| The Repopulation gets a graphical upgrade Posted: 05 Dec 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Sandbox The Repopulation is getting a graphics makeover according to the latest developer update. Above & Beyond Technologies has updated its website with a look at what happened during the month of November, and at the top of the list is a "major revamp to the character models" as well as new building and environment models. Other milestones include the implementation of the game's weather system (including rain, snow, dust storms, sand storms, and meteor showers) and various combat and crafting abilities. Work also continues on the game's "awakening" sequence and starter/tutorial areas, with the goal being a more polished newbie experience than that of your typical non-linear title. The Repopulation is a three-faction sci-fi sandbox with toggle-enabled action combat and a substantial crafting system. The game is scheduled to begin beta testing in 2012.  The Repopulation gets a graphical upgrade originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| DUST 514 vehicle fitting screens examined Posted: 05 Dec 2011 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, DUST 514, Sandbox If you haven't managed to snag a spot in the DUST 514 beta, you'll want to have a look at a fan site known as DUST 514 Base. The site posted a detailed look at the game's vehicle fitting interface over the weekend, and it gives a good rundown on many of the options in store for the planet-based mercenaries of New Eden. If you're an EVE Online veteran, the fitting screens will seem somewhat familiar. If not, at least you can get a leg up on what is likely to be one of the more complex console FPS UIs in the business. The blog entry contains a fair bit of speculation in terms of the numbers presented on the UI, and there are also plenty of high-quality images augmenting the text. Hit the links below for more info. DUST 514 vehicle fitting screens examined originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| TERA producer confident that game offers something new Posted: 05 Dec 2011 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, TERA "If we had simply cloned a successful MMO, I think we'd have a battle on our hands, but we didn't," says TERA Europe producer Stephan Krippendorf. He's talking, of course, about the inevitable World of Warcraft comparisons that dog every new fantasy MMO (comparisons that seem particularly irrelevant given TERA's impressive visuals and divergent combat). "When you dive into the game for the first time, swing a sword, cast a spell, dodge and weave in combat, you'll be hooked," Krippendorf explains in an interview at Videogamer.com. The sit-down covers a bit about the game's action combat mechanics as well as the story elements and the endgame political system, but most of the juicy tidbits center around the title's potential success in a crowded MMO market. "I think TERA has what it takes to be a huge success though, regardless of WoW numbers," Krippendorf concludes. TERA producer confident that game offers something new originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| GAME to exclusively sell SWTOR CE in the UK, Walmart accidentally cancels 'nearly all' pre-orders Posted: 05 Dec 2011 06:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Star Wars: The Old Republic Whenever a major MMO nears launch, tensions and anxieties grow to a fever pitch among players -- particularly in regards to their pre-orders. There are worries that a game won't install right, ship on time, or allow proper access to one's account. Today, there are a couple more issues to be concerned with in regards to Star Wars: The Old Republic if you've pre-ordered it. Over in the UK, GAME (and Gamestation) has announced that it will be the sole retailer for SWTOR's physical Collector's Edition in the region, even though EA previously said that companies such as Amazon, Play.com, Zavvi and ShopTo were going to be selling them as well. UK players can also purchase non-CE versions of the game through EA's Origin service. In other news, several players who secured their copy of SWTOR through Walmart found that their orders -- both regular and CEs -- were cancelled over this past weekend. A Walmart customer service representative appeared on the SWTOR forums to say that this happened due to a "data error" that forced the company to nix most of the pre-orders. SWTOR's Stephen Reid said that BioWare is investigating the situation, but confirms that any players who have already added their pre-order codes into their accounts will have locked in early access for the launch. GAME to exclusively sell SWTOR CE in the UK, Walmart accidentally cancels 'nearly all' pre-orders originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MV Guide: December 5-11, 2011 Posted: 05 Dec 2011 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: December 5-11, 2011 MV Guide: December 5-11, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Hi-Rez releases new Tribes: Ascend gameplay trailer [Updated] Posted: 05 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS Tribes: Ascend's closed beta period is moving right along, and Hi-Rez Studios has just released a new teaser trailer designed to offer franchise newbs a primer on what to expect when strapping on a jetpack and picking up a spinfuser for the first time. The new clip is called Focus, and it's composed entirely of gameplay footage, although some of it has been slowed down, stopped, or similarly stylized in order to afford us a better view of what's going on. Tribes' gameplay is fast, you see, really fast, and if you blink, you're liable to miss mid-air flag passes, aerial kills, and long-range trajectory shots that have to be seen to be believed. [Update]: Ascend is also gearing up to make its eSports debut courtesy of the North American Star League (NASL). The game is the "first FPS to be selected for inclusion by the NASL and will be featured as a promotional title throughout its third season," according to the Hi-Rez website. Hit the links below for more info, and don't forget the action trailer after the cut. Shazbot! Continue reading Hi-Rez releases new Tribes: Ascend gameplay trailer [Updated] Hi-Rez releases new Tribes: Ascend gameplay trailer [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you think MMOs should be harder? Posted: 05 Dec 2011 04:00 AM PST Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous For every person I see cheering the rise of accessible games, I see another lamenting the "dumbing down" of MMOs. And while I've always liked a good challenge, it seems to me that "challenge" is usually conflated with "tedium" -- most MMO "challenges" test my patience, not my skill. I can understand not wanting a game to be a faceroll, but I'm also glad that we don't have to be professional e-sport champs to participate in this hobby. Still, there's plenty of room between those two extremes for upping the difficulty of combat and crafting without resurrecting obnoxious mechanics like corpse runs and experience loss. What do you think -- should MMOs be harder?  