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Carte

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 06:16 PM PST

Trading card enthusiasts, meet Carte – a global, online trading card game. With five factions, hundreds of cards, and daily tournaments, Carte challenges you to become a master of your own fantasy card deck!

carte-deck-choice

Publisher: GamesCampus
Playerbase: ??
Graphics: Medium
Type: CCG
EXP Rate: ??
PvP: ??
Filesize: ??

Pros: +Five separate factions. +Decks include hero cards. +Friendly to beginners.

Cons: -Limited information available.

Overview

Carte Overview

Venture into Arcadia with Carte, a free-to-play collectable card game (CCG) from GamesCampus. Join with other players as you choose one of five nations (Iron Empire, Kingdom of Darkness, Kingdom of Nature, Divine Empire, or Magician’s Association) and build a deck of cards suitable for battling for glory. Deck building involves choosing a Hero card, then 64 additional cards to balance attack, defense, and utility for any situation. Players are also able to maintain multiple decks, join guilds, participate in daily tournaments, and even raid epic bosses.

Carte Screenshots

Carte Featured Video

Click here to view the embedded video.

Full Review

Carte Review

Coming Soon…

Screenshots

Carte Screenshots

Coming Soon…

Videos

Carte Videos

Carte Teaser Trailer

Click here to view the embedded video.

Links

Carte Links

Official Game Page

System Requirements

Carte System Requirements

Coming Soon. . .

C21 Gameplay – First Look HD

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 12:28 PM PST

To Learn More About the Game, Check out our C21 Page.

C21 is a Sci-fi MMORPG published by Webzen. In C21 the player assumes control of a robot and take part in ground and aerial combat instances. C21 is similar to Cosmic Break but focuses more on PvE. To that effort, players can go on missions, enter instances, and fight bosses alone or in groups. PvP is offered through a four player arena and special PvP maps.

Lunar New Year celebrations arrive in Dragon Saga

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 11:28 AM PST

Dragon Saga is beginning its Lunar New Year festivities, which will run as late as February 14.

Events include:

- A free daily Fortune Gasha Box, for each player who logs in between January 18 and January 31. This may contain one of six hour-long fortunes: Great (1.3xEXP), Good (+5% Attack Speed), Nice (+10% Defense), Not Bad (+10% Defense), Bad (-5% Move Speed), and Too Bad (-5% Aim Rate).

- For players between levels 1 and 40, 100% bonuses to physical and magical defense, HP, MP, and experience when playing on Channel 1 between January 18 and February 14.

- New characters created between January 18 and February 14 will receive a +10 Normal Darksoul weapon and +10 Underground Graveyard armor.

- New 2012 Hat, Glasses, and Balloon cosmetic items added to the Big Wheel from January 18 until January 31.

- Special “Year of the Dragon” Items added to the Item Mall.

A special “Tournament of the Dragons” will also take place on February 4. The tournament will host 15 teams of four, and prizes will include Samsung LCD computer monitors, Razer Optical gaming mice, item mall points, and more.

Dragon Saga is published by Gravity Interactive (WarpPortal), which also publishes Ragnarok Online and Requiem.

dragon-saga-2

Dragon Saga Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

DRAGON SAGA CELEBRATES LUNAR NEW YEAR WITH AN EXCITING LINE-UP OF EVENTS

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (January 20, 2012) – WarpPortal today announced an exciting line-up of events to celebrate Lunar New Year for its popular action MMORPG, Dragon Saga.

Players can participate in all the events by downloading the game for free at: https://www.warpportal.com/landing/dragonsaga/registration.aspx.

Event Line Up
1.      Find your Fortune (January 18th – January 31st)
Each day, all players over level 23 will be given a Fortune Gasha Box. The box contains one of six fortunes listed below:
·         Great! – EXP x 1.3 (1hr)
·         Good! – Atk speed +5% (1hr)
·         Nice! – Def + 10% (1hr)
·         Not Bad! – Def + 10% (1hr)
·         Bad! – Move speed -5% (1hr)
·         Too Bad – Aim rate -5% (1hr)

2.      Big Wheel Costumes and Dragon Costume Sale (January 18th – January 31st)

All new 2012 Hat, Glasses, and Balloons will be added to the Big Wheel.

