Sunday, January 5, 2014

MMO Updates

MMO Updates

Rise and Shiny revisit: Istaria

Posted: 05 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST

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Istaria screenshot
At this point it's a sure thing for me to revisit Istaria, the old-school MMO by Virtrium, every single year. I look forward to it each time even though the game always feels basically the same. I don't want to imply that the game doesn't change at all. In fact, the indie developer team that works to run the game should be proud of the frequency of communications and patches. Around seven patches (large and small) were applied to the game in the month of December alone. On the surface, however, the game largely plays the same way and features the same systems that it always has. That doesn't mean I am familiar with them all or have come anywhere near mastering them all, but it's a comfort to know that the game remains familiar to those who are returning after some time away.

The team added a larger patch in December called Crystalshaper. The game also turned 10 years old, a feat in itself. I thought that now would be a perfect time to take another look at it, and I even ran a livestream of the game, co-hosted by Lead Designer Jason Murdick.

Continue reading Rise and Shiny revisit: Istaria

MassivelyRise and Shiny revisit: Istaria originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Jan 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    One Shots: All outta soul

    Posted: 05 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST

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    Blade and Soul
    Man, there are few things worse in the gaming world than to see players of other regions get a hold of titles that have yet to make it to your neck of the woods. First comes the flush of jealousy, then the slow burn of envy, then the mountaintop proclamation of vengeance upon the studio in the middle of a rainstorm.

    Reader Dynatos is one of the fortunate to be able to try out this particular game: "I've recently stepped back into Blade and Soul with the Chinese release, and while I'm not very far along into the game (it's a little tough when I don't understand the language!), I'm completely in love with the art style and combat mechanics. Here's my Kung Fu master looking at the foreboding building up the walkway -- not very inviting!"

    I WILL RAIN HOT DOOM UPON YOU NCSOFT! DOOM! Er, sorry, I just advanced to stage three.

    Continue reading One Shots: All outta soul

    MassivelyOne Shots: All outta soul originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Jan 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      The Daily Grind: To what lengths will you go for 'free' limited-time goodies?

      Posted: 05 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

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      Neverwinter
      I like to think of myself as a person who covets his time and won't spend it frivolously grinding, but once in a while I fall for it. "It" in this case being a limited-time event in an MMO where a particularly tantalizing reward is dangled in front of me. Common sense will flee and I'll find myself neck-deep in an obsessive grind to get this free goodie.

      Neverwinter was the most recent that trapped me. I couldn't help it, you see. There was the promise of a cute little healing fawn companion if I'd only go fishing during the winter event. That sounded pretty doable, that is until I hit hour five of non-stop carp capture and realized that I was in for a real grind marathon to pull this off.

      Very long story short, I got the fawn but really wish I hadn't wasted so many hours doing it. That's my story. What's yours?

      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!

      MassivelyThe Daily Grind: To what lengths will you go for 'free' limited-time goodies? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Jan 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        LotRO players put on Winterstock 2014

        Posted: 04 Jan 2014 06:00 PM PST

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        LOTRO
        A new player event is coming to Lord of the Rings Online this month: Winterstock!

        To fit the season, Winterstock will take place at the frigid (yet welcoming) Thorin's Gate on the Landroval server from January 17th through the 20th. The four-day event will showcase 19 bands playing in one-hour blocks during the afternoons and evenings for entertainment and amusement. Winterstock could be seen as the counterpart to summer's Weatherstock, which has been going on for years now.

        The event is hosted by the Lonely Mountain Band and is available to all. A full schedule of the band times is up on the LOTRO Players site.

        MassivelyLotRO players put on Winterstock 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Jan 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Repopulation's lead dev featured in three-hour livestream

        Posted: 04 Jan 2014 05:00 PM PST

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        The Repopulation splash banner
        Can't get enough info about sci-fi indie sandbox The Repopulation? Here's a three-hour livestream featuring lead developer Joshua Halls that should quench your thirst, at least for a little while.

        The stream boasts a lengthy Q&A session as well as some never-before-seen footage in the form of world fly-throughs. The Repopulation is currently in closed alpha. The devs have also announced a second Kickstarter drive designed to fund additional gameplay features as well as a Greenlight campaign to increase exposure via Steam.

        MassivelyThe Repopulation's lead dev featured in three-hour livestream originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Jan 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Norrathian Notebook: Are membership changes a benefit to EQII players?

        Posted: 04 Jan 2014 03:00 PM PST

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        While I had another, happier topic all ready to ring in the new year, SOE surprised us with a questionable decision this week that I felt necessitated an immediate response. So today we'll focus on this hot topic instead: All change is not good. And SOE's announced change in membership benefits for EverQuest II is really not good.

        Previously, with the removal of the remaining free-to-play restrictions, EQII subscribers saw their benefits whittle down to essentially a buff to mount speed and coin, AA, and XP accumulation (basically what was offered during the Gold Rush event) and the monthly 500 Station Cash allotment. While that seems as if players lost most of their advantages for subbing, there wasn't too much murmuring because at least we were happy that our comrades had the freedom to chose the classes and races they wanted and enjoy the game better. And besides, we still had the 500 SC, so we still had some worthwhile benefit. Well, now that's changing.

        SOE has decided that this last benefit must be retooled from 500 SC that accumulates until you use it to the ability to buy one single item for up to 2000 SC per month. While it may sound like a better deal on the surface, it's not -- not for SOE or for its customers.

        Continue reading Norrathian Notebook: Are membership changes a benefit to EQII players?

        MassivelyNorrathian Notebook: Are membership changes a benefit to EQII players? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Jan 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Battle.net beefs up parental controls

          Posted: 04 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST

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          Kiddies will find it tougher to spend money in Blizzard's games, as the studio is expanding its parental controls to include locks on in-game purchases. Blizzard is notifying relevant users of this change via email and on the forums.

          Starting January 7th, any Battle.net account with parental controls enabled will automatically prevent users from spending money in World of Warcraft's cash shop, Hearthstone's cash shop, or Diablo III's soon-to-be-closed real-money auction house. Account users will be able to enable those purchases by logging into their account and changing the settings.

          MassivelyBattle.net beefs up parental controls originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Jan 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's horse year

          Posted: 04 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST

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          All of our horses are 100% horse-fed for that double-horse juiced-in goodness.
          As I steadily collect another set of holiday hats for little reason other than an inexplicable need to collect these things (and I'd really like to be able to store my Usagi Kabuto while I'm at it, thanks), it's a fair time to look at the next year for Final Fantasy XIV's development. The game launched well, has made some missteps, and the next year is really going to determine how well it can manage over the long term.

          I'm not pretending that I have a picture-perfect roadmap for the game over the next year, but I do think there are some pretty obvious things to be addressed. There are gaps to be filled in, systems that could stand to be improved, and more systems that would have a positive effect on retention and play. So let's look at what the next year will hopefully bring other than equine headpieces.

          Continue reading The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's horse year

          MassivelyThe Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's horse year originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Jan 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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