MMO Updates

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• Shroud of the Avatar's Richard Garriott and Starr Long on MMO community
• Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Anticipated for 2015 and Beyond
• WildStar eyes Chinese release
• Skyforge offers two contests for those who seek beta keys
• The Daily Grind: Do single-player games give you a craving for MMOs?
• The holidays have arrived in SOE's MMORPGs
• Hearthstone now available worldwide on Android devices
• City of Steam is merging EU servers on December 22nd
• Final Fantasy XIV is now offering a PlayStation 4 two-week free trial
• EVE Online nixes industry teams
• Leaderboard: Are you playing Elite: Dangerous this week?
• Watch six videos of TERA's new dungeons
• Echo of Soul has 'everything an MMO player could want'
• RIFT beefs up the minion system
• Choose My Adventure: World of Warcraft and the shadowy priest
• Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs on the warrior class and development transparency
• Landmark's PvE arrives today; SOE shifts to EQ Next full-time in 2015

Shroud of the Avatar's Richard Garriott and Starr Long on MMO community Posted: 18 Dec 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Events (In-Game), Interviews, Opinion, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Player-Generated Content, Shroud of the Avatar If you've been making a list of sandbox features and checking it twice, chances are you'll find many of those items in Shroud of the Avatar. And if player-generated content and a great community are near the top of that list, then this crowdfunded title might very well be the present you want to get yourself! While still under development, this sandbox has already grown exponentially from its humble beginnings of a chicken in a room to a current state that includes a bevy of features -- with more arriving like clockwork every monthly update. And plenty of those features are tools and systems that allow players to make the game a personalized experience for themselves and others. What about Shroud of the Avatar makes it so great for player-generated content? What makes the community great? And how has Steam affected the game? I sat down with Portalarium's Richard Garriott and Starr Long to talk about the move to Steam, updates, PGC, and the amazing community that's supporting the game. These guys had so much to share that this is only part one! Continue reading Shroud of the Avatar's Richard Garriott and Starr Long on MMO community Shroud of the Avatar's Richard Garriott and Starr Long on MMO community originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Anticipated for 2015 and Beyond Posted: 18 Dec 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, New Titles, Opinion, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous Massively's end-of-the-year awards continue today with our award for the Most Anticipated MMO for 2015 and Beyond. Pretty much every MMO that isn't out yet or is planning a major content update in 2015 was eligible for this award. All of our writers were invited to cast a vote, but not all of them chose to do so for this category. Don't forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end. The Massively staff pick for Most Anticipated MMO for 2015 and Beyond is... Continue reading Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Anticipated for 2015 and Beyond Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Anticipated for 2015 and Beyond originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Dec 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WildStar eyes Chinese release Posted: 18 Dec 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, WildStar, Subscription WildStar may have a new audience for its sci-fi western ways, as 2P.com reports that the game will be headed to China somewhere between late 2015 and early 2016. The MMO will be operated by Giant Interactive, which also handles ZT Online. However, NCsoft and Carbine have yet to officially announce the partnership. A new market for WildStar may be just what the beleaguered title needs to shore up its financials. The Q3 2014 earnings report from NCsoft showed that the new MMO had dropped sales dramatically compared to the previous quarter. [Thanks to Mason for the tip!] WildStar eyes Chinese release originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Dec 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: 2P.com

Skyforge offers two contests for those who seek beta keys Posted: 18 Dec 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, News Items, Free-to-Play, Promotions, Skyforge Is the only thing you want for Christmas a nice shiny Skyforge beta key? If so... wow, you are aiming really low when it comes to gifts this year. We usually at least would ask for a game, not test access to a game. Besides, you could get one completely for free by taking part in one of two contests. The first is a straightforward raffle-style giveaway on Facebook: Just "like" the game's page and submit your account email, and 500 lucky entrants will get a beta key. But for those who want a key and prefer not to leave it up to chance, there's a forum thread asking players to name the critter they see in the header above. The five best entries will receive a beta key, followed by a vote-off of all the suggested names. So there's a chance at getting in just based on your creativity at naming things, which might be more your style. The name contest will run until December 22nd, while the Facebook entries are accepted until January 15th. [Thanks to Gabriel for the tip!] Skyforge offers two contests for those who seek beta keys originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Facebook key giveaway, Critter-naming contest

