MMO Updates

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• Your guide to MMOs at Gamescom 2013
• CCP Games reveals EVE Valkyrie
• Firefall announcing next open beta, starting sale during Gamescom
• Massively Speaking Episode 260: Podjacked!
• Luvinia Online relaunching as Luvinia World today
• Tom Clancy's The Division officially coming to PC
• World of Warplanes announces September 26 release date
• The Daily Grind: How much communication on major bugs is the right amount?
• Chaos Theory: The Secret World's most secretive faction
• Not So Massively: Diablo III ad backlash, GOME on PC, and SMITE's facelift
• Bungie bringing colossal Destiny statue to Gamescom
• Why Age of Empires Online failed
• Gamescom 2013: New Dragon's Prophet trailer released
• Bless website updates with city screenshots
• New Elder Scrolls dev blog profiles the flame atronach
• Highlights assembled from Friday's RIFT livestream
• Massively Exclusive: Episode 8 of Mabinogi the Saga: Iria
• Allods Online Q&A covers new subscription server
• Captain's Log: Star Trek Online Las Vegas recap

Your guide to MMOs at Gamescom 2013 Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Events (Massively's Coverage), Guides, Miscellaneous Can you believe it, Gamescom is this week already! The massive trade show in Cologne, Germany, will run from August 21st to the 25th. Of course, if you're reading this, then you have one pressing question in mind: Which MMO studios will be there, and what will they be talking about? While we can't answer the second part of that, we can give you a heads-up regarding the studio attendance. Hit us after the jump for the run-down of which studios will be there along with their Twitter handles because you just know that any big news from the show will be insta-tweeted two seconds later. Continue reading Your guide to MMOs at Gamescom 2013 Your guide to MMOs at Gamescom 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Aug 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

CCP Games reveals EVE Valkyrie Posted: 20 Aug 2013 09:45 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, New Titles, News Items There's another game on its way to share space with EVE Online and Dust 514. EVE: Valkyrie is the official name for what had been referred to before now as EVE-VR, what was described as a tech demo assembled with the Oculus Rift and a few fighter craft. Yes, that high-speed dogfighting sim in a virtual reality headset turned out to not just be a brief bit of playable speculation but a peek at the next game from CCP Games. CEO Hilmar Petursson stated that as soon as players got their hands on the demo, they wanted to know when the whole thing could be purchased -- and that was when it was just a concept demo developed by a handful of people during some spare moments. No official statements have been issued on what format the game will take or whether or not there will be components other than multiplayer dogfights. But there will be spaceships zooming around and shooting one another, and that's what attracted people in the first place. CCP Games reveals EVE Valkyrie originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Aug 2013 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: EVE: Valkyrie revealed

Firefall announcing next open beta, starting sale during Gamescom Posted: 20 Aug 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Promotions If you are eagerly anticipating the next stage of Firefall's open beta, your wait is nearly over... for the details, that is. Red 5 Studios plans to unveil the details of Stage 2 during Gamescom this week. Mark Kern, CEO of Red 5 Studios, also noted that a hinted-at feature will be included, and stated, "Players will directly have a hand in shaping this new phase while playing the game. It's a game changer for shooters, let alone MMOs." In conjunction with the announcement, Firefall's $100 Starter Pack will be 25% off starting August 21st. However, come August 31st the packs will be permanently discontinued when the sale ends; then the studio will instead focus "on new in-game cosmetic and convenience products." [Source: Red 5 Studios press release] Firefall announcing next open beta, starting sale during Gamescom originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Aug 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively Speaking Episode 260: Podjacked! Posted: 20 Aug 2013 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Podcasts, MMO Industry, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Miscellaneous One of the little-known facts about Massively's staff is that we routinely carjack, helicopterjack, and tankjack our way to work every morning. It's become this competition to one-up each other, which is why Brendan ended up driving the Wienermobile into the parking lot last week. It's also why we're all over Grand Theft Auto Online, because that is our life. 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 260: Podjacked! Massively Speaking Episode 260: Podjacked! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Aug 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Luvinia Online relaunching as Luvinia World today Posted: 20 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, News Items, Free-to-Play If you were a fan of Luvinia Online, news of the game's shutdown probably took you by surprise, largely because there was no real news of it. It just sort of happened without explanation or warning, like your boyfriend breaking up with you by blocking your phone number. But the game is relaunching today as Luvinia World starting at 12:00 p.m. EDT today under the management of Shanda Games and Soa Games, giving players a chance to log back in and play once more. Players looking to retrieve their old characters will be expected to pay a fee of $25, which will both restore the character on the new servers and offer a $30 credit in microtransaction currency. It's not ideal, obviously, but considering the game has changed hands altogether it's somewhat expected. And it's good news for players who lost a game unexpectedly -- you can have it back now, almost as good as new. Luvinia Online relaunching as Luvinia World today originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Aug 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Launch announcement