The Item Mall will be offering "Year of the Dragon Costume Box" which contains Oriental Dragon Costume (Mas, Backpack, and Balloon) and 20x Year of the Dragon 2012 Firecrackers for just 375pts.

3.      A Call to Arms (January 18th – February 14th)
Training or hunting on Channel 1 will give heroes level 1-40 a greater bonus than ever before!
·         Physical/Magical Defense +100%, HP +100%, MP +100%, EXP +100%
·         Upon Character Creation: 1x +10 [Normal] Darksoul weapon and +10 Underground Graveyard armors Helmet/Top.

4.      Tournament of Dragons [Team Edition]
Starting on January 20, 15 teams of 4 who register on a first-come, first-served basis on the official Tournament Registration thread will be able to compete for prizes including Samsung LCD computer monitors, Mini USB monitors, Razer Optical gaming Mouse, and free item mall points. The tournament will take place on February 4th, from 12:00 PM PST until 7:00 PM PST. Official tournament rules can be found at: http://forums.warpportal.com/index.php?/topic/66033-tournament-of-dragons-team-edition/. Build your Dragon Saga character for this "Tournament of Dragons" and register ASAP!

Spirit Tales announces closed beta registration

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 10:50 AM PST

KoramGame has announced the start of closed beta registration for its upcoming MMORPG, Spirit Tales (st.koramgame.com).

Spirit Tales is an anime fantasy MMO, where the world is divided into light and dark hemispheres. The game features three tribes (Gold Kirin, Maned Dragon, Lunar Fox) and six classes (Sorceror, Fighter, Archer, Shaman, Warrior, and Assassin). It also promises an in-depth skill tree, crafting, 5v5 PvP arenas, a pet-capture system, and a sweetheart system. The game will be available for both North America and Europe.

Koramgame also publishes Indomitus and Three Kingdoms Online.

spirit-tales-moonlight

Spirit Tales Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

Spirit Tales Early Registration Begins

Epically Cute, Massively Fun!

Sunnyvale, CA – (Jan 23rd, 2012) - KoramGame Ltd., a leading developer and publisher of free-to-play online games, announced today that Spirit Tales, a light- hearted anime fantasy MMORPG  developed by X-Legend, has begun registration for Closed Beta (CB). Closed Beta is slated to begin in late Q1, 2012, and players can now register at the game’s official website: st.koramgame.com

“Our goal is to offer vibrant gameplay for all ages by creating and cultivating a gaming community with features specifically designed to enhance the player experience,” says Yann Wang, GM. “We hope that the community will enjoy the game and the features we’ve added to provide the players with endless hours of fun.”

Spirit Tales takes place in an earth-like fantasy world and is divided into two hemispheres, the dark and the light. ­Players will embark upon a journeyinto a magical realm mixed with light-hearted animation, alluring characters, and unique experiential blends of action, adventure, and RPG gameplay. With 6 classes and a fully customizable creation system, players can expect a high-degree of in-game freedom. With gamers in mind, Spirit Tales is designed to offer players a unique and extensive pet-capture system, over 40 million customization combinations, PvP (Player vs Player) battles, and in-depth character progression.

REGISTER NOW for Spirit Tales Closed Beta by visiting: Spirit Tales Closed Beta Registration
For updates and contest giveaways visit Spirit Tales on Facebook: Spirit Tales Facebook Page

Spirit Tales will be available in North America and Europe.

RuneScape declares new legal victory over botting

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 10:14 AM PST

Jagex Games Studio, publisher of RuneScape, War of Legends, and 8Realms, has announced a legal victory today in a case against bot-software developers Mark and Eric Snellman.

The case, which began two years ago, has been settled with a judgment against the Snellmans (“Impulse Software”). The brothers will be required to pay Jagex damages; relinquish websites, domains, source code, and customer details to Jagex; and halt all botting software development for any Jagex game.

In October 2011, Jagex released a special update, nicknamed the “Bot Nuke” or “Cluster Flutter,” that offered new tools to combat botting, which the company claims has had a 98% bot-elimination success rate.

runescape-mages.jpg

RuneScape Gameplay Screenshot

Source:

Jagex Games Studio wins court case against RuneScape bot developers gaining substantial damages
Jagex winning the war on bots after the success of 'Bot Nuke Day' and a two-year legal battle with iBot developers
Cambridge, UK –23rd January, 2012 - Jagex Games Studio, a leading independent developer and publisher of online games, today announced its victory in a two-year legal battle with the developers of RuneScape specific macroing/botting software; which had harmed RuneScape.com for a number of years until the Bot Nuke in October 2011.

