MMO Updates

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• NCsoft 3Q report shows GW2 at top of global sales
• Hammerpoint delaying The War Z clan features, focusing on hackers
• EVE Online player gets fit to look like his avatar
• Reto-Moto partners with Square Enix to publish Heroes & Generals
• Here's another impressive Bless trailer, this time with a huge world boss
• World of Tanks rolls out Chinese armor for Update 8.2
• Leaked dev blog: Bungie's Destiny project 'still quite like Halo'
• EverQuest II does away with coin limitations on accounts
• The Daily Grind: Which underground area do you like the most?
• Jukebox Heroes: Rusty Hearts' soundtrack
• SWTOR executive producer reveals the state of the game
• Sevencore's Shadow Crusade update incorporates new class and race
• Taikodom pops into open beta
• David Braben is kickstarting a new multiplayer Elite sequel
• Blizzard shows parental controls for World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and StarCraft II
• Massively Speaking Episode 223: Island vacation getaway
• EVE Online maps out 2013 balance changes
• Massively Exclusive: Hailan Rising's devs on PvP, death, and player loot tables
• Anarchy Online dev update talks new engine, server migrations, and more
• En Masse reveals a friendlier free trial with TERA's Discovery Edition
• New PlanetSide 2 video features Terran Republic's Black Widow Company
• Hyperspace Beacon: Returning to SWTOR

NCsoft 3Q report shows GW2 at top of global sales Posted: 07 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Guild Wars, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play, Blade & Soul NCsoft -- the publisher responsible for two Guild Wars games, Blade & Soul, and Aion -- has seen significant growth over the past fiscal quarter, thanks to the successful launch of Guild Wars 2. The company's 3Q 2012 earnings report released earlier today shows a hefty increase in sales, profit, and income compared not only to the previous quarter, but the entire year. The report also offers a breakdown of sales by region as well as sales by games. While overall sales in Korea far outnumber sales in the North America or Europe, the availability of GW2 globally could be what put that game at the top of the sales list ahead of Blade & Soul, which is only available in Korea. You can see a detailed breakdown on the graphs after the break. To get a look at all the numbers, you can download the PDF file. Continue reading NCsoft 3Q report shows GW2 at top of global sales NCsoft 3Q report shows GW2 at top of global sales originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: NCsoft earnings reports Via: MMO Culture

Hammerpoint delaying The War Z clan features, focusing on hackers Posted: 07 Nov 2012 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Horror, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox The War Z is a hot topic in gaming circles these days, and Hammerpoint's zombie-centric sandbox is starting to see an increase in shady player activity as its user base grows. The dev team has acknowledged the need to devote time and resources to dealing with hackers, and as a result some of the title's feature development is temporarily going on the back burner. "As I'm sure all of you are aware, there [have] been a lot of discussion lately surrounding the hackers," Hammerpoint wrote on its forums. "Over here we've been working round the clock on a solution -- however, that's meant we've had to push back clans a bit, so it's looking more like next week. We're also investigating a number of bugs, such as the ability to glitch onto roofs, and item duplication." Hammerpoint delaying The War Z clan features, focusing on hackers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Reddit Via: FPS General

EVE Online player gets fit to look like his avatar Posted: 07 Nov 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, News items, Sandbox Going from virtual to reality, one EVE Online player is bucking the stereotype of gamers as lazy couch potatoes by using his in-game avatar game as inspiration to get fit and change his life. Marcus Dickinson, a self-proclaimed roleplayer, hit the gym and changed his eating habits in an effort to better resemble his EVE persona Roc Wieler, a retired military colonel with an imposing visage and impressive discipline. And the hard work has paid off; Dickinson has toned up and trimmed down. What instigated the transformation? Dickinson noted that Roc Wieler is a brand, with his own blog and even merchandise for fans. However, a trip to Iceland for EVE Online FanFest in 2009 was a wake-up call; Dickinson said he felt nothing like Roc, but just a stereotypical geek. "Something snapped inside me, and I realized I wasn't being true to my brand. Why can't I be this character? Why can't I look like this?" Using that as his inspiration, Dickinson changed his lifestyle and now does look more like Roc -- right down to the shades. EVE Online player gets fit to look like his avatar originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: CNN

