| PAX Prime 2012: DDO has been busy Posted: 01 Sep 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage  Dungeons and Dragons Online has been keeping its dev team incredibly busy. It wasn't too long ago that the Menace of the Underdark expansion came out, and hot on its heels came update 15, the Song of Druid's Deep. Did you blink? Have you missed some of what's been going on? Luckily for you, we caught up with the Turbine team at PAX and have everything you need to know to get up to speed. Menace of the Underdark introduced the world of the Forgotten Realms by leading players through the Demonweb, into the Underdark, and out into Faerûn and the town of Eveningstar. The Song of Druid's Deep update sends out the first tendrils of adventure into the wide world around Eveningstar. Players have to deal with a growing corruption -- zombie-like plant beings and infected humans and dryads -- and chase it to its putrid heart. If you want an in-depth look at the update, be sure to read our hands-on article about the Druid's Deep experience. Update 15 comes not only with new quests and monsters, but the digital version of the time-honored monster manuals. Players with monster manuals can earn rewards, including Turbine points for big achievements and exclusive creature companions for the biggest achievements, while keeping track of all the terrifying foes they've faced. Additionally, there is a variant of the Ruined Keep challenge called the Daybreak Ritual. The team isn't slowing down. With plans for a few quality of life fixes in the very near future and update 16 in November, Turbine is keeping up its quick pace. Update 16 will bring in five new quests, another wilderness area, and an emphasis on creating real connection between the areas of Faerûn.  Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 31st - September 2nd, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2012. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, PlanetSide 2, RIFT: Storm Legion, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!  PAX Prime 2012: DDO has been busy originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WRUP: I wish I didn't have to know how to quit you edition Posted: 01 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT |
| The Daily Grind: How could studios 'sunset-proof' their MMOs? Posted: 01 Sep 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: City of Heroes, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous It's a sad week for caped crusaders, I'll tell you that. Many of us current and former City of Heroes players were rocked by the news that the studio and game have been given the axe by their NCsoft overlords. Even though CoH was a little long in the tooth, it seemed like a stable title that was doing well enough for itself in the free-to-play space. Whatever the cause for City of Heroes' sunsetting (oh, I hate that term; it's too mellow for a terrible act), this may have the effect of making any player think, "If it happens here, it could happen to me and my game." Sunsets come for us all, my friends, but it doesn't mean that we have to run into them. You'd think that there are some things an MMO studio or publisher could do to sunset-proof their titles and give them as long a life as possible. But what would those steps be? What do you think these companies should do to keep their games going for as long as possible that isn't already being done?  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: How could studios 'sunset-proof' their MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Repopulation's August update talks new models, engagements, and more Posted: 31 Aug 2012 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Patches, News items, Sandbox If you've a hankering for a heaping helping of patch notes -- or you're having trouble sleeping -- the latest end-of-the-month update for The Repopulation is here. OK, that was mean, but wow there's a lot to read about for August! The sci-fi sandbox from Above & Beyond Technologies has added some new character models, tweaked the emote system, and implemented medical scanners, aerosol, and particle weapons. There's also some verbiage about a new engagement system that scales to the number of players present, along with various tweaks to the world and UI. The Repopulation is still in closed alpha testing. Learn more about the game on its official website. The Repopulation's August update talks new models, engagements, and more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MechWarrior Online shows off the Catapault Posted: 31 Aug 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, MechWarrior Online Picture this scene: You log into MechWarrior Online and you're in the most beautiful map. You don't even want to fight, just enjoy the world around you. Birds are singing, the sun is shining, and there are more than two dozen missiles screaming through the air directly into your 'Mech's head. As your machine detonates, you'll know that you just got served an express load of missiles by the Catapault, a heavy 'Mech designed solely for delivering missiles at long range. Even at 65 tons, the Catapault packs on only 10 tons of armor. That's to conserve weight for its powerful jump jets and twin LRM-15 launchers. If you're not quite down on the game slang, that means this beast of a machine can jump and then unload long-range missiles on targets all across the map at will. Want to see it in action? Click on past the break to view the preview trailer. Continue reading MechWarrior Online shows off the Catapault MechWarrior Online shows off the Catapault originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| PAX Prime 2012: SMITE Posted: 31 Aug 2012 06:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage, MOBA The battle of the gods rages on at PAX Prime 2012 with Hi-Rez's upcoming MOBA title, SMITE. Not much has changed since the last time we saw the game at PAX East, but as the game draws ever-closer to launch, MOBA fans have quite a bit to be excited about. The game has added a few new gods since the last time we saw it (this time around I had the pleasure of playing as the Chinese dragon Ao Kuang), and according to Hi-Rez's COO Todd Harris, the studio is aiming to incorporate at least 30 deities prior to launch. On the topic of launch, Harris states that Hi-Rez is aiming for a first-quarter 2013 release (perhaps around February), though that date is by no means final. Regardless, MOBA players looking for a fun, frenetic, and accessible new title should keep their eye on the mythology-laden game as it continues to add more playable gods in the run-up to launch. And don't forget that you can register to participate in the game's beta right now by heading over to the SMITE official site. Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 31st - September 2nd, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2012. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, PlanetSide 2, RIFT: Storm Legion, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!PAX Prime 2012: SMITE originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: August 25 - 31, 2012 Posted: 31 Aug 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous Remember that Otherland beta that was on and then off again? It's on again! In fact, its first open beta weekend kicked off today with a brand-new trailer. NASA's MMO has been renamed Starlite and joins Betawatch tonight, as does sandbox Xulu Universe and adult-themed Venus Rising, fka Orgia Romanus. And just to confuse you, Aeria announced beta signups for its latest title, Starlight Story. Finally, as reported last week, Knight Age's open beta launched on Tuesday. End of Nations' beta events will resume on September 7th. Journey onward for the complete Betawatch roundup. Continue reading Betawatch: August 25 - 31, 2012 Betawatch: August 25 - 31, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| PAX Prime 2012: World of Warplanes Posted: 31 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT |
| PAX Prime 2012: Perfect World screens Neverwinter and RaiderZ trailers Posted: 31 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT |
| MMObility: Holding on to Arcane Empires Posted: 31 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Sci-fi, Screenshots, EverQuest, New titles, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Mobile, Casual, Humor, MMObility Kabam, maker of MMORTS titles like Thirst of Night and Dragons of Atlantis, is back with a portable title that can be found only on the Google Play market. I stumbled upon one night, installed it for free, and soon found myself recognizing those old Kabam earmarks. It's hard to find high-quality MMOs for mobile devices. They're out there, and there are more coming into the market every day, but I wonder exactly how Kabam intended on spreading the word about Arcane Empires without featuring it on the official homepage. The MMORTS publisher has always seemed pretty savvy about the genre's formulas and how to make a successful game, so I have a feeling it must know what it's doing with the first mobile-only title in the lineup. When I check out mobile titles, I keep in mind that I might be mistaking convenience for fun. How many of us log into a game every day or every week only because the shortcut is sitting right there on our desktop or because the game rests on our phone or tablet just waiting to be touched? Continue reading MMObility: Holding on to Arcane Empires MMObility: Holding on to Arcane Empires originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Some Assembly Required: Guild Wars 2 goes back to the future Posted: 31 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play, Some Assembly Required, Sandbox Like a lot of you, I've been goofing around in Guild Wars 2 this past week. What does that have to do with Massively's sandbox column? Not much other than that I feel like ArenaNet's game has arrived at an interesting crossroads in the history of MMO development. In one direction, you have World of Warcraft 2.0 and the continuation of the themepark model. In another direction, you have a sandbox akin to Ultima Online or Star Wars Galaxies. A third fork leads to the so-called sandpark hybrid. ArcheAge may live at the end of this road, and even titles like The Secret World and Age of Wushu can be said to mix both sandbox and themepark mechanics when it suits them.
ArenaNet avoids all three paths with Guild Wars 2, though, and instead makes a fourth that's 80 percent themepark and 20 percent... well, I don't know what to label it. It's almost like the devs wanted to make a virtual world, though. Continue reading Some Assembly Required: Guild Wars 2 goes back to the future Some Assembly Required: Guild Wars 2 goes back to the future originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Paragon Studios closing, City of Heroes to sunset before the end of the year [Updated] Posted: 31 Aug 2012 12:45 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play NCsoft is closing Paragon Studios due to a "realignment of company focus and publishing support," according to a blurb just posted on the City of Heroes website. Community manager Andy Belford says that the superhero MMO will shut down before the end of the year, and recurring billing (as well as Paragon Market purchasing) will be discontinued immediately. City of Heroes originally launched in 2004 as the world's first superhero MMORPG. Belford goes on to say that more information will be forthcoming over the next few weeks, including a firm cessation date as well as "what you can expect in game." [Update: NCsoft has told IGN that it is aiming for a November 30th closure date.]Paragon Studios closing, City of Heroes to sunset before the end of the year [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Torchlight II launches on September 20th Posted: 31 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play The hoped-for dukeroo between Diablo III and Torchlight II never quite materialized, mainly because Runic didn't manage to ship its dungeon-crawler in time to compete with the Blizzard behemoth's launch. Torchlight II is still coming, though, and according to a new post on the game's official site, it's coming on September 20th. Runic CEO Max Schaefer provides us with the requisite PR soundbyte. "We worked incredibly hard to make sure we could release Torchlight II before summer's official end. Development will continue right up until we ship, and we couldn't be happier to be putting the finishing touches on a great game. We want to get it to the fans as quickly as possible. Honestly, we can't wait." Torchlight II launches on September 20th originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMO Blender: Eliot's Copernican dream Posted: 31 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Opinion, Miscellaneous, Crafting, MMO Blender When I tried Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning for the first time, I fell in love. Not with the story, and not with the art, but with several elements of the actual game itself. The idea of having all of that brought into the MMO space filled me with a lot of excitement, but I had a feeling that we'd never actually see it come to pass. For those of you who missed out on what happened with 38 Studios, possibly because you read the internet on some bizarre time-lapse system, here's the deal: We're never going to see Project Copernicus come to pass. Oh, sure, we might wind up with something that vaguely resembles that game, but odds are low. More likely the franchise is going to be sold off by the state of Rhode Island for a pittance, and if the game ever resumes production, it'll bear only the faintest traces of its origins -- some art assets and little else. I'm not shedding tears over the world, though. In fact, I'm not going to shed tears at all because I think there's something to be built upon from the ideas of that single-player game, ideas that could make for an excellent MMO. And like any good gestalt, it reaches out to be something much more than the sum of its parts. Continue reading MMO Blender: Eliot's Copernican dream MMO Blender: Eliot's Copernican dream originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple gets all the credit for pushing out machines with ultra-high "retina" class display's, but let's face it, they didn't exactly invent it. 
The 
