MMO Updates |
- The Guild Counsel: Looking at loneliness in guild leadership
- Why I Play: World of Tanks
- Age of Conan dev update talks new armor, crafting components from PvP loot
- The Summoner's Guidebook: Good team composition for League of Legends Dominion
- The Daily Grind: Do you like stylized visuals?
- EverQuest II adds Krono tokens to store
- MMO Family: What Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures should borrow from the SOE stable
- Free for All: Casual is as hardcore does and the daily gaming list
- Aion 4.0 introduces new region of Katalam
- World of Tanks patches in the Royal Tank Corps
- Enter at Your Own Rift: Weathering the tempest
- WildStar Wednesday - Shade's Eve
- Of MonsterZ and Men: Hands-on with RaiderZ
- Funcom may incorporate new Schwarzenegger Conan film elements into AoC
- Choose My Adventure: Guild Wars 2, Tyria and beyond
| The Guild Counsel: Looking at loneliness in guild leadership Posted: 01 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous  Running a guild is unusually lonely. If you look at other roles that involve leadership skills, like coaching, running a business, or teaching a class, there are lots of resources and opportunities to meet with peers and share advice. For guild leaders, there are a few places to seek counsel, but given the number of games, and the massive number of guilds overall (and when I use guild, I'm using it as a catchall for online communities like clans, corps, etc.), there just aren't many outlets that share tips on guild management. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at some reasons why guild leaders live such an isolated life, and take a look at a few ways to help break down the walls. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Looking at loneliness in guild leadership
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| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, PvP, Opinion, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks, MOBA, Why I Play  So you'd think that a game like World of Tanks, in which victory is based heavily on your skill with a massive gun, would be a turn-off for me. After all, where's the fun in sitting in a smoldering heap while your team attempts to make up for your buffoonery? What exactly is enjoyable about getting repeatedly reduced to scrap metal? Sit back a spell and I'll tell you. This is why I play World of Tanks. Continue reading Why I Play: World of Tanks
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| Age of Conan dev update talks new armor, crafting components from PvP loot Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Crafting  There's a good bit of space devoted to new armor creation (including some nifty concept shots and a blurb about upcoming vanity sets). Morrison also says that the team is on track schedule-wise, but there are no dates to report beyond what we already knew about the first of the Dragon's Spine stuff at the end of 2012. He does mention an interesting tidbit with regard to the crafting revamp and the different ways to obtain ingredients under the new system. "We mentioned in the stream that some ingredients would drop from player loot. That is indeed the plan, and we want the next sets of PVP items and armor to be gained in part from actual conquests on the battlefield, so an important component of the new system will be that some ingredients required for some of the new PVP items will only come from killing other players."
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| The Summoner's Guidebook: Good team composition for League of Legends Dominion Posted: 01 Nov 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook  I've been playing a lot of Dominion lately, and as many readers of the Summoner's Guidebook know, it's the gametype I focus my skills on. I try to build knowledge of League of Legends' other maps, including Summoner's Rift and the Proving Grounds/ARAM, but Dominion is definitely my focus right now (I haven't played much of the beta Twisted Treeline, so coverage of that will have to wait). One thing that really bothers me about Dominion, particularly as I creep into high level play, is that people still randomly pick champions without regard for a strategy. While I do think my overall skill has improved a lot, a major reason that I win 60-70% of my matches is because I look for where my team is deficient and pick a champion to cover that area. As you escalate into the intermediate levels of Dominion skill, a good arsenal of champions to fill roles can be a huge asset. This week, we'll look at some of the possible roles and compositions and some good champions to pick up to fill those roles. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Good team composition for League of Legends Dominion
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| The Daily Grind: Do you like stylized visuals? Posted: 01 Nov 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind, WildStar  Except for that whole cartoon aesthetic. Sci-fi to me is cold, dark, and grungy with a side of heavy metal, and while I don't know what the proper artistic label for WildStar's visual palette is -- maybe "stylized" -- I know it's not my first choice. If the gameplay and feature sets are solid, it will likely grow on me. As it stands now, though, it's uncomfortably close to World of Warcraft and the cringe-worthy look of those Star Wars' Clone Wars shorts. What about you, folks, do you like stylized MMO visuals or do you prefer a different approach?  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!
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| EverQuest II adds Krono tokens to store Posted: 31 Oct 2012 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Culture, Game mechanics, News items, Free-to-play  Yes, it's taking a page from EVE Online and TERA, allowing players to purchase a month of subscription status to trade to others as desired. The rollout to EverQuest II is part of a trial, and if successful Sony Online Entertainment plans to expand Krono functionality to other games. So if you've got plenty of real-world money and want a chance to trade someone time, you might want to jump in and grab hold of the newest addition to the game.
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| MMO Family: What Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures should borrow from the SOE stable Posted: 31 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Casual, Free Realms, MMO Family, Clone Wars Adventures  Over the past year or so, we've seen an increase in the cross-over of ideas among the various SOE titles, and the announcement of Player Studio in several MMOs is just the latest example of a shift towards centralizing things. With all of the news about upcoming titles and new approaches to future design, there's plenty that could work well in Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures (and in kid-friendly MMOs in general!) In this week's MMO Family, let's look at what Free Realms and CWA could borrow from other SOE MMOs.
