| The Game Archaeologist: Going forward by looking back at the past Posted: 07 Dec 2013 09:00 AM PST |
| WRUP: Happy non-panicked-shopping weekend edition Posted: 07 Dec 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous It's time for the most important holiday weekend of the year: that comfortable point when you can drive out and take part in a frenzied circus of consumerism while everyone is still treating one another like human beings. No one will attack you with a screwdriver in the middle of Target for trying to take home the last Tickle Me Optimus Prime or whatever kids want this year. It's great. Think fondly on this later when you search for the last gift you must buy in a shredded wasteland, with songs praising sharing and togetherness amidst a mass of screaming people fighting over commodities. Anyway, it's WRUP time, so that means you want to hear about what we'll be doing for the weekend (which may or may not include shopping). Check out our plans past the break, and let us know what you'll be up to down in the comments! Continue reading WRUP: Happy non-panicked-shopping weekend edition  WRUP: Happy non-panicked-shopping weekend edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Dec 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Archlord sunsetting on January 1st Posted: 07 Dec 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-Play, Sunsets Archlord will be no more, as Webzen has decided to sunset the title. The company announced the closure of the fantasy title on the official site: "Unfortunately, we have come to a difficult decision to end this long journey we have enjoyed and cherished together. We understand that this will disappoint many of our players. We will be disabling client downloads and cash shop for the game on the 11th of December. The game will be closed on January 1st." There is a silver lining to this, however. Webzen will be throwing a 400% XP and drop event from December 11th until Archlord's closure. In addition, the company urged the community to transfer interest to Archlord 2. [Thanks to Skurvel for the tip!] Archlord sunsetting on January 1st originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Dec 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Do you prefer games available on multiple platforms? Posted: 07 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, Browser, Mobile, Consoles There's a certain glee in knowing that any time I want, I could buy a copy of Final Fantasy XIV for my PlayStation 3 and just play there instead of on the computer. I doubt I ever will, but I always have the option. And I've met more than a few people whom I enjoy playing alongside and who do play on the console, so it's certainly enriched my overall game experience. Most MMOs launch for the PC and that's it. A small number go on to develop a native Mac client, some are available on consoles or mobile decides, and so forth. You can argue that developing these extra clients takes time and resources away from improving the main game, but you can also argue that these extra clients allow people who would otherwise have never played the game to experience something awesome. So how do you feel? Do you prefer games available on multiple platforms, do you prefer development focused on just one, or do you not really care?  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 prefer games available on multiple platforms? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Dec 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| More Star Citizen features mean more devs, Roberts says Posted: 06 Dec 2013 05:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play You don't have to look very far to find armchair developers wringing their hands over Star Citizen's supposed feature creep. Heck, some bloggers and forum denizens have even gone so far as to label the space sim sandbox vaporware in spite of its publicly available pre-alpha hangar module. Cloud Imperium founder Chris Roberts spoke with Ten Ton Hammer recently and addressed the backlash. "Feature creep doesn't mean quite the same with Star Citizen as it might in other games. In other games, it's a concern because they have a hard release date and as you add new stuff it gets to a point where other things have to be rushed or dropped," Roberts said. "We add new people to the team to cover the new features and because everything is so modular, it has minimum impact on the rest of the game." More Star Citizen features mean more devs, Roberts says originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: November 30 - December 6, 2013 Posted: 06 Dec 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, MMO Industry, News Items, Betawatch, Miscellaneous The entire idea of game testing has been put through the wringer in the past few years, with betas that aren't and open betas that are release in all but name. But when DayZ actually goes into testing, rest assured, that "alpha build" is actually going to be an alpha build. We applaud the bold decision to use a game's testing phase as, well, a testing phase. League of Angels entered its beta testing this week, complete with events for testers to take part in. War Thunder also kicked off the testing of its Ground Forces expansion, expanding its previous world full of planes to include a few more... what's the word for those other things? Like cars, but with turrets and treads? Rhymes with pranks? Whatever it is, there will be a world of them. Oh, yes, and there is a full list of betas past the cut, just as there is every other week. If something sneaked a cash shop in without our noticing, please, let us know down in the comments. Continue reading Betawatch: November 30 - December 6, 2013 Betawatch: November 30 - December 6, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Destiny launches on September 9, 2014 Posted: 06 Dec 2013 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Consoles, Destiny Bungie has announced that its Destiny sci-fantasy online shooter will launch worldwide on September 9, 2014. The beta will begin sometime in the summer, and will be "available first on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3." Destiny launches on September 9, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Storyboard: Why am I still here? Posted: 06 Dec 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous Sometimes, the biggest problem you face isn't whether or not you can find dramatic roleplaying but whether or not your character has a reason to keep subjecting herself to it. I ran into the problem recently in Final Fantasy XIV. As a player, I enjoyed what was going on with one of the many organizations my character belongs to. The problem is that she wasn't enjoying it, and she didn't have any reason to keep subjecting herself to it. She didn't like most of these people, she didn't need money or resources from them, and she wasn't really deriving any benefit from it any longer. Obviously, I wanted her to stick around. But every so often you find yourself in situations where your character isn't happy and wants to leave... and has both reason and opportunity to do so. Two weeks ago I talked about getting someone out of your life; now it's time to talk about keeping a character in the mix. Continue reading Storyboard: Why am I still here? Storyboard: Why am I still here? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Inferno Legend begins closed beta on December 10th Posted: 06 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, New Titles, Free-to-Play Chinese developer Gamebox announced that its upcoming "reverse Diablo" MMO Inferno Legend will be going into closed beta testing on December 10th. The company said that it was inspired by the movie Avatar in the creation of Inferno Legend's air island world. Players will explore these islands brick by hexagonal brick, finding out what's on each when they step on them. The unpredictability that each brick brings, from a battle event to a treasure boon, is what Gearbox hopes will intrigue players. Inferno Legend has five classes: Vampire, Cyclops, Ghost Knight, Fairy, and Mummy. Battles take their visual cues from the comic books, and there's a demon summoning system that gives alternate skills and buffs for players foolish enough to toy with the underworld. You can check out the preview video of Inferno Legend after the break. [Source: Gamebox press release] Continue reading Inferno Legend begins closed beta on December 10th Inferno Legend begins closed beta on December 10th originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Developers respond to Riot's streaming restrictions for pro players [Updated] Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, MOBA, League of Legends, Hearthstone Riot Games' new contract with professional League of Legends players prevents those players from streaming certain games during the LCS (League Championship Series) season. Banned titles include Dota 2, Hearthstone, Awesomenauts, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and many, many more. News of the contract broke earlier this week. Since that time, a couple of developers associated with games on the banned list have responded to Riot's rules in letters to website OnGamers, which broke the original story. Here's a clip of the lengthy response from Awesomenauts co-creator Jasper Koning: We are disappointed to see Riot impose restrictions on the spare time of its LOL Championship Series players. It's understandable Riot as a company wants to protect its interests, but the way they're doing it now is decidedly unsportsmanlike, anti-competitive, and it sets a bad precedent. And here's S2's ( Heroes of Newerth) Marc DeForest: We view eSports differently - it is a platform for competition, growth, and the collective celebration of video gaming passion. We do not view it as a leveraging tool for anti-competitive and monopolistic practices. S2 Games will continue to support the eSports idea as a whole, not just our own specific interests in it. Riot has confirmed the terms of the contract but has not responded to further updates or fan criticism. [Update: Riot has announced that it is changing LCS players' contracts due in part to community feedback. Under the new rules, players will be able to stream any games they want as long as they are not accepting sponsorship from other studios to promote those titles.] Developers respond to Riot's streaming restrictions for pro players [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively's exclusive sneak peek of RIFT 2.6: Dreamweaving, Fae Yule, and the state of the game Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Patches, Previews, Free-to-Play, RIFT, Crafting While we're descending into the insanity and fun of the holiday season, Trion Worlds is looking ahead to 2014 and its road to RIFT's 3.0. We hopped on the phone with RIFT's team earlier today for a sneak peek (sneak listen?) of the game's 2.6 content update and how it will tie into the expansion later next year. RIFT 2.6 -- there is no official title as of yet -- is a ways out still. Trion is targeting early February for its release, primarily because so many employees are taking time off for the holidays to be with friends and family. That said, 2.6 should arrive on the public test server in January, and the devs promise that it will be well worth the wait. So what's coming with 2.6? Dreams, crafts, and conclusions, my friends! Let's dig into it. Continue reading Massively's exclusive sneak peek of RIFT 2.6: Dreamweaving, Fae Yule, and the state of the game Massively's exclusive sneak peek of RIFT 2.6: Dreamweaving, Fae Yule, and the state of the game originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Star Citizen's first round of guild functionality scheduled for January Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Guilds, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Sandbox, Star Citizen, Buy-to-Play Are you itching to form a private military company in the world of Star Citizen? Maybe you're more partial to some sort of syndicate, squadron, or even a for-profit corporation. Whatever your particular guild slant may be, Cloud Imperium wants to tell you about its plans for Star Citizen's Organizations as well as introduce all the related web-based functionality that will go live well before the game launches. Each SC player Organization will get a customizable public page on the Roberts Space Industries web site. CIG is including a ranking system with user-definable names and roles (i.e., if Spaceman is more to your liking than the default Lieutenant, knock yourself out). Organization names will not be unique, so don't worry about taking a day off work to reserve Browncoats. CIG says that "an unlimited number of players can form groups named Red Squadron," for example, but each of those groups will have a unique ten-character alphanumeric SID designation to facilitate gameplay. Public testing of Star Citizen's Organization system begins later