| Wargaming CEO: Current Xbox certification process "unacceptable" for free-to-play Posted: 22 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Real-Life, Interviews, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, War, Free-to-Play, Consoles, World of Tanks Wargaming.net is something of an expert when it comes to free-to-play game design. The studio's World of Tanks is one of the biggest F2P titles in the world, boasting over 60 million registered users and holding the world record for player concurrency. This population is likely to expand when World of Tanks launches on the Xbox 360 later this summer. There's just one hitch: According to Wargaming CEO Victor Kislyi, Microsoft's current certification process is not very friendly to free-to-play games. Here's Kislyi speaking with Polygon about the struggles the studio faced in bringing World of Tanks to Xbox Live: One of the biggest challenges with Microsoft was the frequency of updates because the QA process and certification process takes an extremely long time. Totally unacceptable for a meaningful free-to-play. We are working with them to do quicker updates. Kislyi noted that Wargaming is trying to help Microsoft streamline the certification process, but that there is quite a bit of work on the tech and admin sides that needs to be done. As for whether any of this will result in meaningful changes for developers looking to launch on Microsoft's current or future console, Kislyi noted, "We will see." This isn't the first time Kislyi has talked about frustrations with Microsoft. A few weeks ago, he expressed his unhappiness with the fact that World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition players will need an Xbox Live Gold account to get online with the game.  Wargaming CEO: Current Xbox certification process "unacceptable" for free-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's dirty little secret races Posted: 22 Jul 2013 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Lore, Races, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph I'm of two minds about the last two races in WildStar. And I'll be honest, the first mind is kind of bored because those of us with sharp eyes had already figured most of this out. Most of us might not have been sure of the names, to be fair. But the core concepts are fairly close to what most of us expected, with both races playing against type -- cute and fuzzy for the Dominion, creepy and leering for the Exiles. I even speculated that the last race of the Exiles would be a race that focused upon getting dirty work done when it needed to be done, and sure enough, what did we get? That being said, both of these races are pulled off with a style and panache that I should have expected but didn't. So even if I could have guessed that these were the practical upshots of the race grid, I hadn't counted on them being this nifty. Continue reading The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's dirty little secret races The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's dirty little secret races originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Greed Monger video demonstrates house building Posted: 22 Jul 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Video, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Crafting, Housing, Player-Generated Content In a game focused on building things, you'd expect housing to involve a bit more than just dropping a generic prefab on a plot of land. If you envision the builder carefully piecing elements together to create a unique dwelling instead, you've hit Greed Monger's take on housing on the head. A new video highlighting the house building tool of the crafting-centric game follows the construction of a large building piece by piece and gives an example of the possibilities. You can see the process in action in the video after the cut. And if that still isn't enough, Greed Monger also announced that the tool would be available for folks to try out sometime in the coming days. Continue reading Greed Monger video demonstrates house building Greed Monger video demonstrates house building originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Heat wave edition, July 22 - 28, 2013 Posted: 22 Jul 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team What's hotter than standing in the way of a fire-breathing dragon's sneeze? Right now, my town! I didn't want to turn the stove on last night and chance my place spontaneously combusting from the extra heat, so I went outside and fried up an omelet on the sidewalk. I had to be quick about it, too, so it didn't burn! Now I can understand that some people actually like the sun, but when your shoes melt between the house and the car, you know it's time to stay indoors for a bit. So that's what I am going to do. Instead of going back out in that insanity some call summer, I am just going to sit back and enjoy some cool Stream Team shows on Massively TV this week. Care to join me? Continue reading The Stream Team: Heat wave edition, July 22 - 28, 2013 The Stream Team: Heat wave edition, July 22 - 28, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Fight for your chosen candidate in Guild Wars 2's Cutthroat Politics update Posted: 22 Jul 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Previews, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play Whether you're a fan of the Black Lion Trading Company's Evon Gnashblade or you're rooting for Lionguard-investigator-turned-airship-captain Ellen Kiel, chances are pretty good that you like playing games. Heck, even if you don't like either Kiel or Gnashblade, you probably still like playing games. On the other hand, if you hate games and just like to vote, you're in deep trouble because the Lion's Arch political process is all about games, which sounds like a great way to let off steam when you feel like literally pummeling the supporters of the candidate you hate. Maybe Tyrians are on to something. In a recent conference call, ArenaNet released plenty of details about what Guild Wars 2 fans can expect to find when they head to the voting booth on July 23rd. Or is it more of a voting arena? Either way, jump past the cut to find out exactly what you'll need to do in order to exercise your ruthless, hardcore, no-holds-barred right to