MMO Updates |
- Ask Massively: Defining MMOs
- En Masse names Lee new CEO, hires veteran Nexon exec
- First Defiance beta event coming January 18 for PC players
- The Guild Counsel: Proof that it's more than just a game
- The Daily Grind: What MMOs do you plan to play in 2013?
- Choose My Adventure: Have ship, will travel
- RuneScape adding level 90 boss fight and weapons
- Elite: Dangerous is well and truly Kickstarted
- Ragnarok Online 2 open beta denied to most of the world
- WildStar Wednesday: Carbine's community team goals for 2013
- Star Wars: The Old Republic confirms same-gender romance, more endgame content
- Free for All: The second annual Frindie Awards
- A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Farewell for now, Champions Online
| Posted: 03 Jan 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous  spacejesus3k wrote, "'MMO' is a watered-down term that means nothing more than 'online game' now. But why report on something like World of Tanks and not Call of Duty? They really aren't that different. Even games like World of Warcraft aren't that different in what they offer. They all have 'lobby like' co-op and PvP content; the only real difference is the single-player campaigns vs. the leveling world (which is often soloed). So here is a good question for Ask Massively: How do you pick and choose what online games you report on? Is there a set of criteria they must meet?" Yes, but I warn you: This is not a scientific process. Continue reading Ask Massively: Defining MMOs
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| En Masse names Lee new CEO, hires veteran Nexon exec Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, TERA  The company has also announced that former VP of Publishing Chris Lee will take over as CEO, while Brian Knox will move into an executive producer role. "The additions to our management team are all about building the foundation for a strong future in 2013 and beyond," said Lee. "Publishing games in today's marketplace requires a group of leaders with diverse backgrounds in order to succeed. Now, En Masse is in an even better position to bring fun and innovative games to players." [Source: En Masse press release]
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| First Defiance beta event coming January 18 for PC players Posted: 03 Jan 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Defiance  Advanced Beta Mission 1 will see players transported to a futuristic San Francisco Bay area where they will take on the role of an ark hunter. Ark hunters are genetically enhanced individuals described by Trion as "part treasure hunter, part mercenary." The beta will feature full access to Defiance's tutorial, Mt. Tam, the Waterfront competitive multiplayer map, and the Shadow War and Arkfall open-world boss battles. Trion is now accepting beta signups. [Source: Trion press release]
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| The Guild Counsel: Proof that it's more than just a game Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, EVE Online, EverQuest II, Guilds, MMO industry, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous  Looking back over the past year, I think there were actually many stories that highlighted the player behind the pixel and reaffirmed our belief that we are indeed part of a brotherhood even if we don't always see it in our MMOs. This week's Guild Counsel is a recap of some of those gaming stories, and I believe even the most die-hard "game-focused" player will agree that there are moments when it really is more than just a game. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Proof that it's more than just a game
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| The Daily Grind: What MMOs do you plan to play in 2013? Posted: 03 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  That said, there are plenty of interesting games in the pipeline, not to mention expansions and meaty updates for titles that have already seen the light of day. So, how about it, Massively readers. What MMOs do you plan to play in 2013?  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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| Choose My Adventure: Have ship, will travel Posted: 02 Jan 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Polls, Screenshots, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Choose My Adventure  Xel'es is heading to Korriban next, but he needs a bit of guidance. Follow along with his story after the cut and be sure to vote for his next moves! Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Have ship, will travel
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| RuneScape adding level 90 boss fight and weapons Posted: 02 Jan 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Previews, RuneScape, Free-to-play  These weapons are a reward for defeating a new boss, the Kalphite King. Mr. King comes in his own battle instance so all can participate and loot his quivering remains. Apart from that exciting news, the RuneScape team plans to add a task set across the Kharidian Desert, new demon flash mobs (not the dancing variety), more rewards to Squeal of Fortune, and the return of a pair of wolf boss mobs.
