| The Stream Team: Spelunking in Landmark's caves Posted: 14 Jun 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, New Titles, Free-to-Play, Livestream, The Stream Team, Player-Generated Content, Landmark Now that E3 2014 is over, Massively's MJ can finally dive into Landmark's new caves. She's been dying to go on a spelunking expedition to see all the new flora and find out just how deep caves go. Want to see these natural beauties for yourself? She's got more beta codes to give away! So join us live at 1:00 p.m. to see how easily MJ can get lost in a cave and maybe lose yourself in Landmark as well. Game: Landmark Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Saturday, June 14th, 2014 Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Spelunking in Landmark's caves  The Stream Team: Spelunking in Landmark's caves originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Game Archaeologist: Tales from Neverwinter Nights' Arelith Posted: 14 Jun 2014 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Interviews, Free-to-Play, The Game Archaeologist Back in May, I touched on the fascinating field of Neverwinter Nights' persistent worlds (PWs). I never expected it to draw so much attention, least of all from the folks still running these communities. But it did, and I was contacted by one of the player developers of Arelith, Mark "Artos" Friebus. Artos and his colleagues wanted to share more about the history and makeup of this 12-year-old server and why, in 2014, they're still as crazy about doing it as ever. If you want an insider's point of view as to what goes on in a persistent world -- and perhaps are open to be tempted to roll a character on one of them -- then stay tuned for the fascinating tale of Arelith. Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: Tales from Neverwinter Nights' Arelith The Game Archaeologist: Tales from Neverwinter Nights' Arelith originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WRUP: The one where MMOs get an easy win Posted: 14 Jun 2014 08:00 AM PDT |
| The Daily Grind: Does guild recruitment annoy you? Posted: 14 Jun 2014 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Guilds, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Developing and growing a guild can be a formidable challenge, especially if an MMO doesn't provide adequate tools for recruitment (hint hint, studios). There are many ways to go about it, from word-of-mouth to posts on the official forums. But I've noticed that one tactic that certain guilds use is to spam recruitment messages over and over in lowbie zones and city centers. This... started to really bug me the other day while playing WildStar. Seeing a message once was fine. Seeing the same message every five or 10 minutes felt like there was an annoying alarm clock that kept going off and the only way to shut it up was the ignore button. Does guild recruitment annoy you? What are some dos and don'ts that guilds should follow in this regard?  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: Does guild recruitment annoy you? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Star Trek Online opens up Hearts and Minds for one day only Posted: 13 Jun 2014 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi, Events (In-Game), News Items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Subscription It's Friday the 13th today, the most ominous of all day-and-date combinations. (Tuesday the 21st doesn't have a horror film series named after it.) Star Trek Online is celebrating as a result by giving players access to a special mini-episode, Hearts and Minds, an irregularly visited mission that is available to players only until 9 a.m. EDT on June 14th. Players who choose to take part in the mission are sent to investigate a Vulcan doctor and see just what happens when some unconventional research goes a bit too far. The mission is short and is meant to be creepy rather than gruesome, a quick vignette for any captains above level 10. You can also get a special reward for taking part, although you might feel a bit... unsettled afterward. Star Trek Online opens up Hearts and Minds for one day only originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Betawatch: June 7 - 13, 2014 Posted: 13 Jun 2014 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Business Models, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous, Crowdfunding In-testing MMO Shroud of the Avatar raised eyebrows this week with an update that retooled pledge tiers to arguably give crowdfunders considerable sandbox advantages in return for piles of money. What else is new in the land of MMO testing? The full Betawatch roundup awaits! Continue reading Betawatch: June 7 - 13, 2014 Betawatch: June 7 - 13, 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Fallen Earth discusses the state of the game in June Posted: 13 Jun 2014 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Fallen Earth, Patches, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox The Outpost isn't just a new player-created town; it's also the first peek that players in Fallen Earth will have of Alpha County and how different the landscape there really is. A new development blog has just gone live discussing where the Outpost update is in terms of development, including why it's taken so long to get the update pushed to live. In short? Because during internal testing the area was shooting server stability to pieces, and the team had to step back and fix those issues. While the blog still doesn't offer a definitive date for the update, it does note that the server issues from before have largely been corrected at this point, so players can look forward to testing the content soon. While the team would prefer the update be live already, it won't take long to finish if testing goes well. Read more about the structure of the region itself in the official update. Fallen Earth discusses the state of the game in June originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Defiance returns to Syfy next week, features game loot codes Posted: 13 Jun 2014 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Culture, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Defiance Defiance fans, season two of the TV show starts next week! Not only that, but Trion and Syfy are teaming up to offer free game loot codes which will air