The judgment against brothers Mark and Eric Snellman, who are trading under Impulse Software, resulted in them being ordered to pay Jagex damages. In addition, an injunction was placed upon them to prevent them from ever developing botting software for any Jagex product, helping other people develop or use botting software or discussing Jagex, the lawsuit or RuneScape.

Jagex have been engaged in a number of legal battles over the past couple of years to tackle the botting and gold farming within RuneScape and the adverse impact it has on the game and valued community. The result announced today is a significant win for a games company and could set a precedent for future legal cases regarding this kind of abuse.

Mark Gerhard, CEO & CTO of Jagex, stated: "We began the legal action against the Snellmans over two years ago as a part of our ongoing commitment to ridding RuneScape of bots and gold farmers. Faced with this significant challenge we have continued to demonstrate that we will never shy away from difficult battles, we don't  compromise on taking the right course of action and, regardless of the time, money or effort involved we always do what  it takes in order to protect our community". He went on to say: "We have spared no expense fighting this case, as demonstrated by the seven figure bill this action has cost, but the point of this and other cases of its kind, is that we will continue bring to justice those who set out to harm the game or our beloved community. We are delighted to say that we have convincingly neutered them after a very long battle."

This announcement follows the news that the recent in-game action to combat botting has been a huge success. Jagex developed a suite of code obfuscation tools, code named the 'Cluster Flutter' and coupled with various other countermeasures both technical and in-game, have, since their release in October 2011, rendered 98% of all in-game bots obsolete. Neither iBOT nor any other bots developers have been able to publish working updates to overcome the "Bot Nuke" despite their continued efforts to do so.

Mark Gerhard added: "Technically speaking this is a veritable arms race, there is no permanent triumph in cyber security. The only serious long term strategy is to ensure you continuously innovate well ahead of the challenges faced today; that way you should hopefully always be a few steps ahead in the future. I'm happy to say 1337 Ninja's are already well underway with "Optimus" Jagex's next generation obfuscation and encryption framework which will be released shortly."

Speaking about the Bot Nuke , Daniel Clough, VP of RuneScape said: "Jagex have been working on  anti-botting and gold farming measure  for a very long time and have continually been ensuring that the games integrity and community are protected. This action has been central to both our longevity and success over the years and I'm sure it will put us in very good stead for the years to come. We launched 'Bot Nuke Day' in October and instantly wiped out 98% of all the bots in the game. We are delighted with the results of our efforts so far and are pleased to hear the positive comments from our players. The economy has settled down over the past few months, the game has truly been flourishing since then and as a result the team and I are all looking forward to a great 2012 for RuneScape."

As a condition of this case the Snellmans have been ordered to give up all websites, domains, source code and customer details to Jagex along with all the details of all those individuals who have developed scripts for iBOT and sold or re-sold those scripts.

Gerhard concluded with: "The result of this case against the Snellmans should serve as a serious deterrent for anyone who continues to be involved in developing botting software or scripts or even maintaining or supporting those involved."

Posted by Shri Krishna

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

OP-ED: Why There May Be No Hope Left for Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 05:39 AM PST

Capcom
made their official announcement yesterday that Resident Evil 6, the next sequel in their flagship survival horror series, is in development and will release on November 20, 2012. But while the promise of a new chapter in the RE saga is exciting (and the debut trailer amazing), there may be an unintended casualty from this news: Capcom’s upcoming console game Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City — made by Canadian developer Slant Six Games — could be a victim of the Osborne Effect.

The Osborne
Effect is a term that refers to the unintended consequences of pre-announcing a future product when there’s already something similar for sale. Naturally, consumers prefer the new/better thing and not an inferior product. In fact, the Osborne Effect is the sole reason technology companies like Apple wait a year before announcing a revision for an existing device. Think about it; if someone told you to choose between a new iPhone now or an even better one that’ll be released in the future, you’ll gladly wait for the better product even if that means waiting a little longer.