The Daily Grind: Do single-player games give you a craving for MMOs? Posted: 18 Dec 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, The Secret World I made a dent in my Steam backlog this month, and one of the older titles that I finally got around to beating was Alan Wake. This has nothing to do with MMOs, really, except for the fact that the game's creepy atmospherics and its focus on the supernatural made me want to fire up The Secret World. What about you, Massively readers? Do your single-player adventures ever give you a craving for a particular MMO? 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: Do single-player games give you a craving for MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Dec 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The holidays have arrived in SOE's MMORPGs Posted: 17 Dec 2014 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Super-hero, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Business Models, Culture, Events (In-Game), Patches, News Items, Free-to-Play, DC Universe Online, EverQuest Next, PlanetSide 2, Sandbox, Dragon's Prophet, Landmark If you're a fan of SOE's MMOs and also a fan of Christmas, good news! SOE's MMOs also have Christmas! The studio posted a roundup of its holiday festivities earlier today: EverQuest II: The Frostfell Wonderland Village returns this year along with a brand-new quest called The Great Candy (Cane) Chase. DC Universe Online: Players will confront Larfleeze's Orange Lantern Corp. Old feats and rewards are back, as are "new base items, styles, a feat, and collection." PlanetSide 2: It's Auraximas, which means it's time to murder snowmen. Special camo will also be on sale in the in-game store because of course it will be EverQuest: Frostfell in this classic MMO brings Santug Cluagg and a host of new quests rolled out in phases. Dragon's Prophet: Celebrate the The Silver Dragon Festival through January 15th. A moment of silence, of course, for the SOE games no longer with us after this year's purge. Ahem. If you're more the type to moon after Landmark and its futurespawn, EverQuest Next, check out MJ's hands-on with Landmark's PvE content update, which launches today. And peek back early next week for Massively's traditional MMO holiday event roundup for all the big games across the genre. The holidays have arrived in SOE's MMORPGs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hearthstone now available worldwide on Android devices Posted: 17 Dec 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, Free-to-Play, Mobile, Hearthstone After a soft launch in select countries on Android devices, Hearthstone is now available worldwide for Android gamers. To run it, you'll need to have an Android device that's at least 6" or larger. Like the other platform versions, the Android edition of Hearthstone will sync up with your Battle.net account and allow you to use your existing cards (if you have any). Plans are in the works for an Android version to work on smaller-size phones. Hearthstone recently won the award for Massively's Best Pseudo-MMO of 2014. Android players can snag it on Google Play or through Amazon. Hearthstone now available worldwide on Android devices originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Touch Arcade

City of Steam is merging EU servers on December 22nd Posted: 17 Dec 2014 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, MMO Industry, News Items, Free-to-Play, Browser, City of Steam, Subscription If you've played City of Steam in the EU and thought to yourself, "Man, there are just too many servers for this game right now," the developers agree with you, which is why the server list is being consolidated down to a single server as of December 22nd. Characters will be automatically transferred, with character names getting server tags to make sure naming issues sorted out before they arise. Players on the current EU3 server will be receiving a compensation package that includes a 90-day subscription and a variety of other materials for character advancement. The five-characters-per-server limit will be enforced with prejudice; the staff is simply deleting the oldest or least-played characters on an account if the merge puts someone over five characters on the final server. So take care of that issue before it arises on the 22nd. City of Steam is merging EU servers on December 22nd originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Date for Consolidating the EU Servers