Tom Clancy's The Division officially coming to PC Posted: 20 Aug 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Video, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, War Tom Clancy's MMO-ish shooter The Division has officially been announced for release on PC as well as consoles in late 2014. When originally revealed at this year's E3, Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft stated that the game would be for both the XBox One and the PS4, but, thanks to the power of online petitions and forums, the PC version is now official. You can watch the short announcement trailer just after the cut. Continue reading Tom Clancy's The Division officially coming to PC Tom Clancy's The Division officially coming to PC originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Aug 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Rock, Paper Shotgun

World of Warplanes announces September 26 release date Posted: 20 Aug 2013 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Screenshots, Video, Launches, New Titles, War, Free-to-Play, World of Warplanes Wargaming.net has announced today that its flight combat MMO, World of Warplanes, will be released to North America and Europe on September 26, 2013, while the Russian Commonwealth of Independent States will see the game launched on September 25. The studio boasts close to three million beta registrants for the game so far, and Gamescom attendees can get their hands on the game early, starting tomorrow at the Wargaming booth. Be sure to check out our gallery of screenshots below as well as the Gamescom 2013 trailer just after the jump. [Source: Wargaming press release] Gallery: World of Warplanes Continue reading World of Warplanes announces September 26 release date World of Warplanes announces September 26 release date originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Aug 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: How much communication on major bugs is the right amount? Posted: 20 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous A lot of people were very interested in taking part in Final Fantasy XIV's open beta. Unfortunately, for a substantial number of players, the beta started and stopped with Error 3102. Leaving aside debates about whether or not this should or should not have happened, I think one of the big problems for several players was that the developers simply didn't discuss the issue with players until the test period was nearly over, which meant that there was no way of being certain that anything was being done. You could make the case that it's better for developers to be focusing on actually fixing the problem instead of updating people on the status of the problem. But silence can look a lot like ignorance at a glance, and no one wants to be ignored when something damages the game experience. So today we ask you, readers: How much communication on major bugs is the right amount? Do you want an acknowledgement and nothing more until it's fixed, or do you want hourly status updates from the development team? 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: How much communication on major bugs is the right amount? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Aug 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Chaos Theory: The Secret World's most secretive faction Posted: 19 Aug 2013 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi, Lore, Opinion, The Secret World, Chaos Theory, Buy-to-Play In a game full of mysteries, there are secrets and then there are secrets. Some things are spelled out for us pretty clearly, but others are hidden and are only glimpsed and hinted at over the course of our adventures. It's to the player who sharply observes and is diligent at hunting down lore that many of these are revealed. And so it is with the story behind The Secret World's most secretive faction. As we know, there are several major players in the Secret War: the three playable factions of the Templars, the Dragon, and the Illuminati; the sinister corporate Orochi Group; and the UN-like Council of Venice. But there's another faction that isn't completely invisible from view yet also doesn't go to great lengths to make itself known. These are the Phoenicians, the black sheep of the bunch. I was only peripherally aware of the Phoenicians through my first play-through of TSW, but now that I'm going back through it again, I find myself trying to piece together these stories and secrets. I was fascinated with the concept of a fourth (unplayable) faction that didn't quite fit in the mold as the rest of the bunch. Today I want to share what I've learned. Continue reading Chaos Theory: The Secret World's most secretive faction Chaos Theory: The Secret World's most secretive faction originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Not So Massively: Diablo III ad backlash, GOME on PC, and SMITE's facelift Posted: 19 Aug 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Trailers, Video, Business Models, Events (Real-World), Expansions, Game Mechanics, New Titles, Patches, PvP, News Items, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, MOBA, Diablo III, Crowdfunding, Star Citizen, Infinite Crisis, Path of Exile Warner Bros. Interactive announced this week that console MOBA Guardians of Middle-Earth will soon be released on the PC via Steam. The game will not be free-to-play but will come with the Survivor mode that the console release saw back in February. Massively tested Infinite Crisis' new Coast City marina map, and developers invited fans to playtest new champion Atomic Wonder Woman at Gamescom 2013. Third-Person MOBA SMITE completely overhauled its main Conquest map with sharp new 3-D models and more neutral textures. And Heroes of Newerth revealed big matchmaking changes coming in its upcoming patch 3.2.1. Expansion speculation is mounting after the Diablo III development team released a new teaser site linking the recently registered trademark "Reaper of Souls" to the franchise. Blizzard has also been the target of some fan backlash after showing off the first television advert for its upcoming console release. Path of Exile's load times will be cut significantly in upcoming patch 0.11.4 thanks to new artwork optimisations. And Star Citizen answered more fan questions this week and has released a new website showing the stats of all current ships. Continue reading Not So Massively: Diablo III ad backlash, GOME on PC, and SMITE's facelift Not So Massively: Diablo III ad backlash, GOME on PC, and SMITE's facelift originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Bungie bringing colossal Destiny statue to Gamescom Posted: 19 Aug 2013 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Video, Culture, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Destiny Gamescom bills itself as the largest single gathering of gamers in the world. Who better than Bungie, then, to set up the "largest theater to ever grace the event" in order to showcase its upcoming Destiny title. The game will also be advertised by a colossal sculpture of the Fallen Captain, a fearsome four-armed baddie that Destiny players will face as they fight their way through the game's war-torn sci-fi scape. Click past the cut to see the statue take shape courtesy of Bungie's art department. Continue reading Bungie bringing colossal Destiny statue to Gamescom Bungie bringing colossal Destiny statue to Gamescom originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Announcement

