MMO Updates

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• The Art of Wushu: Gathering and crafting
• Trion to launch Defiance on April 2, full live-action trailer revealed
• A Mild-Mannered Reporter: DC Universe Online in review
• TERA F2P starts February 5
• The Daily Grind: Which unfinished MMO would you love to play?
• Vendetta Online pushes its Kickstarter program with new videos
• Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking into SWTOR's roleplay community
• SOE webcast to celebrate Wizardry Online's launch
• APB: Reloaded celebrates Steam success, teases new content
• The Soapbox: Joy in the little things
• Star Trek Online posts third anniversary details
• LotRO introduces flexible store-bought currency
• Guild Wars 2 tests new tournament mode
• Defiance Advanced Mission Beta set for February 8
• Touring Telon: Six years of Vanguard
• DCUO's Home Turf launches today
• Flameseeker Chronicles: The open world and you
• Jukebox Heroes: Star Trek Online's soundtrack
• Funcom wants to feature your music in The Secret World

The Art of Wushu: Gathering and crafting Posted: 30 Jan 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Economy, Opinion, Free-to-play, Guides, Sandbox, Crafting, Age of Wushu, The Art of Wushu Life skills are the central point of Age of Wushu's player economy. All useful equipment, food, and most of the useful consumables are only available through crafting, and equipment requires lengthy production chains and an injection of tradable silver in order to make it effective. This process is fairly daunting to a new player, and even experienced players go for a long time without taking advantage of the many advantages present from trade and crafting. In Age of Wushu, life skills represent a character's day job. You'll go to work gathering materials to sell or to craft into goods to sell, and then use the money from those sales to purchase things other people make and food to sustain yourself. Because we have a limited amount of space, this column will focus on production skills and production chains so that you can make the best choice about which type of goods you want to craft. Continue reading The Art of Wushu: Gathering and crafting The Art of Wushu: Gathering and crafting originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Trion to launch Defiance on April 2, full live-action trailer revealed Posted: 30 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Post-Apocalyptic, Defiance Trion has announced that the MMO third-person shooter half of its two-headed Defiance monster is set to be released on April 2nd. The other half is of course the upcoming television show which ties in to the game via some sort of mysterious transmedia secret sauce. The company has also released a full five-minute live action trailer, the teaser for which debuted last week alongside a meaty pre-order FAQ. Defiance players take on the role of Ark Hunters adventuring through the alien-infested ruins of a post-apocalyptic San Francisco and surrounding environments. Defiance features co-op PvE and PvP, and it's coming to PC, PlayStation 3, and XBox 360 platforms. Trion has been working on the game and the IP for over five years. The Syfy television series is set to debut on April 15th. Click past the cut for a look at the live-action preview. [Source: Trion press release] Continue reading Trion to launch Defiance on April 2, full live-action trailer revealed Trion to launch Defiance on April 2, full live-action trailer revealed originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: DC Universe Online in review Posted: 30 Jan 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Consoles, DC Universe Online, A Mild-Mannered Reporter One of the things I like about my job is the part where I have to play a lot of different games. This is not my default state -- I will happily latch on to games that I like and play them into the ground. The 100-plus hours I've clocked into every Mass Effect installment is proof enough of this. But playing a wider variety of games has given me several opportunities to see things in games, nod my head, and exclaim, "Yes! This is what people should be doing? Why do more games not do this?" DC Universe Online had me saying that about a lot of elements. And every time I figured I was good and done, I found another one. A month boomeranging back and forth between lower levels on both factions isn't enough time to get a sense for how the game shakes out over the long run, but it does provide a fairly good overview of the game as a whole. And there's a lot of elements in the game that I found astonishingly clever. It didn't offset the parts that I found somewhat tedious or broken, but it did make the game as a whole interesting on multiple levels. Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: DC Universe Online in review A Mild-Mannered Reporter: DC Universe Online in review originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