during each broadcast. If you're in the U.S. or Canada, mark your calendars for the premiere episode on June 19th at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Viewers in Australia, Brazil, Latin America, German, and parts of Europe can tune in on Friday, June 20th. Defiance returns to Syfy next week, features game loot codes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| RIFT's Temporal Flux returns through June 18 Posted: 13 Jun 2014 03:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (In-Game), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, RIFT RIFT's Temporal Flux event has returned, and it's brought with it a new quest, vault, and mechanized mount. Players level 30 and up can speak to Planar Research Institute reps in Sanctum, Meridian, and Tempest Bay to pick up daily quests, while players of all levels can scour the game world for Temporal Flux rifts. RIFT's Temporal Flux returns through June 18 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2014: Hands-on with EVE Valkyrie and a chat about Legion Posted: 13 Jun 2014 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Previews, Opinion, Hands-On, MMOFPS, First Impressions, Events (Massively's Coverage), Sandbox, Virtual Reality Why does the guy who gets motion sickness keep getting sent out into space!? Someone on Massively's staff is really looking out for you guys and gals with weak stomachs because once again I was sent to chat with CCP about EVE universe stuff and take an Oculus Rift for a spin at this year's E3. Spoiler alert: I managed to keep down my breakfast and have fun. First up was EVE Valkyrie, the virtual reality game that this time last year was still known as EVR. While the game looked a bit familiar, there were certainly some differences. First is the addition of Rán (it sounds like "roun"). Rán is sort of the first Valkyrie and your trainer, acting as sort of your flight instructor and mission debriefer, who helped give me a sense of setting. EVR was fun before, no doubt, but it was a stripped-down flight simulator (not a bad thing). Having a narrator makes it feel more like a game. The addition of some brighter and bolder colors helps boost immersion too. Continue reading E3 2014: Hands-on with EVE Valkyrie and a chat about Legion E3 2014: Hands-on with EVE Valkyrie and a chat about Legion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Take a look at DC Universe Online's survival mode Posted: 13 Jun 2014 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Video, Game Mechanics, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, Consoles, DC Universe Online DC Universe Online is gearing up to make survivors out of its players. That's kind of the whole focus of the game's upcoming survival mode, which sets players against waves of enemies in a test of endurance and persistence. So what does it look like in action? Well, you can check that out in a fan video just past the break showing off 11 minutes of action in the survival mode on the test server. The footage in question isn't the group's full run of survival mode, just a shot at a full group clearing through the first round and some of the second to give viewers a sense of how it works. There's also some mild cursing in the video, so you might not want to turn your speakers up to full if you're watching this at work. But if you haven't jumped on the test server and you want to see what it'll be like to stand against the hordes as long as you can, just jump on past the break. Continue reading Take a look at DC Universe Online's survival mode Take a look at DC Universe Online's survival mode originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2014: Hands-on with Swordsman and Dawn of the Immortals Posted: 13 Jun 2014 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Mobile, Hands-On, First Impressions, MMORPG I have a problem: I like a lot of the mechanics in Wuxia games like Age of Wushu, but I have trouble getting into them. Perfect World Entertainment's Swordsman Online, while lacking some of the mechanics of AoW, might have a mixture that catches people off-guard. And while you're off-guard, PWE's Dawn of the Immortals might come in and show you how the world of mobile MMOs is starting to progress. I had a look at both Swordsman Online and Dawn of the Immortals at this year's E3. Read on! Continue reading E3 2014: Hands-on with Swordsman and Dawn of the Immortals E3 2014: Hands-on with Swordsman and Dawn of the Immortals originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| E3 2014: EVE: Valkyrie gameplay trailer brings war to the stars Posted: 13 Jun 2014 01:00 PM PDT |
| E3 2014: Fighting car bosses in Ubisoft's The Crew Posted: 13 Jun 2014 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Real-Life, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, Previews, Opinion, Hands-On, Consoles, Races, Events (Massively's Coverage) I still can't believe racing MMOs are a thing. I know some people say they're just racing games and not proper MMOs, but once you get inside something like The Crew, you'll find a lot of interesting stuff. I demoed Ubisoft's persistent-world racer at last year's E3, and this year's hands-on revealed some changes for the better. Continue reading E3 2014: Fighting car bosses in Ubisoft's The Crew E3 2014: Fighting car bosses in Ubisoft's The Crew originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Yoshida to Microsoft: FFXIV on Xbox One 'needs to happen' Posted: 13 Jun 2014 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, Subscription Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida is lobbying Microsoft to allow the fantasy MMORPG on its Xbox One console. "We really want to do an Xbox One version," Yoshida told Pocket Lint. "The thing is, A Realm Reborn is all about cross-platform compatibility. Anybody from any platform can play together. We don't want to split our community into people who play on this platform or play on that one. So we're currently in talks with Microsoft, trying to convince them that this is what needs to happen." While Yoshida did not reveal how his Microsoft talks are going, he did say that Square's plans for a FFXIV Mac client are underway. Yoshida to Microsoft: FFXIV on Xbox One 'needs to happen' originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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