this month, with a planned rollout scheduled for early January. Future functionality additions will include private forums for every Organization, an Org Blog with a shoutbox and news update capabilities, and interactive visual charts showing divisions, jobs, and members. Cloud Imperium is also upgrading its current web chat capabilities, so say goodbye to the 500-user chat roll limit. Finally, the firm wants you to know that you can now apply upgrades to your existing ships and packages. "Upgrading a package will change the overall value and will allow you to see the enhanced ship in your hangar," CIG says. Continue reading Star Citizen's first round of guild functionality scheduled for January Star Citizen's first round of guild functionality scheduled for January originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Building stuff in Trove with Beau Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:55 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Video, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Previews, Hands-On, Casual, Livestream, Sandbox, Crafting, The Stream Team, Trove Trove is an interesting new title from Trion Worlds, a game set in a strange, blocky open world that is there just waiting to be explored and built. Beau Hindman is willing to do it, even though the game is in "open alpha." If you enjoy open worlds, exploration, building, and destroying monsters, you should watch this stream! Game: Trove Host: Beau Date: Friday, November 6th, 2013 Time: 4:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Steam Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Building stuff in Trove with Beau The Stream Team: Building stuff in Trove with Beau originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMObility: Windows 8 tablets help MMO fans go mobile Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Video, Business Models, Opinion, Mobile, Miscellaneous, MMObility One of the most interesting parts of covering the mobile gaming industry for this column is watching technologies move at such blinding speeds. Just over the course of this column's run, I have seen my own tech double and triple in speed while halving in size and weight. I've also had to try to predict how the market will go so I can keep an eye on games and genres. In one of the stranger turns of recent events, I've watched as Windows 8, RT, and 8.1 have slowly crept into the market in an attempt to pull people back to the desktop... sort of. This is all possible simply because the desktop PC has reimagined itself in a smaller form, something that I am fond of seeing. Even though I predict that gamers will one day do everything on a tablet (with an optional dock or larger-screen connection), I have to admit that I am surprised at how fast Windows tablets are moving into the spotlight. Sure, they are claiming just a single-digit percentage of the marketplace according to this report in April, well behind Android and iOS, but the numbers continue to rise. That's pretty startling. What does this mean for MMO gamers? Continue reading MMObility: Windows 8 tablets help MMO fans go mobile MMObility: Windows 8 tablets help MMO fans go mobile originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| New video explores EverQuest Next Landmark's world and features Posted: 06 Dec 2013 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, News Items, PvE, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox, Crafting, MMORPG EverQuest Next Landmark is a world-building, voxel-based sandbox that Sony Online Entertainment insists is an actual game. This latest video from SOE helps to prove the point by highlighting some of the dangers to be found in Landmark's world including environmental hazards and monsters. The video also shows off some of Landmark's powerful building tools with time-lapse videos of houses, towers, arches, furniture, and more being built in the game engine. Check out the full video after the break to see Landmark in action, and take a look at MJ's latest Some Assembly Required for a closer look at how Landmark might affect the future of player-generated content. Continue reading New video explores EverQuest Next Landmark's world and features New video explores EverQuest Next Landmark's world and features originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Lime Odyssey to shut down in Korea... again Posted: 06 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Sunsets Lime Odyssey apparently cannot catch a break. The game's English version has been leading up to a launch that hasn't happened for more than a year now, with no updates on when that might take place. Last March, the game's Korean client was shut down. Then the game underwent a revival, and now... it's being shut down in Korea again, apparently due to financial issues. What does this mean for the game's English version? That's unclear, although official statements seem to indicate that Aeria Games plans to release the English version after the launch of Aura Kingdom. Whether or not that release will come to pass remains to be seen, but based on the game's history to date odds are not favorable. Our condolences to the players and developers affected by this shutdown. Lime Odyssey to shut down in Korea... again originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Prime World launch impressions Posted: 06 Dec 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game Mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Hands-On, Miscellaneous, MOBA So here I am again in Prime World. It's probably my first real "Facebook game" other than that thrones game, but this one has more substance than its more social counterparts. This is a game I've gotten to play with Russians and other westerners during beta, and I've seen the game grow quite a bit in that time, even through casual play. It's the only MOBA I've had motivation to play lately. It's not the best on the market -- it suffers from a lack of features that I consider key for any online game, let alone a MOBA -- but it still appeals to me a bit more as an MMO fan than as a MOBA fan. While studio Nival calls the game a beta, the Steam page lists it as released, so if you haven't tried the game yet, bear in mind that's it a bit of both. Continue reading Prime World launch impressions Prime World launch impressions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Dec 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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