MMO Updates |
- BioWare releases Makeb first-look video for SWTOR's upcoming expansion
- MMO Family: Why Catfish is a term your kids should know
- Blizzard 'actively working' on All-Stars MOBA
- Reminiscing about Warhammer Online with Mark Jacobs
- Enter at Your Own Rift: Dungeon review, part 1
- The Daily Grind: What's your favorite long-cooldown skill?
- Path of Exile explains its open beta transition
- Scott Hartsman leaving Trion Worlds
- Jukebox Heroes: Eleven MMO soundtracks you can get for free
- The Soapbox: Can we reward fun over persistence?
- Massively Speaking Episode 233: The wrath of Eliot
- Flameseeker Chronicles: Glitching in Guild Wars 2
- Firefall blasts its doors open for a beta weekend
- The Secret World working on account-wide shop unlocks and a veteran system
- Final Fantasy XIV shows off early Shiva renders
- Hyperspace Beacon: Givin' SWTOR props
- Trion SVP explains Defiance's 'transmedia synergy' secret sauce
| BioWare releases Makeb first-look video for SWTOR's upcoming expansion Posted: 23 Jan 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Star Wars: The Old Republic  The firm also wants you to know that you can pre-order the expansion and receive several in-game rewards. These include a "Scourge of the Hutts" title, a Dr. Oggurobb Hutt holostatue, and a creepy crawly Makrin Seedling minipet. We've embedded the video for your viewing pleasure after the cut. [Source: BioWare press release] Continue reading BioWare releases Makeb first-look video for SWTOR's upcoming expansion
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| MMO Family: Why Catfish is a term your kids should know Posted: 23 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Kids, MMO Family, Family, Miscellaneous  Ironically, gamers probably have a leg up on the Catfish scenario, since there are plenty of examples of players misrepresenting themselves through their in-game avatars. And there's often a grey area when it comes to roleplaying and honesty. In this week's MMO Family, let's look at the lessons of gaming, identity, and social media and what children should learn about all three. (And I promise I won't mention Manti again in this column.) Continue reading MMO Family: Why Catfish is a term your kids should know
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| Blizzard 'actively working' on All-Stars MOBA Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:30 AM PST Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA  A recent statement by StarCraft II's production director Chris Sigaty notes that the studio hasn't forgotten about Blizzard All-Stars, but is focusing on its free-to-play business model. "We're actively working on it," Sigaty said. "That I can confirm. A lot of the stuff that's remaining right now that we need to focus on are the systems necessary to pull off a game with a different business model than StarCraft II."
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| Reminiscing about Warhammer Online with Mark Jacobs Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, Warhammer Online, Opinion, Massively Interviews  We sat down with Jacobs to look at WAR and what he thought went right and wrong with the title. Even today, many gamers are passionately divided on the game's build-up to release and design decisions. Some lay the blame at Jacobs' doorstep, while others admire the passion and vision of this MMO creator. So what does Jacobs have to say when put to the question about WAR's outcome? Find out in this exclusive interview! Continue reading Reminiscing about Warhammer Online with Mark Jacobs
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| Enter at Your Own Rift: Dungeon review, part 1 Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift, Dungeons  I'm still getting a feel for Storm Legion dungeons, but when it comes to the core game, I've run those instances more times than I can count. I figured I might as well share my thoughts on the first four dungeons you're likely to run in the early and mid-game to see if they pass muster. While I'm at it, I might tell a related story or two from my runs. Gather 'round, children, as Papa Olivetti smokes a stogie and tells you a tale you're unlikely to forget. Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Dungeon review, part 1
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| The Daily Grind: What's your favorite long-cooldown skill? Posted: 23 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  It's pretty common for developers to balance powerful skills with a lengthy cooldown, leaving the choice up to the player as to when and where it's best to unleash hell. It's not uncommon to be in a dungeon run and have the leader instruct players to pop their cooldowns on difficult fights; sometimes that long-cooldown skill is what makes the difference between victory and defeat. So what's your favorite long-cooldown skill? When do you tend to use it?  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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| Path of Exile explains its open beta transition Posted: 22 Jan 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, Patches, News items, Free-to-play  All characters will be returned to level 1 and all items will be removed outside of special promotions, but this will be the last character reset the game will undergo. Players with existing closed beta clients will be able to download the open beta patch directly, but the game's servers will go down for about two hours before the changeover happens. The post also warns everyone to expect that there may be login queues or latency issues given the game's popularity, so consider yourself fairly warned.
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| Scott Hartsman leaving Trion Worlds Posted: 22 Jan 2013 03:45 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play, RIFT  "It's been an amazing time," Hartsman writes, "Working with some of the best developers anywhere, getting the company's first game off the ground, taking it all the way through a multitude of amazing updates, then to Storm Legion, and even a little bit beyond." Lead Game Designer Bill "Daglar" Fisher will be continuing with the State of the Game update starting tomorrow, but no word yet if he'll be taking over the Executive Producer role. [Thanks to Kirk for the tip!]
