MMO Updates |
- Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR consolidates comms
- Massively Speaking Episode 239: Countdown to terror
- Star Citizen base character model teased
- Core Online videos detail avatar creation, PvE, PvP
- The Daily Grind: Do you have an emotional reaction to old characters?
- Rumor: BioWare San Francisco shuts down
- Not So Massively: Diablo III's console constroversy and Wrath of Heroes' shutdown
- Mechwarrior Online has big plans for March
- The Nexus Telegraph: The dark side of WildStar's Exiles
- Curt Schilling asks judge to dismiss 38 Studios fraud lawsuit
- Chaos Theory: The Secret World needs bug spray in Egypt, stat!
- Age of Wushu to launch on April 10th
- Massively interviews Genese Davis, author of MMO novel The Holder's Dominion
- Captain's Log: Catching up on Star Trek Online
- RIFT producer Hanlin leaves Trion for Zynga
- Leaderboard: What's the best Star Wars MMO?
| Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR consolidates comms Posted: 05 Mar 2013 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, Patches, Endgame, Opinion, Free-to-play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon  Gear progression is a common subject for this column and with good reason. Although there is skill involved when playing SWTOR, gear is the great equalizer. As in many themepark MMOs, a player's gear greatly determines whether or not he can defeat specific instances or bosses. Because of this, how a player earns gear and which gear happens to be the best at any given moment becomes top priority when new content comes out. With an additional five levels being added with Rise of the Hutt Cartel, gear becomes especially important. Let's examine how everything breaks down. Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR consolidates comms
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| Massively Speaking Episode 239: Countdown to terror Posted: 05 Mar 2013 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Podcasts, MMO industry, News items, 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 239: Countdown to terror
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| Star Citizen base character model teased Posted: 05 Mar 2013 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Sandbox  But wait, Star Citizen is a space flight simulator, isn't it? Well, yes, but players will also have a fully customizable avatar for use in boarding actions and bipedal combat as well as a hangar full of ships. Cloud Imperium says that more character details will surface later this week.
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| Core Online videos detail avatar creation, PvE, PvP Posted: 05 Mar 2013 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items  Character creation is extremely detailed, though it's worth noting that the game's classes are gender-locked. Core features traditional tab targeting, a mixture of open-world maps and instancing, and massive server-vs.-server-vs. server PvP. Steparu ultimately concludes that the game needs work, citing wonky animations and the lack of any differentiating features as major concerns. You can check out a trio of gameplay and character creation videos after the cut. Continue reading Core Online videos detail avatar creation, PvE, PvP
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| The Daily Grind: Do you have an emotional reaction to old characters? Posted: 05 Mar 2013 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous  For some people, characters are just the tools they use to interact with the game. For others, characters are an emotional link, even if they don't really roleplay. Seeing your first character brings back a rush of memories, whether that character is in Ultima Online or Star Wars: The Old Republic. So do you have an emotional reaction to old characters? Or do you not really look back to what you've played in the past, focusing instead on the present?  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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| Rumor: BioWare San Francisco shuts down Posted: 04 Mar 2013 06:00 PM PST Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Mobile, Casual, Miscellaneous  The studio formerly known as EA2D was responsible for the Dragon Age Legends Facebook game and the browser-based Mirror's Edge 2D. While it was focused on developing mobile and social games, Electronic Arts found that handling development in the area was too expensive and has shut down operations. Our condolences to all those affected by this shutdown.
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| Not So Massively: Diablo III's console constroversy and Wrath of Heroes' shutdown Posted: 04 Mar 2013 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Video, Business models, Economy, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, New titles, Patches, PvP, Endgame, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Mac, Dev Diaries, Not So Massively, Sandbox, MOBA, League of Legends, Diablo III, Firefall  We heard the unfortunate news that Wrath of Heroes will be closing its doors at the end of the month, and it's not the only game going out of business. Online FPS Bullet Run, formerly known as Hedone, is due to shut down on Friday, March 8th, in a big final event. It's not all doom and gloom, though, as Dota 2 has hit another impressive milestone, passing 300,000 peak concurrent players. The first season of Heroes of Newerth's HoN Tour league is soon to draw to a close, and developers are planning a huge balance patch before the next season kicks off. Blizzard enraged Diablo III fans this week with the announcement that the console version will not feature the controversial always-online DRM and can be played offline. Path of Exile detailed its next open beta patch, which is due to introduce a new fire skill, a 3v3 dueling arena, and significant Duelist class buffs. Online FPS Firefall produced a new trailer this week showing off its flight gameplay amidst criticism from fans over its lack of beta content. Finally, sci-fi sandbox Star Citizen gave fans a look behind the curtain of game development in its biggest development update video yet. Continue reading Not So Massively: Diablo III's console constroversy and Wrath of Heroes' shutdown
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| Mechwarrior Online has big plans for March Posted: 04 Mar 2013 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Dev Diaries, MechWarrior Online  March is upon us! March has actually been upon us for a handful of days, but those days were lame. Now is the time of awesome days, and those days will be full of updates and new features for MechWarrior Online. Creative Director Bryan Ekman has laid out the team's plan for the coming month. Training grounds, an offline game mode that loads a player into a random map with eight enemy targets to test out their current 'Mech, will be made available. This game mode is "just the beginning" of an incoming wealth of training options. Consumables will extend the module system and will be available for C-Bill and MC purchase. A host of UI, user controls, and statistics-tracking improvements are coming in, as is Tourmaline Desert, MWO's largest map to date. The ability to acquire fuzzy dice for one's cockpit has been hinted at. You know what to do, soldiers.