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| Elite: Dangerous is well and truly Kickstarted Posted: 02 Jan 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, News items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding  Elite: Dangerous fans can breathe easy -- the game has hit its £1,250,000 goal with more than two days to spare. While that's excellent news for the folks at Frontier Developments, they're not resting on their laurels. There are two stretch goals, at £1.4 and £1.5 million, that could feasibly be hit in the last 51-ish hours of the project's Kickstarter window. Those stretch goals will add in a Mac version of the game (within three months of the Windows launch) and an extra ten playable ships, respectively. In case some people are still on the fence about throwing money at the project, the team has added in a new £25 reward tier that'll give backers a digital copy of the game and 500 credits. Everyone already pledged at a higher tier will also receive those 500 credits.
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| Ragnarok Online 2 open beta denied to most of the world Posted: 02 Jan 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play  While Ragnarok Online 2's open beta begins tomorrow, Asiasoft posted the news that it will be unavailable outside of those four countries "due to [its] license agreement with the game's developer, Gravity Co., Ltd." The open beta was previously scheduled to begin on December 27th of last year but apparently ran into unspecified problems. [Thanks to Anthony and Ville for the tip!]
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| WildStar Wednesday: Carbine's community team goals for 2013 Posted: 02 Jan 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, News items, Dev Diaries, WildStar  Welcome to 2013, settlers! Carbine Studios' community team has big plans for WildStar this year -- resolutions, if you will. To begin with, the team is committed to bringing the conversation to players' turf. That means being active and engaging on social media, gaming forums, "or even your guild's website." The team's second goal is to give players a voice in game design, which will involve stuff like turning livestreams into design discussions. Resolution number three is to experiment with new ways to interact with an MMO community. That will mean, to be specific, "trying new things." Finally, the team's planning to use beta testing as a safe environment for useful feedback, rather than releasing a beta when the game's too late in development for meaningful changes. We noticed that "launch the game" wasn't among those resolutions, but the team did finish off the post with a call for 2013 to be "the year of WildStar," so maybe all hope is not lost.
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| Star Wars: The Old Republic confirms same-gender romance, more endgame content Posted: 02 Jan 2013 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Expansions, Previews, Free-to-play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dev Diaries  Hickman says that F2P has done well by SWTOR, although he doesn't deliver specific numbers: "The game is incredibly healthy with an ever increasing number of players who are actively playing (the servers are rocking!)." He also said that players will soon see changes to "a special PvP area," a lot more content for endgame customers, improvements to Ilum, and the ability to copy characters to the test server. Regarding PvP, Hickman indicated that pure open-world PvP will not be coming to the game any time soon. Finally, the state of the game address confirms that same-gender romance will be added to SWTOR in the expansion, although it will initially be confined to interactions with NPCs and not companions. "I want to reveal today that we are adding SGR with some NPCs on Makeb and do intend on pursuing more SGR options in the future," Hickman said.
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| Free for All: The second annual Frindie Awards Posted: 02 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Real life, Sci-fi, Asheron's Call, Contests, Culture, PvP, Ryzom, The Matrix Online, Wurm Online, PvE, Opinion, Second Life, Vanguard, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser, Mobile, Casual, Virtual worlds, Mabinogi, Kids, Alganon, Free for All, Family, Miscellaneous, Enter at Your Own Rift, Sandbox  Picking the winners this year is just as hard as it was last year, maybe even harder. 2012 was an incredible year for MMOs, so I would rather have just put together an article that highlights every single favorite. In the end, it's more helpful to make myself pick out a winner. It's a rare thing for some of these games to even receive a nod on a major website, something I still can't figure out. Either way, it's best to think of all of the MMOs on this list as my favorites from 2012. Anyway, let's get to the awards! Continue reading Free for All: The second annual Frindie Awards
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| A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Farewell for now, Champions Online Posted: 02 Jan 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Champions Online, A Mild-Mannered Reporter  Of course, I can also see why the game never quite hit the level of widespread popularity that City of Heroes managed, and some of the problems that plague it are a direct result of what I like about it. So with my first outing in the game out of the way, I'm going to offer a more complete look at the game, starting with the bad and ending with the good. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Farewell for now, Champions Online
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