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: Do you think MMOs should be harder? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| BioWare closes SWTOR's pre-launch guild registration Posted: 04 Dec 2011 07:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Guilds, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic Hopefully you've gotten your Star Wars: The Old Republic ducks in a row when it comes to finalizing your launch-day guild plans. If you haven't, well, better luck next game since this weekend marks the end of early registration, according to a report at fan site Darth Hater. Qualifying guilds will get email notifications about joining in-game, checking guild status, and server assignments over the next couple of days. " BioWare also stated that while [it] will try to ensure all your allies and adversaries will be assigned to your same server, [it] cannot guarantee it," the report says. More info is available at the official SWTOR website. BioWare closes SWTOR's pre-launch guild registration originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMO Week in Review: Hour of Twilight Posted: 04 Dec 2011 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous 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. World of Warcraft never lets another MMO launch without delivering a competing update to tempt back wayward sons, and as such, Blizzard launched patch 4.3, dubbed Hour of Twilight, to the servers on Tuesday, just a few short weeks before Star Wars: The Old Republic's headstart begins. The patch notably includes a transmogrification system, which allows players to customize the appearance of their gear -- you know, like you've been able to do in games like Lord of the Rings Online and Star Wars Galaxies for years. So glad you could join us, WoW! Our sister site WoW Insider has the full scoop on 4.3's new content for the curious, and beyond the break, you'll find the rest of this week's top MMO stories! Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Hour of Twilight MMO Week in Review: Hour of Twilight originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Dec 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Evolved: Everything there is to know about Crucible Posted: 04 Dec 2011 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, News items, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Dev Diaries, Sandbox This summer's lackluster Incarna expansion and the ensuing microtransaction drama took a massive toll on EVE Online's player community and development staff. Players were quitting in droves, and CCP eventually had to lay off 20% of its staff worldwide. Two years of half-implemented expansions, broken features, and "first steps" that were never iterated on left players begging for a content-heavy expansion like Apocrypha or those released in EVE's early years. EVE is known for being practically a new game every six months, but since the blockbuster Apocrypha expansion, daily life in New Eden hasn't changed much at all. To pull things back from the brink, CCP refocused development on EVE Online and gave developers a free pass to work on hundreds of small features and improvements. The company began flooding us with details on new ships, graphical updates, new gameplay mechanics, and desperately needed balance tweaks, and we loved every bit of it. Although it's mostly small features and gameplay tweaks, the Crucible expansion feels like a genuine rebirth for EVE Online. The types of changes made show that CCP knows exactly what players want from EVE and that the company is now willing to deliver it. With CCP's renewed focus on internet spaceships, the Crucible expansion feels like the start of a new era in the sandbox. In this week's EVE Evolved, I pull together everything there is to know about the Crucible expansion that went live this week, from its turbulent origins to the awesome features and PvP updates it contains. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Everything there is to know about Crucible EVE Evolved: Everything there is to know about Crucible originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Rise and Shiny recap: Revisiting Mabinogi Posted: 04 Dec 2011 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Video, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Casual, Humor, Mabinogi, Rise and Shiny, Livestream If you've kept up with my columns for a while, it should be no secret that I think Mabinogi is still one of the best games out there. While it does have its issues, the game simply presents more sandboxy goodness to players (while keeping those systems coming) than almost any game I can think of. In fact, the game has added so much since I started this column that a returning player can get confused. A new player might even become lost. I like to officially dip my toes into old, familiar games once in a while. Checking back on these games from my past is a great way for me to get my gamer's bearings and see how my opinions might have changed. Mabinogi has been calling to me for a while because I haven't really jumped into it for that long over the past few months. I figured now is the time. Click past the cut! Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Revisiting Mabinogi Rise and Shiny recap: Revisiting Mabinogi originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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