Technically ORC isn’t for sale just yet, and while there aren’t many specifics on RE6, the theory still applies — specifically because the announcement came with a release date. On March 20, 2012, ORC will be available at retail; a full eight months ahead of the next numbered Resident Evil sequel. But this sizable head start means nothing when a more promising RE title is waiting in the wings.

I’d argue that Resident Evil 6 already looks more promising than ORC because it unities protagonist Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield into a single adventure against formidable biological terrors. And why shouldn’t it be? Capcom’s own press release positions RE6 as “a giant stride forward in the evolution of the series,” according to Capcom Head of RD and Global Marketing Katsuhiko Ichii. “The development team, led by Hiroyuki Kobayashi, is working tirelessly to deliver the most impressive Resident Evil title ever both in terms of scope and production values.” If this statement is true, why should anyone be excited for ORC?

With all things in life timing is an important first step, but in this case Capcom may have jumped the gun a little too soon. What do you think 1UP? Are you still interested in Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City? Tell us in the comments section!


Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.1up.com/news/op-ed-no-hope-left-resident-evil-ocr

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Star Trek Online (F2P) review

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 05:39 AM PST

When it was released in 2009 Star Trek Online was met with a collective 'meh' from the majority of the MMO playing community. While its Nimoy-voiced intro, turbo lift doors, communicators and beamings up certainly make for a fair distraction from the realities of not actually being a starship captain in the 24th century, it certainly didn't have the muster to provide true fans with the experience they deserved.

If there's one thing die-hard Star Trek fans are rarely accused of, it's being stupid. Sadly, Star Trek Online was, and still is, a bit stupid. It's tale of woe doesn't quite unfold quite like that of fellow Free To Play convert APB, since Star Trek Online never went away – it's been pootling around its own corner of the internet non-stop since release. This, then, is less a re-boot than a fresh start.

Though the original release was a shambles of confusing stats, broken ground missions, non-existent crafting and offered a complete lack of end-game content, to be fair Cryptic have released a consistent amount of new additions and improvements over the years.

startrekonline-05.jpg

Five 'seasons' of content have arrived in all, adding a multitude of much-needed fixes. Better PvP, high-level raids, playable ground combat (which, it should be said, is still a gaudy aside to the 'functional' space combat at Star Trek Online's core), not to mention the ability for players to create and share their own missions among a multitude of other things.

There's little doubt Star Trek Online is a better game today than it was in 2009. Season 5, the content update designed to prepare Star Trek Online for its F2P re-launch goes even further to patch, fix and manhandle the game into a half-way appealing F2P experience.

The skills have been revamped to be more accessible and understandable (but in MMO tradition they're still largely incomprehensible at first glace), the card-game-esque Duty Officer system offers excellent risk and reward incentive, epic gear sets have been introduced – in short, there's plenty here to tempt a lapsed player.

Sadly this check-list of improvements doesn't tell the whole story. The developers have broken promises, failed to deliver in key areas and have shirked their responsibility to maintain regular community communication (the number one unspoken rule of any MMO).

We're also sad to report that the reception of F2P players by long-standing players (read: 'bitter vets') leaves a lot to be desired, perhaps a product of a highly frustrated core community. This is galaxies apart from the transition for Lord Of The Rings Online, for example.

Star Trek Online is still a far cry from the kind of experience Gene Roddenberry would knowingly embrace were he with us today. Socio-political overtones aside, at its heart Star Trek is about exploration, discovery and diving headlong into the great unknown.

To do the license real justice Star Trek Online should be a living, breathing economy-led sandbox game where the players themselves have the scope to become captains of legend and, by extension, an intrinsic part of game lore. Factions and alliances should rise and fall and great battles should be fought to the dying breath.

Instead we have what essentially amounts to MMO-lite – quick access to meaningless PVP and PVE events, unwanted ground combat (beyond the odd phaser fight, Star Trek has never been about ground combat) and underwhelming and unfulfilling space-battles. Sure, you can tweak your starship to within an inch of a warp core breach, but its appeal to the Star Trek faithful is shallow at best.

Verdict: 5
As unashamed Star Trek fans for as long as we can remember we're sorely disappointed. As your everyday MMO gamer we're equally dissatisfied. If you're looking for a game with Gene Roddenberry's blood coursing through its veins, you're better off taking a degree in Eve Online. It's the only space-based MMO to capture the real nuances of the Star Trek universe.


Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/mmo/star-trek-online-f2p-review/

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Weapons of Mythology Online

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 01:27 AM PST


This year’s Tokyo Game Show, compared to last year’s, seems to dull in comparison in terms of online games releases. It is not helped by Gamania deciding to have its own game show (link) and various MMO companies not taking part this time round. Weapons of Mythology, first posted a few days back (link), is one of the rare MMO titles. Developed by Taiwanese studio XPEC, of Bounty Hounds Online (link) fame, the game trailer for Tokyo Game Show is now revealed.

I know, one of the human pet form looks just like a carbon copy of a cute race from a Korean title. Other than the pet system, you can see these floating magical objects. This is yet another “pet”, but doesn’t work the same way. These are apparently the objects named in the game’s title, with a total of 3 different elements and each having 5 different growth stage. It will be on of the factors in PvP as each elements will counter each other.You can see some of the designs below.


Talking about PvP, there will be the standard 3 options: Guild, Battle Arena and Faction. For guilds, PvP will take place in the form of territorial control, with different territories having different rare resources. The arena is touted as a DOTA-styled map, although there is no screenshots of it yet. Finally, the faction wars will take shape in the guise of a mass PvP batttlefield. There is currently no date set yet for beta, so stay tuned.


Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/09/weapons-of-mythology-online-debut.html

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Wuji Online (KR)

Posted: 22 Jan 2012 11:39 PM PST


Following the recent rush of scheduled martial arts and kungfu MMORPGs due to land in 2012, yet another one is on the horizon. The main difference is, while games such as Age of Wulin (link), Butterfly Sword Online (link) and Swordsman Online (link) are all developed in China, Wuji Online is developed in Korea by a development studio under the revived EyaSoft (of Luna Online fame). Much of the basic combat and a feel of the game can be seen in the trailer below.

Wuji Online boasts a class-less system and a freedom of learning different skills, which a couple of games are currently doing. By upgrading your skills, the effects and actions will change as well. Going the traditional Korean MMORPG way, each equipment can be bored up to 9 times to be embedded with upgrade gems.


Massive instanced dungeons and 15 Vs 15 RvR (not PvP) are some of the other features currently being touted. Aiming for release in the China market as well, Closed Beta is scheduled for the end of this year.


Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/01/wuji-online-kr-joining-martial-arts.html

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Final Fantasy XIII-2′s Chocolina and the Mystery of the Omniscient Merchant

Posted: 22 Jan 2012 05:39 PM PST

For me, Mass Effect 3 happens to be a sort of déjà vu moment from nearly a decade ago. Specifically, this is the second time that BioWare has taken a consistent player character across three games. Back in 1998, I rolled a little half-elf ranger for Baldur’s Gate; by that game’s conclusion, I took special care to transfer the character save over to a 3.5-inch floppy. Holding onto said floppy proved handy for Baldur’s Gate II’s release in 2000, where I turned that scrappy half-elf into a ranger worthy of Strider/Aragon — able to lead a band of warriors, wizards, and animals into a victorious battle against a wizard who could bend time itself. And I rounded out this ranger’s tale with Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal in 2001 — where he became a sort of god-king that could call in elementals and beasts when he’s not slinking in the shadows like some sort of forest ninja. So the idea of taking a character that I have slavishly developed over three games to a grand conclusion again is what excites me about Mass Effect 3 the most.

But what sort of Shepard am I playing for the conclusion to this crazy grand sci-fi saga? That ranger eventually retired to a quiet life in his cabin surrounded by wolves, rabbits, and other fauna. That was the last time I followed the “good” path in an RPG. Since then, I’ve generally played evil — I was the Devil in Fallout 3; and I grew horns and featured sickly skin in Fable 2. I reserved Jennifer Hale’s excellent acting for a proper heroic Paragon female Shepard, and in line with my “I play asshole fellows” mentality, I created a male Shepard. The result: while Jeremy played Yukiko Shepard with a healthy amount of meticulous thinking, Hobo Shepard (I also don’t take character names seriously) played fast and loose. For nearly every red dialog choice or Renegade interrupt, I promptly chose that option — with exceptions being in rare times where I personally didn’t want the result (more on that in a bit). Since Jeremy and I both played as Infiltrators, our general styles showed two sides of the sniper Shepard space coin.


Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3186596

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Review: You Can Play Gears of War 3 for 100+ Hours (If You Liked the Last Two)

Posted: 22 Jan 2012 01:29 PM PST

It’s funny what a mix of good and bad timing can do for a game. Take Radiant Silvergun, for instance: originally an arcade game and then a relatively limited Japanese Saturn release in 1998, the game became a favorite among the ultra-hardcore, import-happy crowd… assuming they could get the game. Due to its short life on the shelf and the general fervor over its developer Treasure, Silvergun quickly gained triple-digit price tags. Some would suggest that not playing Radiant Silvergun doesn’t make you a real gamer. Well, it’s not that good, but now it’s back and better and easier to get than ever.

Radiant Silvergun is definitely a shooter from 1998. It requires a different kind of skill than today’s arcade shoot-em-ups, where the number one strategy is knowing when to tip-toe between curtains of bullets. Here, enemies are typically small and everywhere, bosses and midbosses are frequent, and they all have tricky patterns that can throw you off if you don’t learn them or don’t kill the boss before they get really tricky. On top of that, the game has an orthodox emphasis on weaponry. You have three basic attack types — vulcan, homing, or spread — that can be combined to make different combinations, like a vulcan cannon that fires from both ends of the ship, or a homing laser that goes for any enemy in your radius. Oh, and a “radiant sword” that you can swing around or use it to absorb certain pink bullets and charge up a super slash. In this version, you can map the combinations to any button you want, but the tower of button icons on the side of the screen when playing can still look a little intimidating. Nevertheless, it’s a feast of firepower.


Posted by: admin in Gaming News
Find related article at: http://www.1up.com/reviews?cId=3185646

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Posted by Shri Krishna

MMO Updates

MMO Updates

City of Heroes' Matt Miller answers our questions about the death of Statesman

Posted: 23 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST

Filed under: , , , , , ,

Alas, poor Marcus! I knew him, Manticore.
Statesman has been the face of City of Heroes since the game has launched. He's been the man at the forefront of the game's lore and the setting-defining hero for players. He earned a lot of ire from some players due to the designer who had chosen him as his avatar, but that didn't diminish his importance to the game as a whole. But after surviving war against the Rikti, the machinations of his rival Lord Arachnos, and the invasion of his alternate self from Praetoria... Statesman has finally fallen and is no more.

Of course, this brings up some pretty hefty questions about the future of the City of Heroes setting, since such a death is about as high-profile as in-game-deaths can be. We had the opportunity to ask Matt Miller a few questions about the ramifications of Statesman's death, the team's motivation, and what players can expect in the wake of his passing. After all, even though the hero is gone, the villain responsible is still out there...

Continue reading City of Heroes' Matt Miller answers our questions about the death of Statesman

MassivelyCity of Heroes' Matt Miller answers our questions about the death of Statesman originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Sony, CCP 'negotiating PS3 virtual item policy' for DUST 514

    Posted: 23 Jan 2012 08:00 AM PST

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    DUST 514 - planetary concept art
    DUST 514 is somewhat revolutionary in that it's attempting to tie together two separate games (on two separate platforms) that take place in the same fictional universe. CCP is also innovating on the backend according to a new article at Develop.

    The upcoming EVE Online MMOFPS tie-in will establish universal PlayStation Network microtransaction rules according to CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson. Petursson told Develop that the ongoing CCP/Sony negotiations will ultimately result in the establishment of price tiers for virtual items as well as the revenue split between Sony and third-party devs.

    CCP is also exploring retail options for DUST 514, despite early reports that the title would only be available as a digital download. Finally, Petursson tells Develop that the PlayStation Vita version of DUST will "give people access to more asynchronous parts of the game." While he doesn't commit one way or the other, it's possible that the portable version of the game will connect to both the PlayStation 3 and PC versions via EVE's universal ISK currency.

    MassivelySony, CCP 'negotiating PS3 virtual item policy' for DUST 514 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Flameseeker Chronicles: We don't need no stinkin' endgame

    Posted: 23 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST

    Filed under: , , ,

    What's at the end of the road?
    We talked a lot about the concepts of endgame and raiding on last week's Guildcast, but since not everyone has had time to watch it (and because the subject is still knocking around in my head), I want to address it a little more in this week's Flameseeker Chronicles.