Reto-Moto partners with Square Enix to publish Heroes & Generals Posted: 07 Nov 2012 07:45 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Historical, Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, War, Free-to-play, Browser It's been a while since we last reported on Heroes & Generals. The free-to-play World War II shooter is alive and well, though. As of yesterday, it's even sporting a new publishing arrangement with gaming behemoth Square Enix. Heroes & Generals is being developed by Reto-Moto, a danish firm founded by the creators of the ultra-successful Hitman series. The game mixes squad-based first-person shooter combat with a deep tactical mode, and it does so with state-of-the-art visuals and a browser-based delivery method. H&G is also renowned for the amount of community feedback its developers solicit (and act upon), and Reto-Moto says that partnering with a big publisher won't change that. "We'll continue to run a community-driven development [environment], and the main difference to how we've run things so far is that Square Enix will be handling marketing and PR. Oh, and we'll also be able to deliver a lot more content and expand the game a lot faster," the firm says. [Thanks to Reesracer for the tip!] Reto-Moto partners with Square Enix to publish Heroes & Generals originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Here's another impressive Bless trailer, this time with a huge world boss Posted: 07 Nov 2012 07:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items Another day, another new Bless trailer from G-Star 2012. This time around it's a two-and-a-half-minute clip that's heavy on action, combat, and the game's stunning fantasy visuals. Steparu reports that in spite of all the eye candy, the trailer is composed entirely of in-game footage. Said footage includes a range of AI mobs and powerful player avatars as well as a slew of varied environments and a truly massive world boss. See for yourself after the break. Continue reading Here's another impressive Bless trailer, this time with a huge world boss Here's another impressive Bless trailer, this time with a huge world boss originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Steparu

World of Tanks rolls out Chinese armor for Update 8.2 Posted: 07 Nov 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Historical, Galleries, Screenshots, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks In today's installment of world-conquering updates to World of Tanks, Wargaming has announced details for a new line of Chinese tanks. Update 8.2 will bring to the game 17 armored vehicles (some that never saw production) plus the Chinese tech tree that will consist of modified versions of the Soviet, French, British, and American tanks. Because Chinese tanks were mostly modifications of existing foreign tanks, they represent the best traits of each, including the maneuverability of the Americans, the accuracy of the Brits, the rapid firing of the French, and sheer power of the Soviets. Update 8.2 will also bring an overhauled rendering and lighting system to four maps in addition to five new tanks to the American tech tree. Be sure to check out the gallery below with the tech tree, screenshots, renders, and artwork, and a video trailer after the cut. Gallery: World of Tanks Continue reading World of Tanks rolls out Chinese armor for Update 8.2 World of Tanks rolls out Chinese armor for Update 8.2 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Official site

Leaked dev blog: Bungie's Destiny project 'still quite like Halo' Posted: 07 Nov 2012 06:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play Remember Bungie? Its Halo franchise helped define the console shooter genre, and even though it surrendered the IP to Microsoft and had nothing to do with this week's ginormous Halo 4 release, the firm is still on our radar. That's because its Destiny project is still in full swing, and Kotaku has published excerpts from an internal Demonware blog, the author of which got some hands-on time with the game at a recent company function. So, wait, who or what is Demonware? It's a development firm that "handles online infrastructure for Activision's titles and also lists Bungie" as a partner, Kotaku says. In any event, a senior Demonware employee wrote the following on the company blog (which has since been removed): "This is not a dedicated server game, but there is some simulation and coordination running in their server infrastructure. The game was up and down a lot, playing in a team of three we did manage to experience entering a zone to find other players already taking on the bad guys. It's cooperative so we helped out [...] before both groups went their separate ways." The author went on to compare the game's "sense of exploration" to Elite, and he also said that Destiny is "still quite like Halo." Leaked dev blog: Bungie's Destiny project 'still quite like Halo' originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Kotaku Via: Joystiq

EverQuest II does away with coin limitations on accounts Posted: 07 Nov 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, Patches, News items, Free-to-play Recently, EverQuest II introduced Krono, tokens that can be redeemed for subscription time in the game. In theory, this meant that players who were normally free players could purchase game time with in-game currency. However, there was a practical problem with this -- players who purchased Krono tokens weren't exactly giving them away on the cheap, and free players were limited to a currency cap that made purchasing the game time impossible in practice if not in theory. The most recent game update contains a number of balance tweaks and bugfixes, but the most relevant portion is the abolition of the coin limit, allowing players both free and subscribed to earn money without an upward limit. This gives free players the ability to earn the money they need to buy game time, and it gives players buying Krono tokens a new market for these little bits of time. Everybody comes out on top, except for the monsters that will inevitably be slaughtered to fund these time-related antics. EverQuest II does away with coin limitations on accounts originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: EQ2 update notes