TERA F2P starts February 5 Posted: 30 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, TERA En Masse has set a date for TERA's free-to-play conversion, and that date is February 5th. The company will also add new content to the fantasy title including a three-on-three PvP battleground and the Crucible of Flame dungeon. TERA's F2P offerings include three player tiers (standard, founder, and elite), all of which feature full access to the game's content. Founders receive additional character slots, bank tabs, and a special mount, while elite players get dungeon bonuses, additional quests, daily items, mounts, and store discounts. [Source: En Masse press release] TERA F2P starts February 5 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Which unfinished MMO would you love to play? Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous For every MMO that makes it to release, there's probably two that died a sad death along the way. Sometimes it's the decision of the studio or publisher to can it, sometimes it's the result of finances, and sometimes it's just plum bad fortune. Whatever the case, the history of MMOs is littered with half-finished games that will never see the light of day. But what if? What if you had the power to magically resurrect, finish, and release just one of these games? Which one would it be? Would it be the intriguing Ultima X: Odyssey, the original Middle-earth Online, or True Fantasy Live Online? What about Privateer Online, Imperator Online, or Project Copernicus? Or would it be a different game altogther? 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 unfinished MMO would you love to play? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Vendetta Online pushes its Kickstarter program with new videos Posted: 29 Jan 2013 05:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Mobile, Sandbox, Crowdfunding Kickstarter isn't just being used by studios trying to get a new MMO off the ground. In the case of Vendetta Online, it's being used to fund something that the game otherwise simply wouldn't have. After nearly a decade of continual operation, the sandbox title wants to expand beyond desktop computers (it already has clients for Linux, Macintosh, and Windows, not to mention an Android client) by porting over to the iPad while launching a major graphical upgrade. Not convinced? The founder of Guild Software, John Bergman, has taken the time to outline some of what the small team wants to do with the added funding for development. First he discusses the dynamic warfare systems with full-on RTS elements, and next he discusses how new graphics will improve the game overall rather than just making it prettier. The campaign's modest $100,000 goal is already a quarter of the way to completion as of this writing, so if this seems like it'd be right up your alley, it's well worth a closer look. Vendetta Online pushes its Kickstarter program with new videos originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dynamic Warfare video, Graphical updates video, Kickstarter project

Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking into SWTOR's roleplay community Posted: 29 Jan 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-play, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guides, Hyperspace Beacon I've hit a wall in my personal gameplay. Most people run into it eventually when they are dedicated to one MMO like I am. Sometimes, I will move on to another game. Guild Wars 2 and DC Universe Online are calling me pretty strongly again. The problem I'd face if I did that is that I would be leaving behind my guild and the friends I have in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Not that I'm opposed to playing a game solo, it's just that my guild is the biggest reason I still play SWTOR. I still want to play the game, but my fourth alt is near 50, PvP disappoints me because of the Elite War Hero grind, and my raid group seems to be stuck on a single boss fight. It's not that I don't like the game; it's just disappointing at several turns. So how am I going to keep this game interesting? Well, I didn't join a roleplay server so that I can pwn noobs in PvP; I joined because of the community. Perhaps some of you are in a similar situation. Maybe you're looking for something else to do in the game, but don't know how to get started. Maybe you've always wanted to break into roleplay, but you weren't sure where to start. If so I have some tips for you. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking into SWTOR's roleplay community Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking into SWTOR's roleplay community originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE webcast to celebrate Wizardry Online's launch Posted: 29 Jan 2013 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Wizardry Online Wizardry Online has conjured more than a few different opinions from our staff during its beta, and we're happy to say that the game is finally launching tomorrow! To help celebrate the launch, SOE is hosting a special webcast on Thursday, January 31 at 7:00 p.m. EST on its Twitch.tv channel. Host and Senior Global Brand Manager Omeed Dariani will be joined by Senior Producer Todd Carson and Associate Producer Rod Haza to discuss the game's features and what we can expect in the future of the game. SOE webcast to celebrate Wizardry Online's launch originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: SOE Webcast