    There are so many assumptions and so much speculation and so much talk about the concept as a whole and how it applies to Guild Wars 2, so let's dive on in.

    Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: We don't need no stinkin' endgame

    MassivelyFlameseeker Chronicles: We don't need no stinkin' endgame originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      MV Guide: January 23-29, 2012

      Posted: 23 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST

      Filed under: , , ,

      MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV.

      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: January 23-29, 2012

      MassivelyMV Guide: January 23-29, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Blizzard job listing mentions 'product placement' within their next MMO

        Posted: 23 Jan 2012 05:30 AM PST

        Filed under: , ,

        Activision Blizzard
        When details of Blizzard's upcoming casual MMO, code-named Titan, are incredibly scarce due to the developer's ironclad secrecy, it falls to enterprising fans to ferret out any scraps of information that may exist. One such player on the NeoGAF forums was combing through a Blizzard job posting for a Franchise Development Producer and noted an interesting line that indicated the studio could be mulling over the idea of in-game ads for its next MMO.

        The line in question specifies that one of the duties of the position is to "work with major consumer brands to facilitate product placement and licensing within the world of Blizzard Entertainment's next-gen MMO that enhances the gameplay experience." Whether this is a sign that we'll be seeing billboards for Skittles while we raid or if players will be able to get endorsements and decorate their outfits a la NASCAR cars is anyone's guess.

        It's important to note that the rest of this position entails a number of efforts to promote Blizzard's "next-gen MMO" outside of the tight-knit gaming sphere, including comics, action figures, and short movies.

        MassivelyBlizzard job listing mentions 'product placement' within their next MMO originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Daily Grind: Would you buy an advanced character?

        Posted: 23 Jan 2012 05:00 AM PST

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        UO advanced character
        For many years, Ultima Online has offered an advanced character microtransaction. Well, the term "microtransaction" may be stretching it -- originally priced at $30 a pop, it's more like a macrotransaction. The advanced character token allows you to boost the skills and stats of a single character according to a preset template. It won't give you a capped Bard, Treasure Hunter, or Animal Tamer overnight, but it will get you a big chunk of the way there. And for skills that are notoriously hard to train .1 by .1 all the way to 100 or 120, advanced character tokens can be a huge boon to players who've been there and done that and just want to skip the early grind.

        UO's not alone in this; other games, such as Dark Age of Camelot, allow players to jump past some of the early game on their alts once they've capped a toon and proven they know the ropes of the game. Of course, those games aren't charging for the pleasure. So what do you think: Would you buy an advanced character from a game company? Or do you think you're cheating yourself and those around you by not grinding up the old-fashioned way?

        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!

        MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Would you buy an advanced character? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Guild Wars 2 confirmed for 2012, public beta coming

          Posted: 23 Jan 2012 04:00 AM PST

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          OMGOMGOMG
          ArenaNet founder and president Mike O'Brien rocked the Guild Wars 2 community very early this morning with a blog post celebrating 2012 as the year of the dragon and the official launch year for Guild Wars 2.

          Guild Wars 2 recently finished up a very small closed beta test, and now ArenaNet is planning to start opening the testing doors wider very quickly: "In February we'll invite select press to participate in beta testing, and in March and April we'll aggressively ramp up the size of our beta test events so that many of you will have a chance to participate."

          This all leads up to the event fans have been eagerly awaiting on the edge of their seats: a 2012 launch for Guild Wars 2, according to O'Brien. He wrapped up the blog post with words guaranteed to put a big smile on the face of every fan: "So welcome to the Year of the Dragon - the year of Guild Wars 2."

          MassivelyGuild Wars 2 confirmed for 2012, public beta coming originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          MMO Week in Review: Analyst, shmanalyst

          Posted: 22 Jan 2012 05:00 PM PST

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          Week in Review - TOR screenshot
          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. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post.

          Star Wars: The Old Republic continued to dominate Massively's headlines this week. We were kept on the edge of our seats at the latest zombie-related patch drama, PR videos, cosmetic pets, ability delay tweaks, and subscription bugs, nevermind the prophecies of analysts whose predictions and estimations of TOR's costs sent EA's stock on a rollercoaster ride over the week. And to those of you visiting a galaxy far, far away from Azeroth, we presented our definitive guide to SWTOR for World of Warcraft players.