Why Age of Empires Online failed Posted: 19 Aug 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Browser Since the beginning of this year, Age of Empires Online has shifted into stagnation and decline -- and done so intentionally. So why did Microsoft Studios decide to all but abandon the future of this game? In short, the title launched with far too little content, a bad business model, and couldn't crank out the goods fast enough to retain an audience. This resulted in a sharp drop-off from 100,000 players to 15,000 in a few months. Executive Producer Kevin Perry criticized the game's launch at GDC Europe, pointing at its skimpy features (including only two civilizations at launch) and bad public perception: "You don't get a soft launch for a branded title. Players come there for your brand. You only get word-of-mouth once. Whenever we got new players, they always came in with the overhead, 'but I heard this game sucks.' That hill was extremely difficult to climb." Even after tinkering with the game's cost, adding in more content, and figuring out ways to allow players to spend more money, the company ultimately realized that the players were mostly demanding new content which couldn't be generated to make a profit. "The content itself was too expensive to create," Perry admitted. "We did do a lot of things right, but they weren't enough to actually save the game." Why Age of Empires Online failed originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Polygon

Gamescom 2013: New Dragon's Prophet trailer released Posted: 19 Aug 2013 04:30 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Dragon's Prophet SOE has released a new Dragon's Prophet trailer to celebrate this week's Gamescom. The firm is also giving fans a sneak peek at the title's Frontier system. "Guilds will be thrust into Territory Wars where they must destroy Guardian Crystal towers and break through castle walls guarded by their enemies," according to a Dragon's Prophet press release. "Siege weapons and dragons, along with special NPCs, will aid alliances as they fight for control of the citadels." SOE also wants you to know about the game's latest open beta update, which includes the Fafnir Dragon event, a style shop, one-to-30 leveling curve tweaks, and more. Dragon's Prophet officially launches on September 18th. In the meantime, don't forget to watch the trailer after the cut! [Source: SOE press release] Continue reading Gamescom 2013: New Dragon's Prophet trailer released Gamescom 2013: New Dragon's Prophet trailer released originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Bless website updates with city screenshots Posted: 19 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items Bless is one of those games that we'd be following a lot closer if there was more information about it available in English. It's a Korean MMO, see, and like many Korean MMOs it's unequivocally gorgeous and sufficiently mysterious in terms of mechanics to whet our appetite. Neowiz did update its website today, though, and there are some new screenshots that show off plenty of impressive architecture and various city locales. Steparu has the details as well as a selection of the newest shots. Bless website updates with city screenshots originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Steparu