APB: Reloaded celebrates Steam success, teases new content Posted: 29 Jan 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime GamersFirst can enjoy a new bragging right today in the realm of free-to-play MMOs as APB: Reloaded has held steadily to a top-five position for most-popular free-to-play MMOs on Steam for a year. Currently ranked in the number four spot, APB:R has expanded its reach to Brazil and Russia in that year, while adding new content including Fight Club, Asylum, tons of new weapon and clothing packs, and more. As the team looks forward to 2013, players can expect a new update entitled Settling the Score in the just a few weeks and rumors of an "all-new APB experience" being revealed in the coming months. [Source: GamersFirst press release] APB: Reloaded celebrates Steam success, teases new content originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Soapbox: Joy in the little things Posted: 29 Jan 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Aion, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Professions, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Soapbox, Sandbox, MOBA Some people play MMOs because they love the challenge. Some are there for the social aspects. Still others stick with their favorite titles because they're deeply in love with the content or lore. Every single gamer reading this post has a different reason for logging into their MMO of choice instead of watching television, reading a book or choosing any other type of recreation. There is no right way to enjoy a game. Despite the fact that our comments section is often filled with people letting others know what they "should" or "shouldn't" be playing based on their affinity for certain in-game functions, having fun is a very personal experience that depends entirely on your tastes and desires. If you're having a good time in a game, you're doing it right. It's all about the little things. Continue reading The Soapbox: Joy in the little things The Soapbox: Joy in the little things originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Star Trek Online posts third anniversary details Posted: 29 Jan 2013 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Anniversary As you may have heard on our latest Massively Speaking podcast, Star Trek Online is on the verge of celebrating its third anniversary -- and the developers want to make sure that it's one that players won't soon forget. Cryptic Content Designer Charles Gray has the skinny on what Starfleet and KDF captains can expect in the coming days. The ever-popular Q will show up to throw parties in Spacedock and Qo'noS from January 31st through February 14th. If you're willing to help Q out with a little assignment, he's supposed to reward you handsomely in return. The big news is of the new featured episode that will be rewarding a souped-up version of the Ambassador Class or Kamarag Class starship if it's completed during the event. The episode centers around a strange anomaly that has connections with Tholian experiments and the 24th century. Time travel in Star Trek? Whoduthunk it! Cryptic says that it will deliver specs on the new ships soon. Star Trek Online posts third anniversary details originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Three-year anniversary event

LotRO introduces flexible store-bought currency Posted: 29 Jan 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, Free-to-play Lord of the Rings Online has been evolving its in-game store for a while now, and it looks like the next phase of its development has a name: Mithril Coins. These coins are new store-purchased currency that's coming in Update 10 and will be used for a variety of in-game activities. Basically, the use of Mithril Coins is Turbine's way of streamlining several different smaller store options into a flexible currency. These coins can be used as replacements for revive tomes, stablemaster's writs, daily quest resets, and fast travel to quest NPCs. There's a helpful FAQ that answers some of the burning questions fans might have about this new currency, so give it a read if you're still confused. LotRO introduces flexible store-bought currency originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Mithril Coins dev diary

Guild Wars 2 tests new tournament mode Posted: 29 Jan 2013 01:45 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, PvP, Guild Wars 2, Dev Diaries ArenaNet is calling up all dedicated Guild Wars 2 PvPers to help test out a potential tournament system in the Temple of the Silent Storm this week. Starting yesterday, the studio turned on a mode that allows single team vs. single team matchups on this map. A new dev diary by the studio explains the simpler tournament version: "When you play in this new format, both teams will enter. The winner will win, the loser will lose, and both teams are given rewards accordingly. Then both teams are moved back to the lobby where they can enter the tournament queue again." For those who elect to participate in paid 1v1 tournaments, ArenaNet has listed the rewards that both the winners and losers will receive. The studio hopes to cultivate useful feedback that will be used to develop Guild Wars 2's PvP going forward. Guild Wars 2 tests new tournament mode originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Temple of the Silent Storm dev diary

Defiance Advanced Mission Beta set for February 8 Posted: 29 Jan 2013 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, New titles, Defiance Defiance's second beta weekend is set to begin on February 8th at 8:00 a.m. PST and run until 9:00 p.m. PST on February 10th. This Advanced Mission Beta will take players to a futuristic San Francisco playing the role of Ark Hunter. No, this doesn't mean you'll be riding mine carts and eating chilled monkey brains; it means that you'll be set to decipher various six-digit alpha numeric codes scattered throughout the game that can be collected to unlocked 15 different levels of rewards. Sound like fun, Dr. Jones? Then head on over to the Defiance official site and sign up. [Source: Trion Worlds press release] Defiance Advanced Mission Beta set for February 8 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Touring Telon: Six years of Vanguard Posted: 29 Jan 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, Vanguard, Free-to-play, Anniversary Few MMO gamers can forget the legendary bad launch of Vanguard and the drama that surrounded its development. Even fewer MMO gamers can remember what the game was like, as the population started small and stayed small. For a half-decade, the title wallowed in relative obscurity compared to the rest of SOE's lineup, and in fact, many predicted that it would be canned. As we know now, SOE decided to go a different way. The studio threw its faith behind Vanguard last year by relaunching it as a free-to-play MMO and giving it an actual development team once more. While Vanguard isn't in the league of major sluggers in the industry, the title is now thriving and seeing a renaissance that players new and old are enjoying. To celebrate Vanguard's 6th anniversary, we got on the phone with Producer Harvey Burgess and Game Designer Corey LeFever to take a brief tour around the latest content in the game and to talk about the road from F2P to the future. Continue reading Touring Telon: Six years of Vanguard Touring Telon: Six years of Vanguard originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