          Enjoy the rest of this week's top MMO stories past the cut.

          Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Analyst, shmanalyst

          MassivelyMMO Week in Review: Analyst, shmanalyst originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            EVE Evolved: Music to watch the stars by

            Posted: 22 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST

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            EVE Online title image
            EVE Online received some big graphical overhauls with the recent Crucible expansion, and every ship will have its graphics iterated on in future patches as part of with the ongoing V3 project. A great deal of time and money is poured into keeping EVE's graphics at the bleeding edge of the industry, and yet the game's music has barely changed since launch in 2003. Warped ambient compositions like Red Glowing Dust gave a feeling of depth and scale to early EVE's empty universe, and the electronic beats of tracks like Below the Asteroids and Merchants, Looters and Ghosts have become iconic sounds of EVE. The music still manages to impress new players, but with so much of EVE being overhauled, I think it's time to give the music another look.

            Very few game studios pay as much attention to music as to graphics, the user interface, or gameplay, but the right music has the power to completely transform a player's experience. Just like in a movie, music can evoke an emotional response and so alter a person's perception of events. Fighting monsters in a fantasy MMO or shooting down pirates in EVE might not be a terribly epic activity, but throw in some epic music and suddenly it feels a lot more real. I wrote about the psychological effect of music in MMOs several years ago, and the topic is as relevant today as it was then.

            In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at three different types of music that could improve EVE and suggest how CCP could take advantage of each type to give EVE the soundtrack it deserves.

            Continue reading EVE Evolved: Music to watch the stars by

            MassivelyEVE Evolved: Music to watch the stars by originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              MIT developing educational MMO funded by Gates Foundation

              Posted: 22 Jan 2012 01:00 PM PST

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              MIT logo
              Is gaming the answer to the math- and science-related apathy plaguing American school kids? Some folks at MIT think so, and a new press blurb outlines how the institute is developing an MMO designed to further science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

              "In contrast to the way that (STEM) is currently taught in secondary schools -- which often results in students becoming disengaged and disinterested in the subjects at an early age -- educational games like the one to be developed give students the chance to explore STEM topics in a way that deepens their knowledge while also developing 21st-century skills," the release says.

              The title is being developed in collaboration with Filament Games, and MIT's Eric Klopfer says that it will be a powerful educational tool. "This genre of games is uniquely suited to teaching the nature of science inquiry," he explains, "because they provide collaborative, self-directed learning situations. Players take on the roles of scientists, engineers and mathematicians to explore and explain a robust virtual world." The project is being financed by a $3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

              MassivelyMIT developing educational MMO funded by Gates Foundation originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Pirates of the Burning Sea outlines plans for 2012

              Posted: 22 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST

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              Pirates of the Burning Sea - anchored ships
              Remember Pirates of the Burning Sea? Yeah, it's still sailing along after its 2010 free-to-play conversion, and the dev team at Flying Lab Software is gearing up to celebrate the game's fourth anniversary in high pirate style.

              Brain "Fodderboy" Taney has offered up a lengthy dev blog detailing what's next for the nautical MMO, and he outlines two main goals: immersion and the desire to "layer" the game.

              Immersion is fairly self-explanatory (and in case it's not, Taney says that it entails bringing more authentic 18th century elements to the game). Layering requires a bit more verbiage, but it basically boils down to improving "the game experience for all the different kinds of players we have in our community (e.g., casual, hardcore, PvE-only, PvP-only, etc.)," Taney says. There's quite a bit more, of course, but you'll need to head to the official PotBS website to read about it.

              MassivelyPirates of the Burning Sea outlines plans for 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              Posted by Shri Krishna

              MMORPG News

              MMORPG News

              Final Fantasy XIV: New Year's Fun & Down to Business

              Posted: 23 Jan 2012 04:53 AM PST

              The latest edition of the Final Fantasy XIV producer's letter has arrived with news of New Year's revelry by the dev team. The team took time to head out to offer prayers for a successful year for FFXIV as it rocks its way to v2.0.

              Guild Wars 2: Open Beta and Release This Year - Year of the Dragon

              Posted: 23 Jan 2012 02:42 AM PST

              A new update just popped up on the Official Guild Wars 2 blog, with news about the upcoming beta tests from February through April, leading into the game's release this year.
              Posted by Shri Krishna
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