The Daily Grind: Which underground area do you like the most? Posted: 07 Nov 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous I'm far too prone to claustrophobia in real life to attempt any sort of spelunking (plus I saw The Descent, which solidified that feeling), but I'm the opposite in MMOs. I love exploring underground regions in games, whether they be little hidey-holes for Hobbits or grand cities that never see the sunlight. As of late, I've come to greatly appreciate the wide variety of caves and caverns in Guild Wars 2, all of which manage to be interesting without feeling restrictive or overly rock-themed. It feels like we've come a long way from some MMOs' ideas of underground usage (I'm looking at you, City of Heroes, and your oh-so-bland caves). Obviously, the topic du jour is MMO underground areas and which ones you like the most. Lay it on us where the sun doesn't shine, OK? 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: Which underground area do you like the most? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Jukebox Heroes: Rusty Hearts' soundtrack Posted: 06 Nov 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Free-to-play, Jukebox Heroes Rusty Hearts might not be on your radar, particularly when it comes to great MMO music, but it really should be. It was one of the first titles recommended to me when I began this column a couple of months ago, and I've been looking forward to covering it ever since. This Korean hack-'n'-slasher has eschewed the typical high-fantasy soundtrack for one that's part piano sonatas and part pedal-to-the-metal rock. It completely kicks major tushie, in case I mince words from here on out. You're going to hear these tracks and have a hard time meshing it in your head with "MMO" -- that is, unless you've played Rusty Hearts itself. It took some digging to figure out who did this soundtrack. All I could find was this web page, which has defeated my rusty (har) grasp of Korean. It does look like the studio's handled several regional titles, and if its work on Rusty Hearts is any representation, then I probably need to check out the rest of its library. Let's crank up the volume to 11, folks, and jam to some righteous melodies! Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Rusty Hearts' soundtrack Jukebox Heroes: Rusty Hearts' soundtrack originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SWTOR executive producer reveals the state of the game Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Free-to-play, Star Wars: The Old Republic Players have been anxiously waiting to hear how Star Wars: The Old Republic is fairing -- straight from the tauntaun's mouth, as it were. Executive Producer Jeff Hickman jumped to the official website earlier today to specifically address player concerns. Players have been curious as to why certain developers have left. They wanted to know why so many bugs passed through Update 1.4. And finally, Oceanic players are concerned about their server populations. Hickman explained in the post that a studio like BioWare and a game like SWTOR "live on and thrive as we change, actually thrive because we change," implying that developers leaving are a natural part of studio evolution. He was quick to note that key players like Creative Director James Ohlen are still around to "carry the banner of BioWare." Regarding the 1.4 bugs, he was quick to note that designing and testing a large game like SWTOR is very complex. However, the QA team has put in new measures to help catch future issues like those seen in the last update. He said, "We will strive to give you the best, high quality, bug-free experience that we can." Lastly, the Oceanic players are still a concern for the developers, but the free-to-play update will hopefully change the population of the Oceanic servers. Hickman explained that he wants to hold out to see what F2P brings before making a final decision regarding these servers. SWTOR executive producer reveals the state of the game originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: SWTOR State of the Game

Sevencore's Shadow Crusade update incorporates new class and race Posted: 06 Nov 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Patches, PvP, Free-to-play, Races Fledgling MMO Sevencore passed through a significant rite of passage today by releasing its first update, Shadow Crusade. The fantasy/sci-fi title, which launched last month, is fleshing out its content offerings with a new class, an additional race, crafting changes, and a PvP arena. New to the game is the Assassin class, a melee fighter that relies on high chances to crit and dodge. Assassins use daggers and dual claws, which give the option for single- or multi-target attacks, respectively. Shadowcore is also adding the diminutive but powerful Aimon race. Aimon characters get a boost to their mounts' energy and have a faster out-of-combat health regen. Finally, Shadow Crusade is looking to make waves with a 5v5 PvP arena, a new zone, a level cap increase to 95, and a new type of crafting that combines old gear to make better items. [Source: gPotato press release] Sevencore's Shadow Crusade update incorporates new class and race originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Taikodom pops into open beta Posted: 06 Nov 2012 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Free-to-play, Promotions Are you itching for some fast-and-furious space warfare? Missing your fix after Black Prophecy shutdown? Then you're prime to experience Taikodom: Living Universe, which has leaped into open beta. The sci-fi shooter is now being distributed through GamersFirst. Reloaded Games' CMO Rahul Sandil says he's "stoked" to include Taikodom into the company's roster and promises dozens of additional titles in the coming year. Taikodom is also offering three founder's packages. These packages range from $9 to $49 and include benefits such as in-game items, unique achievements, and lifetime VIP status. [Source: GamersFirst press release] Taikodom pops into open beta originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

