- The Road to Mordor: A day in LotRO's Forochel
- Mark Jacobs on the coming F2P apocalypse
- WRUP: Quiet, we are watching our stories edition
- The Daily Grind: Are there MMOs you would play offline?
- Betawatch: April 6 - 12, 2013
- Storyboard: Profession discussion - the Builder
- New reputation in Star Trek Online takes the fight to the Tholians
- Why I Play: Villagers and Heroes
- Hearthstone video pits mage against shaman
- Hacking ring infiltrates Trion, Nexon, and Neowiz game servers
- Camelot Unchained update outlines RvR dungeon stretch goal
- SWTOR dev blog details new GSI faction
- WildStar explains how MMO servers work
- Second Wind: Champions Online
- MMObility: Dragon Eternity shines on the iPad
The Road to Mordor: A day in LotRO's Forochel
 I'm a pioneer in Forochel, or so my title tells me, but I still feel as if I don't know this untamed land. It's the roof of the world, or so they say, with odd peoples, strange languages, and frozen ruins. I see sights there that I never would anywhere else in Middle-earth, and it almost feels like an alien world removed from all I've known because of that. I walk toward a distant fire while the snow falls behind me and covers my footprints. Too often I think of how far away I am from the safety and warmth of home, and it frightens me. Am I a fool to forge into this land? To go in the opposite direction of the One Ring? Or is this my destined path? |
Mark Jacobs on the coming F2P apocalypse
 You know, free-to-play is just another model, and just like every other model in the industry, it will hold its special little place for a while but then there will be consequences. Those consequences in a few years will be a bit of an apocalypse.Camelot Unchained, which recently passed the halfway point of its $2 million Kickstarter goal, will be a "niche subscription game," which Jacobs says will allow his studio to focus on creating content for a more desirable audience. The subscription model "allows us to focus our game on the people who want to pay for it, and are willing to pay for it," Jacobs explains. "I'll take a smaller subscription base that is dedicated, is energized and is excited to play our game, and to work with our game, than ten times that base where I have to deal with a lot of people who really don't care."
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 If you're so bored you can just read this week's installment of WRUP, which contains all of the Massively staff's plans for the weekend. Well, the plans of those not too involved in watching our stories to reply. These are really important, you see. Here, just sit down and watch with us. Or read our plans past the break and let us know what you'll be up to in the comments -- that works too. |
Are there MMOs you would play offline?
 Speaking personally, I know I would be happy to tool around in Star Trek Online as an offline playground. It has its faults, but it's a nice little dose of thematic space adventure, certainly something fun for whiling away a disconnected afternoon. Some elements would have to be tweaked for an offline mode to work, but that's not the point. So what about you? Are there MMOs you would play offline if you had the opportunity? Or are you more interested in the social aspects and not interested in just playing the game itself as a stopgap? |
Betawatch: April 6 - 12, 2013
 Of course, the beta news of the week hasn't just been about big names. Genia: Brain Storm is currently looking for beta testers interested in a game of wits, and Yitien is just what you've been looking for if you're looking for a high fantasy browser-based MMO. Neverwinter is gearing up for one of its last beta weekends before the open beta test at the end of the month. Looking for more testing goodness? Take a look at the full list past the break. If you notice anything missing that's in testing, feel free to let us know about it down in the comments. |
Storyboard: Profession discussion - the Builder
 The Builder isn't just someone who enjoys making things but someone who lives by making things. Our previous professions have all focused around providing something, but the Builder is the person responsible for making those things. This is a profession that's all about creating, something near and dear to most roleplayers to begin with. But it's also a profession that has a bit more to it than simply being the guy down the road who puts cabinets together at a discount. |
New reputation in Star Trek Online takes the fight to the Tholians
 The new reputation will work much like other reputations in the game, giving players a variety of new ground and space item sets to earn in exchange for Nukara Marks. Players can also look forward to existing endgame activities involving Tholians to start giving out Nukara Marks, and they'll have the opportunity to exchange old rewards for large piles of marks as well. So your bridge crew probably won't be happy that shore leave is on Nukara Prime, but your captain will have plenty of new rewards to pick up. |
Why I Play: Villagers and Heroes
 I've streamed the game before, but now I find myself logging in a lot more than ever. And now, after hosting a livestream with associate designer Cameron England (embedded after the cut), I'm really having fun with the game and have noticed that it offers a lot more than games that are much more well-known. This is why I play Villagers and Heroes. |
Hearthstone video pits mage against shaman
 A narrator attempts to give a play-by-play as the action flows thick and furious, giving us a deeper insight into how Hearthstone plays and what strategies players might use in the future. Give it a watch after the break, and don't forget to read our own hands-on with the title! |
Hacking ring infiltrates Trion, Nexon, and Neowiz game servers
 The newspaper's website says that Neowiz, Mgame, Nexon, and Trion are among the companies affected. Moscow-based security firm Kaspersky Lab is conducting an ongoing investigation into the hacking ring's activities, but has not been given full access to infected servers. Some game companies reported the presence of malicious software which suggests that the hackers manipulated virtual currencies, according to the Herald. The group, named Winnti by Kaspersky, began its current campaign in 2009 and is still active today. The Herald reports that Neowiz "did not respond to requests for comment, while Trion and Nexon declined to comment. Mgame said it had no immediate comment."
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Camelot Unchained update outlines RvR dungeon stretch goal
 The second stretch goal involves a potential RvR dungeon that hearkens back to Darkness Falls from Jacobs' Dark Age of Camelot. But wait, hasn't Camelot Unchained been sold thus far as PvE-free experience? Yes, yes it has, and if you want to know how Jacobs and company plan to keep that promise while integrating a dungeon into the game, hit the jump and watch the video.
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SWTOR dev blog details new GSI faction
 When your GSI reputation level is high enough, you'll be able to purchase certain rewards from GSI headquarters on Nar Shaddaa's upper promenade. Full details are yours for the reading via the latest SWTOR dev blog.
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WildStar explains how MMO servers work
 If you're expecting an article that reveals WildStar's server rulesets, specific regions, or other practical player concerns, then this is not for you. However, it is a frank and fascinating look at the guts of the ship that runs MMOs, and considering that Ray has worked on both the space shuttle and other MMOs, we suspect that there's a good chance he knows what he's talking about.
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Second Wind: Champions Online
 I knew I needed to give it a second chance, and what better avenue to do it in than this very column? I've been really diving into it over the past few weeks, and I've discovered that the game is actually really good. And really fun. And that it looks good! I streamed it live just to double check, and sure enough, the game holds up well and made me so happy that I continued to try it out. I even subscribed! (Will wonders never cease?) So today, I want to tackle the game from a fresh, newbier perspective than the one taken in our weekly superhero column, A Mild-Mannered Reporter, where Eliot has been chronicling the playerbase's frustration with the game's content-update shortcomings. Be sure to check out the embedded livestream later in the article. It really shows off how fun the game can be, as well as covers some of its finer details. |
MMObility: Dragon Eternity shines on the iPad
 Now that a new iPad version has been released, I just had to give it another go to see if it felt the same as before. I have to say, how you interface with a game can really make a difference. Sure, the grind is still there, and the quests are generally the same at higher levels as they are at level one, but the iPad works awesome. That's not all, however. I also participated in PvP combat for the first time and found out exactly where the game shines. |