New Elder Scrolls dev blog profiles the flame atronach Posted: 19 Aug 2013 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, The Elder Scrolls Online There's a new Elder Scrolls Online dev blog floating around the game's official website. It's all about flame atronachs and how the dev team at ZeniMax is going about creating them. "Comfortable in both melee and at range, the flame atronach can lob deadly balls of fire, and it radiates a continuous burning aura, making it quite dangerous at any distance," the dev blog explains. There's a bit more verbiage about the creature's sound design as well some screenshots, concept art, and a quick in-game video. You can see this last bit after the cut. Continue reading New Elder Scrolls dev blog profiles the flame atronach New Elder Scrolls dev blog profiles the flame atronach originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev blog

Highlights assembled from Friday's RIFT livestream Posted: 19 Aug 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Patches, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play, RIFT Fans of RIFT are probably feeling a little jumpy right now. The community was surprised when community manager James "Elrar" Nichols abruptly left the game, especially in wake of the other shakeups moving through Trion Worlds. The game's community team did run a livestream event on Friday, and fansite RIFT Junkies took the time to comb through the whole thing and separate out the highlights. Trion in general is focusing right now on ArcheAge, RIFT, and Defiance, with End of Nations on hold for the moment. The company is still committed to the game's European playerbase and has not changed the RIFT development team; improvements are still in the works for the game's next two patches, including engine optimization. New CEO Scott Hartsman also stressed his love of RIFT and the fact that he has no intention of allowing the game to creep into "pay-to-win" territory. You can watch the whole stream on the company's official Twitch channel. Highlights assembled from Friday's RIFT livestream originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: RIFT Livestream Via: RIFT Junkies

Massively Exclusive: Episode 8 of Mabinogi the Saga: Iria Posted: 19 Aug 2013 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Lore, Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, Mabinogi What, Monday again? Well, here to help mitigate the dread of a new work week is the latest chapter of the Mabinogi mini-series, Saga: Iria. Last week's cliffhanger left off with Millia knocked out by the one she enlisted to help her. Now in episode 8, Shamala and the player are turned into demons in order to infiltrate the Cessair camp to help rescue Millia. In the meantime, Tarlach and Ruairi meet up and discuss the past. With Ruiari's help to obtain a charm from Irai, Tarlach hatches a plot to destroy the gods and turn Erinn into a paradise. Watch it all unfold in the video after the break. And don't forget to see episode 8 in action this Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. EDT on Massively TV. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Episode 8 of Mabinogi the Saga: Iria Massively Exclusive: Episode 8 of Mabinogi the Saga: Iria originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Allods Online Q&A covers new subscription server Posted: 19 Aug 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, Previews, Free-to-Play, Allods Online, Subscription Bucking the trend of going from subscription to free-to-play, Allods Online is doing the reverse when it comes out with its new subscription server later this year. There's a lot of questions swirling about this alternative way to pay and play the game, and so gPotato has put out a handy Q&A to cover the subject. Apart from paying a standard (yet "to be determined") fee to play on this server, the subscription server's main difference will be the absence of an item shop and currency exchange. Everything on this server will be either quested, crafted, looted, or purchased with in-game currency. Players also won't be able to transfer a character (and its goods) from a F2P server to the subscription one. The studio hopes to have the new server out around the time of the next expansion. It has committed to a subscription server for Europe, although it may nix the North American one due to lackluster interest from the community. Allods Online Q&A covers new subscription server originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Roadmap Q&A

Captain's Log: Star Trek Online Las Vegas recap Posted: 19 Aug 2013 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), Previews, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Free-to-Play, Captain's Log It's been a couple of weeks since my last entry, and to be honest, I'm still recovering. The Official Star Trek Convention was an absolute blast. Thousands of Trek fans descended upon the Rio Suites and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, for four solid days to celebrate all things Star Trek. One of those things, of course, was Star Trek Online. Contrary to its showing in 2012, Star Trek Online was the focus of not just one but two complete formal panels this year. The first featured two of the STO devs in a discussion with actress Denise Crosby, who voiced the characters of Empress Sela as well as Lt. Tasha Yar. The second panel was co-hosted by Massively and Trek Radio and featured a panel of STO devs who talked about the game and gave us some great sneak-peeks at Season Eight works in progress! Gallery: STO Season 8 concept art sneak peeks Continue reading Captain's Log: Star Trek Online Las Vegas recap Captain's Log: Star Trek Online Las Vegas recap originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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