David Braben is kickstarting a new multiplayer Elite sequel Posted: 06 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, PvE, Sandbox Elite and its sequel Frontier: Elite II were arguably two of the most influential early space games ever made. They dropped the player into an immense sci-fi sandbox with just a tiny ship and a handful of credits. You could work your way up to larger and larger hauling ships, fight off pirates intent on taking your loot, travel the stars in search of lucrative deals or just wormhole into deep space. If that sounds familiar, it's because Elite was part of the inspiration for sci-fi MMO EVE Online. Space in Frontier was especially deep, with a full-scale galaxy containing 100 billion stars and several empires with their own legal systems and trading outposts. Players could choose to raid other ships or play it straight, mining moons, scooping fuel from gas giants, and landing on planets to survey them for materials. The magic that made this colossal universe possible was procedural generation and some incredibly good programming by developer David Braben. Today David took to Kickstarter to launch possibly the most anticipated sequel in the history of sci-fi sandbox games. Elite: Dangerous promises a Frontier-style sandbox with modern 3D graphics, a ton more content, and a seamless peer-to-peer multiplayer experience with no lobbies. Whether this will qualify as an MMO or not remains to be seen, but the project promises to blur the line between what is and isn't massively multiplayer. David Braben is kickstarting a new multiplayer Elite sequel originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Elite: Dangerous on Kickstarter

Blizzard shows parental controls for World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and StarCraft II Posted: 06 Nov 2012 01:30 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Video, Culture, MMO industry, Kids, Diablo III MMOs and other online games have such a wide appeal that they attract players of all ages. Some MMOs simply add a minimum age requirement to the signup process and advise parents not to let their children play, but others implement strict parental controls. Blizzard recently released a new video explaining the parental controls that parents can use to monitor and control their childrens' play time in World of Warcraft, Diablo III and StarCraft II. Parents can use the system to limit the total number of hours an account can play each day or week or even schedule specific play times on a calendar. The controls can also limit the use of RealID and voice chat and even mute all of the game's chat channels if necessary. Parents can also disable Diablo III's real money auction house and use of the Blizzard forums. WoW Insider suggests that parental controls may actually be equally useful to students who need to limit their play time or any player who might want a weekly report of his activity. Read on to see the full video and find out how to use parental controls on your child's Battle.net account. Continue reading Blizzard shows parental controls for World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and StarCraft II Blizzard shows parental controls for World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and StarCraft II originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: WoW Insider

Massively Speaking Episode 223: Island vacation getaway Posted: 06 Nov 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Podcasts, MMO industry, News items, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous Justin and Lis are packing their bags and setting out on Tyria Cruise Lines for destinations unknown! Even dedicated MMO players need a vacation once in a while, so why not abandon the life of slaughter for a respite on a beautiful beach somewhere? That always sounds good, of course, until one starts to wonder if that crab over there will drop any good loot... Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes. Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 223: Island vacation getaway Massively Speaking Episode 223: Island vacation getaway originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

EVE Online maps out 2013 balance changes Posted: 06 Nov 2012 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Previews, Dev Diaries, Sandbox With changes to Retribution ships scheduled to land in EVE Online on December 4th, the dev team is already casting its sights to 2013 for additional tweaks to other tiers of ships. In a new dev blog, CCP lays out its detailed plans for ship balancing come the new year. According to the team, battlecruisers are next in line for adjustments, followed by battleships. While the devs have a lot of changes in mind for the former, they're largely happy with the state of the latter and plan only small shifts in their current role. The post includes a handy chart which shows how all of the tech 1 ships will relate to each other when these changes are finalized. The post also elaborates on new skill requirements when all of this is said and done, as well as eventual plans to tackle tier 2 and 3 ships. EVE Online maps out 2013 balance changes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Ship balance dev diary