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| Free for All: Casual is as hardcore does and the daily gaming list Posted: 31 Oct 2012 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Humor, DC Universe Online, Free for All, Battlestar Galactica Online, Dragon Nest  For me, personally, I would rather skip the whole discussion and just talk about how I play casually. I can list hours played and titles accessed, but I think it would be a better idea to sketch out a rough but typical day or week in my household to illustrate just how someone who considers himself casual is actually quite committed. Does that mean I am hardcore in certain cases? I don't care anymore, frankly. What I care about is seeing if how I play is completely alien or if there are other players out there who love to do what I do. Let's call it a cry for help... or at least information. Continue reading Free for All: Casual is as hardcore does and the daily gaming list
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| Aion 4.0 introduces new region of Katalam Posted: 31 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries  Aion's 4.0 patch has been getting more and more interesting ever since NCsoft hinted that it would bring three new classes into the game. We've since learned about the Troubadour and the Gunslinger, but 4.0 is about more than just classes. An official news post today introduced a new region that will be coming in 4.0. Katalam, a lush, verdant region will be awaiting players once the patch hits. In addition to the name, the news post showed off some concept art featuring a mountainside fortress, a plains fortress, some old temple-lookin' thing, and a flying fortress. We don't know anything else about the region yet, but hit up Katalam's introduction to drool over the scenery for yourself.
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| World of Tanks patches in the Royal Tank Corps Posted: 31 Oct 2012 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Patches, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks, MOBA  Update 8.1 introduces 22 new vehicles from the British, including heavy, medium, and light tanks. The British medium and light tanks have an advantage in speed, although they lack the punch of their contemporaries. Players will also find better-looking areas for several of the maps when the game finishes patching. The update is currently available for European players and will make its way to North America tomorrow. You can check out the update trailer after the jump! [Source: Wargaming.net press release] Continue reading World of Tanks patches in the Royal Tank Corps
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: Weathering the tempest Posted: 31 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Events, in-game, Expansions, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift  That is to say, I've been running around in circles yelling, "GUYZ! WHERE IS QUEST-GIVEY PERSON?" to my guildies, taking loads of screenshots to test the storage capacity of my hard drive, and occasionally trolling general chat by inviting people to my "personal dimension." It's what I do best. While it's not quite over -- as of the time of this writing, it's just moved into phase three of four -- Tempest Rising is unique in RIFT's canon of world events. It's the first and only one that's served as a direct prologue to the single biggest content addition to the game, and it has to be spot-on with introducing the lore and conflict coming to the world. How's it going so far? Let's take a look. Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Weathering the tempest
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| WildStar Wednesday - Shade's Eve Posted: 31 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, WildStar  The devs have released a spooky lore entry for this week's Halloween edition of WildStar Wednesday, and it seems the sci-fantasy title has its own spin on the holiday called Shade's Eve. As the story goes, the original settlers of the planet Cassus became infected with a virulent spacer's plague that decimated their population. The plague has since been personified as the sinister Jack Shade, and the young girl whose blood was used to make a vaccine became known as the Angel. Read the full story after the cut. Continue reading WildStar Wednesday - Shade's Eve
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| Of MonsterZ and Men: Hands-on with RaiderZ Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Reviews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on  The other night as I was perusing the interwebs for new and interesting things on which to waste my time, I was struck with a craving. I suddenly found myself wanting to get my hands on a good ol'-fashioned hack-and-slash, preferably of the massively multiplayer variety. As I wracked my brain for a game that would satiate my hunger, I remembered RaiderZ. I had a bit of time at PAX Prime to fiddle around with the game between appointments, and I thought it could be just the thing I was looking for. As luck would have it, Perfect World Entertainment was selling RaiderZ founders' packs for the low low price of 30 bucks, and since I have all the impulse control of a gnat I decided to go ahead and pick one up so I could jump into the game's head start. Since then, I've logged something to the tune of 15 to 20-ish hours bashing in the skulls of a variety of nasty creatures, and I've got a few things to say. If you've got nothing better to do, how about jumping past the cut and listening to me rant? Continue reading Of MonsterZ and Men: Hands-on with RaiderZ
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| Funcom may incorporate new Schwarzenegger Conan film elements into AoC Posted: 31 Oct 2012 10:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  Yep, the Governator is set to play everyone's favorite Cimmerian savage for the first time in 30 years, and ostensibly this latest flick will take its cue from the quick shot of an older Conan atop the Aquilonian throne at the end of 1981's Conan the Barbarian. Age of Conan executive producer Craig Morrison responded to the announcement by saying that Funcom has a great relationship with license distributor Paradox and so some sort of AoC tie-in could well happen. Funcom's Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack expanded on the ideas and locations presented in last year's Conan film, and the firm also made gear from the picture available in-game. "It's a little too early to tell what form that [a new movie tie-in] will take, but we will have some great opportunities with this as it all comes together," Morrison wrote on the AoC forums. "We are definitely looking forward to seeing what we will be able to do alongside it. With a 2014 release we will have plenty of time to be working on how to best take advantage of another movie." [Thanks to Duffy for the tip!]
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| Choose My Adventure: Guild Wars 2, Tyria and beyond Posted: 31 Oct 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Choose My Adventure  My illusion-shattering Mesmer made its first steps into Metrica Province. I didn't want to accomplish too much without you voting for me, but I did want to get the cube spinning. Check out my initial adventures after the break be sure to and vote on next week's polls which cover weapons, zones, and more. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Guild Wars 2, Tyria and beyond
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