret World  The Templars' red-and-white outfits may not be everyone's cup of Earl Grey tea, but for us and ours, it looks quite snazzy, especially on the PvP uniforms. This is a faction that says that the end of the world is no reason not to dress up in style. The rest of the concept art focuses on Templar-related areas, such as a "Camelot" castle in a park, a fighting pit, and a lounge where off-duty Templars can knock back a drink or unload a few dozen rounds at the adjacent firing range. You can get a feel for the Templar faction in our gallery below!
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| Massively Exclusive: WindSlayer 2 dev diary talks in-game events Posted: 15 Nov 2011 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  Today we're shifting gears a bit to focus on in-game events. Ignited is currently focusing on both scripted events and GM-driven events, and both are designed to add a bit of flavor and give players an interesting diversion from everyday gameplay. See what's in store after the break. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: WindSlayer 2 dev diary talks in-game events
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| Hangame MMO accidentally deleted, shut down forever Posted: 15 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Humor  The story goes like this: On October 21st, M2 suffered a critical server issue and the game was taken offline to check it out. Unfortunately, the problem was widespread and the company could not restore the game's data from whatever backups it did or did not have. With no other option but to declare the title dead on arrival, Hangame posted an announcement that it somehow deleted an entire MMO and could not -- or would not -- restart it from scratch. Hangame has since apologized and is offering conditional refunds to affected players, who were undoubtedly miffed when the money they spent on M2's microtransactions went poof during one October night.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you play your favorite MMO with your kids? Posted: 15 Nov 2011 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind, Family, Miscellaneous  MMO gaming in particular lends itself to being a family activity, where Mom, Dad, and the kiddos can team up and take on the Big Bad in their chosen game (provided there are enough computers around the house). Granted, not every MMO is suitable for the younger crowd, but plenty are. As a parent, do you round up your child for some gaming time? If so, do they join you in your game of choice, or do the two of you spend quality time in a game that you set aside to play together, like Free Realms and Wizard101? Those of you who are looking at parenthood down the road, do you plan to introduce your kids to gaming as soon as possible? Click that handy little comment button and let us know what you think!  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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| Earthrise killing subscriptions, going free-to-play in 2012 Posted: 15 Nov 2011 04:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Free-to-play, Earthrise, Sandbox  Masthead CEO Atanas Atanasov says that the move is an effort to retain customer trust while the developers shore up the game's weaknesses: "We decided to let all our players unlimited gaming experience until we all are satisfied with the experience in our game. At the moment Earthrise features one of the best visuals, content, and gameplay of all sci-fi MMOs on the market. However, it is missing polish and has annoyances that spoil the fun in the game. We are learning from our experience and that is why we will remove monthly charges until we bring the game to a quality state that is satisfactory to us and our players." Once the title is brought up to par, Masthead will transition it to a true F2P model, although Atanasov assures players that it will not incorporate pay-to-win purchases. Until Earthrise goes F2P, new accounts will be invitation-only as Masthead restricts the number of incoming players. All current subscribers will be able to invite a few of their friends during the transition, however. [Source: Masthead Studios press release]
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| Pocket Legends launches the Mount Fang expansion Posted: 14 Nov 2011 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Mobile  There's more to the update than just leveling, however; players will be given access to a new free campaign, Mount Fang, that starts at level 59 and provides new monsters, quests, and rewards. And of course, there are new vanity items in the cash shop as well as a special set of cosmetic armor for players who hit 66 before the next cap adjustment. If you've been enjoying the game on your mobile device of choice, download the expansion and get into the mix.