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| The Nexus Telegraph: The dark side of WildStar's Exiles Posted: 04 Mar 2013 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Lore, Opinion, Races, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph  Also, the Exiles have been systematically removed from every system they've ever collectively called home. So I also feel bad about that part. But mostly the timing thing. But it's time for equal treatment, at least insofar as the Exiles deserve more unpacking than they've gotten. On the surface, the Exiles are just a little easier to understand and a lot easier to see as a sympathetic faction. But just as the harsh presentation of the Dominion hides a more positive and benevolent side, the much shinier presentation of the Exiles hides elements that I don't think the faction itself is necessarily all that comfortable with. Continue reading The Nexus Telegraph: The dark side of WildStar's Exiles
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| Curt Schilling asks judge to dismiss 38 Studios fraud lawsuit Posted: 04 Mar 2013 02:30 PM PST Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Legal, Miscellaneous  The crux of the lawsuit is the state's claim that Schilling and the 38 Studios board of directors willfully obfuscated the company's status from state lawmakers. Schilling has put forth that 38 Studios fully disclosed its status to the state investors on numerous occasion, providing them with an accurate picture of the company's financial situation. Due to this disclosure the allegations of fraud and obfuscation are simply not possible, hence the request for dismissal. Schilling goes on to claim that the entire suit is politically motivated and that the company's failure is chiefly due to Governor Lincoln Chafee not doing enough to save 38 Studios from bankruptcy.
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| Chaos Theory: The Secret World needs bug spray in Egypt, stat! Posted: 04 Mar 2013 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Horror, Real life, Bugs, Patches, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Secret World, Chaos Theory  Recently, you all voted that I continue my adventures on my Templar. The timing was impeccable because right in the middle of that vote, The Secret World's next issue was announced. And where will this update be focused? Why, in Egypt -- right where my Templar just so happens to be! Fortuitous for me, to be sure. So I have been (mostly) happily blasting my way through the desert with a shotgun at my hip and a rifle slung across my back, enjoying new-to-me content and anticipating the upcoming new-to-everyone goodies. But not all timing has been good. As mentioned, I've been mostly enjoying my tales in the desert. Why the caveat? There's a bit of an infestation in Egypt, and I am not talking about the beetles that want to devour Said. The place is crawling with bugs! Besides swarming with giant locusts and their tentacled proboscises, Egypt also appears to have a higher prevalence of glitches. I have never encountered so many bugs in all of TSW as I have in a couple of days in that zone. And all at a time when the dev team is dealing with relocation and hasn't been able to jump right in and douse the area with a giant can of Raid. The timing is particularly bad because it's unfortunately right when all eyes are turning to Egypt on the eve of Issue #6. How this release plays out will have lasting affects on the game and how folks view it. Continue reading Chaos Theory: The Secret World needs bug spray in Egypt, stat!
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| Age of Wushu to launch on April 10th Posted: 04 Mar 2013 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Historical, Trailers, Video, Launches, Free-to-play, Sandbox, Age of Wushu  Content Generation Lead Tyler Rawlins says that the extra beta testing has done a world of good for the game: "The beta has been a great way to connect with the player community and introduce a real world of Wushu to the Western audience. We received and incorporated an abundance of player feedback during beta and can now announce an official launch date for Age of Wushu." Age of Wushu was originally slated for a February 1st release in North America. It currently boasts over 10 million player registrations in China alone. You can watch the high-flying launch announcement after the jump. Continue reading Age of Wushu to launch on April 10th
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| Massively interviews Genese Davis, author of MMO novel The Holder's Dominion Posted: 04 Mar 2013 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Real life, Culture, Interviews, Massively Meta, Massively Interviews, Miscellaneous  Genese is the author of The Holder's Dominion, a novel that follows protagonist Kaylie Ames as she and her friends delve into the mystery of the fictional MMO Edannair, where the enigmatic Holder, leader of an in-game organization known as Sarkmarr, has begun sending his disciples on dangerous real-world missions. It's up to Kaylie and company to figure out who this mysterious Holder really is and foil his (or her) nefarious schemes. And as it so happens, we had the opportunity to take an advance look at The Holder's Dominion and pick Genese's brain on the MMO industry, girls in gaming, and much more. To find out what she had to say (and believe us, you want to), head on past the cut and check out the full interview. Continue reading Massively interviews Genese Davis, author of MMO novel The Holder's Dominion
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| Captain's Log: Catching up on Star Trek Online Posted: 04 Mar 2013 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Captain's Log, Guides  So for the next couple of weeks I will be writing about some of the major changes Star Trek Online has undergone in the past two years in the hopes it can help out folks like Beau who are returning to the game after a long absence. Continue reading Captain's Log: Catching up on Star Trek Online
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| RIFT producer Hanlin leaves Trion for Zynga Posted: 04 Mar 2013 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, RIFT  "Nothing but love for Trion, but with the maturation of RIFT, there was no urgent demand for my specific skill set," Hanlin said. "This [Zynga] is a huge opportunity for me professionally, and I will be working closely with some good friends." [Thanks Jordan!]
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| Leaderboard: What's the best Star Wars MMO? Posted: 04 Mar 2013 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, Free-to-play, Browser, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Clone Wars Adventures, Sandbox, Leaderboard  Then there's Star Wars Galaxies, of course, followed by Star Wars: The Old Republic. For today's Leaderboard, help us pick the best Star Wars MMO (or at least, the most popular according to Massively commenters). Vote after the cut!  Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!Continue reading Leaderboard: What's the best Star Wars MMO?
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