democracy. Continue reading Fight for your chosen candidate in Guild Wars 2's Cutthroat Politics update Fight for your chosen candidate in Guild Wars 2's Cutthroat Politics update originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Have you ever played an MMO for its crafting? Posted: 22 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvE, Opinion, The Daily Grind, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Crafting Last week's ArcheAge Japanese open beta commercials gave me a chuckle, both because of the music and because they focused so heavily on the game's crafting elements. As I was watching them, I imagined most western MMO players rolling their eyes and wondering where all the combat footage went, not to mention the screaming rock guitars and the scantily clad avatars. But enough of my stereotyping, this is The Daily Grind! And The Daily Grind needs to feature a conversation starter, so here you go. Have you ever played an MMO specifically for its crafting? If so, which one?  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: Have you ever played an MMO for its crafting? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Jul 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMO Week in Review: Racial indistinctions Posted: 21 Jul 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous, WildStar 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. This week, Carbine Studios chose SDCC 2013 to reveal WildStar's final two races, the Gnomes and the Forsaken. Wait, let me start again. The Gibberlings and the Arisen. Crap, that's not it either. OK, it's the Chua and the Mordesh. All jokes aside, the game's techno-gremlins and mystic-zombies are both pretty badass and will certainly make your choice between Alliance and Horde that much harder. Er, I mean Exiles and Dominion. Darnit. We also discussed WildStar's elaborate addon system and upcoming business model reveal. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories! Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Racial indistinctions MMO Week in Review: Racial indistinctions originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Jul 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Evolved: Is DUST 514 a pay-to-win game? Posted: 21 Jul 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Business Models, Economy, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, First Impressions, EVE Evolved, DUST 514, Sandbox I've been following DUST 514's development with a cautious optimism for the past few years and have been trying to convince my console gamer friends to give it a try since it launched back in May. Last week I finally sat down to play the game myself and was thoroughly disappointed with both its 2005-era graphics and fundamentally broken gameplay. DUST 514 will likely stay in development for the forseeable future and may end up becoming a polished and integral part of the EVE Online universe, but right now it's a buggy and mediocre FPS that has very little impact on New Eden. DUST 514 launched to mixed impressions from the gaming media, catching a lot of flack from reviewers for its microtransactions options. Some have argued that selling skill point boosters and destructible Aurum tanks and equipment directly for cash makes it a pay-to-win game, while others maintain that it doesn't give you an advantage that free players can't buy for ISK. The definition of pay-to-win isn't always clear, and the console FPS audience may not be as tolerant of microtransactions PC users have long since accepted. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the arguments for and against it being a pay-to-win game and ask what went wrong with the game's launch. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Is DUST 514 a pay-to-win game? EVE Evolved: Is DUST 514 a pay-to-win game? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Jul 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Phantasy Star Online 2 launches Episode 2, adds new race and class Posted: 21 Jul 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Expansions, Launches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Races, MMORPG The latest update for Phantasy Star Online 2 is officially live on Japanese servers, and with it come the game's fourth playable race and an all-new class. The new race, the Duman, are a natural mutation of humans with strange origins and seem to all be afflicted (or blessed) with heterochromia. The new class, known as the Braver, can choose between Katana or Bullet Bows as its primary weapon. Check out the seven-minute launch video after the jump, and bring along a Japanese translator. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!] Continue reading Phantasy Star Online 2 launches Episode 2, adds new race and class Phantasy Star Online 2 launches Episode 2, adds new race and class originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Jul 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| World of Warcraft film teaser debuts at SDCC Posted: 21 Jul 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Video, MMO Industry, News Items, Events (Massively's Coverage), MMORPG Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures created something of a stir at this year's San Diego Comic Con by reportedly debuting a teaser trailer for the long-anticipated World of Warcraft movie. The trailer featured a human warrior and an angry orc and apparently was set in Hellfire Peninsula, also known as "that horrible place I dragged my Mage through levels 60-63." Actual filming begins in 2014, with director Duncan Jones referring to the teaser as more of a "mood piece." The film, titled simply Warcraft, will feature a mix of live-action and computer-generated effects. And no, the trailer doesn't seem to be available anywhere online. This Mountain Dew commercial is probably close enough, though. World of Warcraft film teaser debuts at SDCC originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Jul 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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AMD's $1.16 billion quarterly revenue wasn't enough to turn a profit
Stream me up, Scotty!
Revised design should stop the NUC from freezing up due to heat
Time to change your password
Cheap systems for cash-strapped students