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| Not So Massively: It's major game update week Posted: 14 Nov 2011 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Video, Culture, Game mechanics, New titles, Patches, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively, MOBA  Blizzard Entertainment recently revealed that all class abilities in Diablo III will deal damage based on weapon damage, with cast speed also coupled to weapon speed. The inspired move will make balancing weapons across all classes much easier. We also found out that the collector's edition will come with free in-game vanity perks like wings and armour dyes. Diablo-esque online action RPG Path of Exile releases its huge 0.9.3 beta patch today, providing new game areas and major gameplay system revamps. Finally, it's a massive news week for Rise of Immortals as it releases new European servers, a new immortal spotlight, and a developer video podcast about upcoming development. Read on for this week's top news stories from popular MOBAs and other online games that aren't quite MMOs. Continue reading Not So Massively: It's major game update week
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| Lineage II Goddess of Destruction and Truly Free transition coming November 30th Posted: 14 Nov 2011 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Business models, Economy, Expansions, News items, Free-to-play  Last month, NCsoft announced that Lineage II would be making the transition to free-to-play (or, as the company likes to call it, Truly Free), but the studio has remained tight-lipped on when the transition will take place. Until now, that is. On November 30th, Lineage II's newest and largest content update, Goddess of Destruction, will be hitting the live servers. As soon as the update is live, players will be able to play for free, with "no zone, level, or player interaction restrictions." The update also introduces a new feature known as Path to Awakening. Path to Awakening is "an exclusive leveling guide designed specifically for Lineage II," and it will provide leveling players with "buffs, time limited gear enabling accelerated progression through the game," and interactive maps to point players to the optimal leveling locations. For the full details, head on over to the new Truly Free Lineage II site. [Source: NCsoft press release]
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| Neverwinter was 'almost ready to ship' before F2P MMO retooling Posted: 14 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Free-to-play  The change from CORPG to a full action RPG F2P MMO is a change that just made sense for us. Perfect World wanted to go big. Expand everything. Do more. Do better. Take your time. Really blow it out. Pushing into 2012 allows us to make these changes. Transitioning into a full-featured action RPG, free-to-play MMO allows us to reach a whole new audience of people. Never underestimate barriers to entry. With a free client, anyone can play. Try it. Where's the harm? It's better for the game, better for us, better for D&D and infinitely better for fans and gamers. With Neverwinter, we're going to prove that F2P does not describe a type of gameplay -- it only describes the fundamentals of a business model.Velasquez also discusses user-generated content and the challenges of working with a famous IP. "A ton of effort is also being made to make sure that we produce an authentic D&D experience," he says. Head over to MMORPG.com for the full interview.
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| Unveiled: The Supernatural trailer shows off gameplay, customization [Updated] Posted: 14 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items  Toward the end of the video we also get to see both solo- and group-based PvE, as well as the requisite neck biting and heart-stabbing that are part and parcel of every vampire title. Check out the full clip after the cut. [Update: Maverick Studios reached out to us to let us know that this isn't an official trailer: "It is not a publicly released gameplay trailer from G-star; it is a prototype video made more than a year ago by eight developers who were constructing their vision of Unveiled: The Supernatural."] Continue reading Unveiled: The Supernatural trailer shows off gameplay, customization [Updated]
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| Posted: 14 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia  The topic for this week's Wings Over Atreia presented itself when I logged into Aion at prime-time on Thursday night and found the very odd occurrence of both an empty legion list and an empty friends list. Considering how full the latter is (plug for larger lists here), I've never seen both be completely empty simultaneously, even when I pop in during my odd super-late hours. While I saw some life over the rest of the weekend, overall numbers stayed pretty low, even during the hours of the new arena instances. To what do I attribute this? In some cases it was the usual attack of the Real Life (tm) that got ahold of people, but two extra factors contributed to the population insta-decline: the release of Skyrim and more weekend beta invites from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Now in the case of Skyrim, it can't be helped (but maybe we can have a little spacing between the release of so many games?!). We know that once the game is played through, people will wander back to their MMOs. TOR, however, is another matter: Besides the shininess of of a new game and the fact that it is both Star Wars-based and made by BioWare, does Aion have a future of vast, empty lands to look forward to at the release of the latest OMG-it's-the-second-coming-of-games title? Some are certainly screaming doom-and-gloom, but we hear that from dissenters about nearly every little thing. Is it possible that there is room enough for both games to survive after the initial hype has passed? *checks and readjusts all gear again* Come on and join me past the cut for some thoughts on the matter. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: TORn away
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: The news doors haven't shut... yet Posted: 14 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles  I was so excited to see the updated cutscenes, although I couldn't stop giggling at the male character shifting from foot to foot -- I kept waiting for him to ask the Priestess of Dwayna where the bathroom was. That's not a reflection on ArenaNet's design team so much as a testament to my years as the mother of a boy. It's all about the bathroom humor around here. The new skill acquisition system was great in my book, and the news from the earnings call... well, why don't you follow along after the cut and we'll delve into all of that more deeply. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: The news doors haven't shut... yet
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| Leaderboard: SWTOR vs. GW2 cinematic cutscenes Posted: 14 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Culture, Lore, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Leaderboard  Both titles plan to pull players out of the game world proper and put them into a personal dialogue session, but that's where the similarities end. SWTOR uses BioWare's patented movie-style approach, where the camera angles change dramatically and often during the conversation. Guild Wars 2, however, looks to have more of a stylized throwback to older RPGs where the characters are sliced out of the world and placed on a conversation window for a private one-on-one. It's almost as if SWTOR is 3-D while GW2 is 2-D, but not quite. So which is more effective as a storytelling device? Which do you think will tug at your heartstrings and beckon you to lean in and pay attention? Only your vote can tell us how you truly feel, so hit that jump like you mean it! Continue reading Leaderboard: SWTOR vs. GW2 cinematic cutscenes
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