Massively Exclusive: Hailan Rising's devs on PvP, death, and player loot tables Posted: 06 Nov 2012 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews Hailan Rising is more than halfway through its Kickstarter campaign with quite a long trek still to go for funding, but we took a good look at the game's description and really liked what we saw. It's a game that is labeling itself as "DAoC meets CoD" and being developed by some important industry vets. But as with any Kickstarter project, there are always questions. We see what's being promised with the game, but we want to know more. So we gathered together a few of our biggest concerns for the Reloaded Productions team to see what this thing is all about. As Kickstarter projects are still a dime a dozen these days, we want to know what sets the team's game apart from the rest. Follow along after the cut for our interview with Adam Smith and Jess Mulligan from Reloaded Productions. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Hailan Rising's devs on PvP, death, and player loot tables Massively Exclusive: Hailan Rising's devs on PvP, death, and player loot tables originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Anarchy Online dev update talks new engine, server migrations, and more Posted: 06 Nov 2012 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Anarchy Online, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play There's a new monthly development update for Anarchy Online on the game's official forums. It's a fairly lengthy read, but then again there's a lot going on with Funcom's long-running sci-fi MMO. First of all, the devs are extending Halloween festivities through November 12th due to Hurricane Sandy. The team is also finalizing its scripts for the upcoming server migration, and work continues on the much-anticipated Dreamworld engine upgrade. New character models, animations, textures, and mesh armors are all on the table, and Funcom says it's "in the home stretch" on the project as a whole. Finally, this month's letter touches on AO's Steam presence as well as Funcom's plans for upgrading the new player experience. Read all about it on the game's official forums. Anarchy Online dev update talks new engine, server migrations, and more originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev update

En Masse reveals a friendlier free trial with TERA's Discovery Edition Posted: 06 Nov 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, TERA En Masse Entertainment has taken the wraps off a new trial program for its fantasy MMORPG, TERA.The Discovery Edition is an improvement of the previous version that increases the level cap and removes the seven-day restriction. To sign up, you'll need an En Masse account and not much else. There are some limitations, however, chief among them a 200-gold cap, two characters per server, a level cap of 28, and max gathering and crafting skills of 150 and 100, respectively. There are also a few chat restrictions. You can see them, as well as the rest of the Discovery Edition specifics, at the official TERA website. [Thanks to Davey for the tip!] En Masse reveals a friendlier free trial with TERA's Discovery Edition originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

New PlanetSide 2 video features Terran Republic's Black Widow Company Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 If you've got an outfit that's gearing up for war in PlanetSide 2, you might as well try to get yourselves featured on one of Sony Online Entertainment's press videos. The latest such boasts one Black Widow Company, a Terran Republic guild that's taking the fight to the New Conglomerate and the Vanu Sovereignty on the front lines of Auraxis' neverending war. PlanetSide 2 launches on November 20th, and SOE intends it to bring massive sci-fi combat back to MMOs on a scale not seen since the original PlanetSide launched in 2003. [Source: SOE press release] Continue reading New PlanetSide 2 video features Terran Republic's Black Widow Company New PlanetSide 2 video features Terran Republic's Black Widow Company originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hyperspace Beacon: Returning to SWTOR Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-play, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guides, Hyperspace Beacon With Update 1.5 and free-to-play looming on the Star Wars: The Old Republic horizon, many players are feeling the itch to come back to the game. Two and half years ago when I started the Hyperspace Beacon, I compared that itch to that of a freshly shaved Wookiee. Now it can probably be compared to a Gungan rash. But it's still there; you still have to scratch it. Unanswered questions remain. Has BioWare fixed the launch issues? Is there a compelling reason to play every day? And probably the biggest question of them all: Is free-to-play going to make SWTOR worth coming back to? Personally, I'd like to answer yes to all those questions, but I can truly speak only for myself. If you want a real answer, you're going to have to come back to try it. Hyperspace beacons in the Star Wars lore are stationary probes that navicomputers lock on to so that starships speeding through hyperspace don't crash into a star, planet, or other celestial object. Today, this column will be your guide through the reaches of internet-space so that you can find the information you need to get back into the Star Wars MMORPG. Angle the deflector shields as I boot up the navicomputer. We will make stops around the best fan sites for news, guides, and community building. If you've been away for a while, you'll notice that galaxy-scape has changed, but I will show you the new landmarks. If you're ready, punch it, Chewie! Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Returning to SWTOR Hyperspace Beacon: Returning to SWTOR originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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