DCUO's Home Turf launches today Posted: 29 Jan 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Video, Patches, PvP, Free-to-play, Crime, DC Universe Online, Housing SOE's sixth DLC pack for DC Universe Online has launched today, bringing with it a customizable base system that allows players to build their own lair. Appropriately named Home Turf, this content update bring a housing system that players have been anticipating since launch. Lairs are much more than housing, though. The Lair's Mainframe allows players to unlock and access new combat abilities, and level 30-or-higher players can duel it out with Lair PvP battles. Be sure to check out all the details in the latest DLC patch notes on the DCUO forums and skip past the cut for the Home Turf launch trailer. Continue reading DCUO's Home Turf launches today DCUO's Home Turf launches today originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: DCUO Forums

Flameseeker Chronicles: The open world and you Posted: 29 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles When we're discussing endgame and the long haul in Guild Wars 2, it can be really easy to talk about dungeons and instanced stuff and WvW and other things that can kind of cause you to forget the open world. The open world is cool! Just like there are people who haven't left sPvP and haven't left WvW, there are other people who are totally happy exploring every nook and cranny of the wide world. I dislike the idea of the world being neglected as soon as one turns 80, because I'm pretty darn sure that it's nearly impossible to really see all there is to see before 80. This whole discussion comes with the caveat that we probably disagree about what endgame is. We'll talk about things that can be done in Guild Wars 2, which means they might be part of your endgame, if they are things you haven't done and things that you enjoy. Some of them will help you progress along some arbitrary track; others most likely will not. They can be done post-80, for sure, but by and large the open world is full of things that can be done just about any time, depending on your sense of style. Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: The open world and you Flameseeker Chronicles: The open world and you originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Jukebox Heroes: Star Trek Online's soundtrack Posted: 29 Jan 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Jukebox Heroes, Music As a franchise, Star Trek is replete with terrific (and iconic) music. Star Trek VI remains one of my all-time favorite film scores, and who can listen to the opening notes of The Next Generation without being able to whistle and/or hum the whole thing? Of course, Star Trek has a lot of bad and forgettable music as well, which is probably par for a combined work of hundreds upon hundreds of hours of television and cinema. I had high hopes for Star Trek Online's score upon first logging into the game, and the opening theme certainly did not disappoint. Kevin Manthei (Champions Online, City of Villains) delivers a stirring title track that is also one of my favorites, although the remainder of the score is much more lopsided. Some of it is so generic and harsh on the ears that I ended up turning off the soundtrack when I played STO. That's a shame because there are several equally excellent tracks deserving of a listen. So today we're going to the stars. I hope you packed your undies and a warm sweater. Continue reading Jukebox Heroes: Star Trek Online's soundtrack Jukebox Heroes: Star Trek Online's soundtrack originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Funcom wants to feature your music in The Secret World Posted: 29 Jan 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Horror, Real life, Contests, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, The Secret World, Music From suspenseful music to creepy background noises to the crackling of tunes on a radio, sound is a key element in the ambiance of The Secret World. And now, players have the chance to add their own music to the atmosphere of the game thanks to a new competition. Folks can get together with friends or record a piece solo and submit it for consideration to be included in TSW. Entries to this music contest will be accepted from today until February 19th, 2013. All submissions must be the entrant's own composition or sent with the consent of the creator. Simon Poole, Funcom's audio director, will evaluate all submissions and choose the winners. For full details on how to submit your musical piece, check out the official guidelines. Funcom wants to feature your music in The Secret World originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Music competition announcement

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