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| Jukebox Heroes: Eleven MMO soundtracks you can get for free Posted: 22 Jan 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Anarchy Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EVE Online, Ryzom, RuneScape, Global Agenda, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Atlantica Online, Giveaways, Miscellaneous, Jukebox Heroes, Music  So I'm constantly looking everywhere trying to beef up my MMO soundtrack library, and as a result I've uncovered several scores that the studios are giving away for free. I'm all over free (legal) music, especially when it's in my area of interest! If you've been looking to start an MMO soundtrack collection or are looking to add to what you have, I've put together a list of 11 MMO scores that you can get today free of charge. Sound good? It does to me! Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Eleven MMO soundtracks you can get for free
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| The Soapbox: Can we reward fun over persistence? Posted: 22 Jan 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous  It's not exactly the ideal state of being. Nearly every new game seems to recognize this and advertise itself as free from grinding, which at best is true in a very narrow sense. You won't be grinding daily quests, but you'll be grinding events or PvP maps or dungeons. So why don't we have a game out there that rewards fun instead of persistence? Is it possible to create a game that's free of repetition and focused on enjoyable experiences? Continue reading The Soapbox: Can we reward fun over persistence?
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| Massively Speaking Episode 233: The wrath of Eliot Posted: 22 Jan 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Podcasts, MMO industry, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous  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: [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. [iTunes] Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. [Stitcher] Follow the podcast on Stitcher Radio. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes. Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 233: The wrath of Eliot
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| Flameseeker Chronicles: Glitching in Guild Wars 2 Posted: 22 Jan 2013 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles, Dungeons  We'll be seeing the first bits of all that prophecy come into being on the 28th, when January's patch officially hits, bringing with it, among other things, guesting. The guesting announcement was fairly ill-received, due almost entirely to the news that it wouldn't work between North American and European servers. Up 'til now, you could always talk to folks from the other data center, but you couldn't actually play with them without transferring. Now you still can't play with them without transferring (and you can still talk to them), and people were really hoping we'd be able to do the whole guesting across regions thing. I'm hopeful that it will come in at some point, but I still can't see guesting as a net loss in any way. There's a lot of digesting to do with all that news, though, so let's start things off by not talking about any of it. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Glitching in Guild Wars 2
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| Firefall blasts its doors open for a beta weekend Posted: 22 Jan 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Contests, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Firefall  The Skillshot Contest will be running during the open event and is available to all participants in the beta, even normal closed testers. Take a video or screenshot of your best moments for a chance to win prize packs including new Razer mice and Firefall gear. In addition, all participants will receive a special decal in-game to place on their battleframes. If you still need a little more convincing, you can check out a new trailer for the weekend just past the break. [Source: Red 5 Studios press release] Continue reading Firefall blasts its doors open for a beta weekend
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| The Secret World working on account-wide shop unlocks and a veteran system Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Horror, Real life, Sci-fi, Culture, News items, The Secret World  The game is also going to be putting together a veteran rewards program for subscribers. Each month of subscription provides Veteran Points, awarded at the same time that the subscription awards bonus cash shop points. Veterans can then spend the points on a variety of items, including new consumables, outfits, pets, and training dummies. It's always nice to have some extra benefits to being a long-term fan of a game, so if you're already enjoying deciphering conspiracy, there's extra incentive to keep at it. [Thanks to Elania for the tip!]
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| Final Fantasy XIV shows off early Shiva renders Posted: 22 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Lore, Previews, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV  The post contains several early renders of the completed model as well as the ice queen's concept art, all of which should look familiar to veterans of the Final Fantasy series. While Shiva is known to have worshippers much like her fellow Primals Ifrit and Garuda, it's not yet clear if her appearance means a new beastman tribe will be entering the already crowded Eorzea. The full set of pictures won't answer that question, but it will give players eagerly awaiting the beta something new to gawk at.
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| Hyperspace Beacon: Givin' SWTOR props Posted: 22 Jan 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Patches, Opinion, Free-to-play, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon  I also see other hints that BioWare might be changing up its game a little bit. Direct discussion with the community appears to be on the rise, and BioWare has also admitted and is attempting to properly fix its mistakes. In the wake of Stephen Reid's departure, direct communication had become lax, and besides Ilum, I don't remember BioWare ever truly admitting to mistakes. Let's take a look at a few of the changes BioWare has already made this year. Maybe it will give us a clue as to where SWTOR is going in the near future. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Givin' SWTOR props
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| Trion SVP explains Defiance's 'transmedia synergy' secret sauce Posted: 22 Jan 2013 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Defiance  Events taking place in the two properties are "synchronized within an inch of their life," Beliaeff says. "That's the whole goal. That's some of the secret sauce that we think we have, just making sure that whenever an episode of the show is on air there's a big beat happening in the game. Our real goal is whether it's from game to show or show to game, that those big beats are happening whenever there's an episode on." As you might imagine, this is incredibly difficult, and it's one reason that Trion and Syfy have been working on the IP for five years now. In terms of specific crossover, Beliaeff cites an example where a doctor in the TV show discovers a nanite contagion. She reaches out to one of her NPC colleagues in the game, who in turn provides players with a series of missions that they'll need to complete before the next episode of the show.
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