Final Fantasy XIV is now offering a PlayStation 4 two-week free trial Posted: 17 Dec 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV, Promotions, Subscription Final Fantasy XIV may be intriguing you ever since it won of our Most Improved MMO of 2014 this past week. If you haven't bought into it yet and have a PlayStation 4, then you now have a free option to sample this acclaimed title. Square-Enix announced today that it has begun to offer a 14-day free trial on the PlayStation 4 before requiring a subscription. There are a couple of caveats for these trial accounts, however; players can level only to 20 and have a few in-game activites restricted for the duration of the two-week trial. [Source: Square-Enix Press release] Final Fantasy XIV is now offering a PlayStation 4 two-week free trial originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Online nixes industry teams Posted: 17 Dec 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Subscription Not every new idea is going to take off and be a smash hit, as CCP definitely understands this as much as anyone. The EVE Online developer said that the implementation of industry teams earlier this year has been vastly underused, and as a result, teams will be removed from the game entirely in 2015. "We have been closely tracking all related industry metrics and dials and it is apparent to us that usage of teams has been very low relative to the goals we set for it -- with single figure percentage use in manufacturing jobs and near nonexistent use in research," CCP wrote. Industry teams had allowed players to hire NPCs to help out with industry jobs. The feature will be "methodically removed" over the next few months, although players will be able to use teams until they are forceably retired. On another note, EVE tweeted that it has freed up over six million names from former trial players and has made them available for general use. EVE Online nixes industry teams originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev diary

Leaderboard: Are you playing Elite: Dangerous this week? Posted: 17 Dec 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, Opinion, Sandbox, Leaderboard, Elite: Dangerous I'm vacationing from Massively this week, but I'm not vacationing from MMOs. Unless Elite: Dangerous isn't technically an MMO. Maybe it isn't, I dunno, because I haven't played long enough to form an opinion just yet. Anyway, Elite! Launched yesterday! Yay! Maybe after my vacation I'll manage to write something more in depth, but for now that will have to suffice. What about you, Massively readers? Are you playing Elite this week? If so, what do you think? 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: Are you playing Elite: Dangerous this week? Leaderboard: Are you playing Elite: Dangerous this week? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Watch six videos of TERA's new dungeons Posted: 17 Dec 2014 12:30 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Expansions, Free-to-Play, TERA, Dungeons If you haven't heard from your TERA-playing friends, don't worry -- they're merely in the thick of enjoying the new Fate of Arun expansion. As with many MMO expansions, Fate of Arun came packed with tough new dungeons, and intrepid YouTuber Skill Graal filmed adventures through several of them. You can watch six of these dungeon dives after the break, including looks at Bathysmal Rise and Ravenous Gorge. Continue reading Watch six videos of TERA's new dungeons Watch six videos of TERA's new dungeons originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube Via: Reddit

Echo of Soul has 'everything an MMO player could want' Posted: 17 Dec 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Free-to-Play, Dev Diaries "At launch, Echo of Soul will include everything an MMO player could want," says Global Development Project Manager Junhyung Jung. "With 68 areas and over 1,600 quests, EOS offers far more initial content than other games." Them's fightin' words, Mr. Jung. But also playin' words, too. The above quote comes from a new Echo of Soul video dev diary, in which Jung makes a case for why this title should have broad appeal. He runs down the features list, including PvE content, PvP battles, and solo and team challenges. The level cap is also mentioned as where the game "truly begins." You can watch the full dev diary after the break. Continue reading Echo of Soul has 'everything an MMO player could want' Echo of Soul has 'everything an MMO player could want' originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube

RIFT beefs up the minion system Posted: 17 Dec 2014 11:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Game Mechanics, Free-to-Play, RIFT RIFT's new minion system is arguably one of the more popular additions to the game in some time, with players sending out their loyal subjects to bring them back treasures and fame. However, Trion Worlds says it still has work to do, and in a new "State of the Minunion" post, the studio lists a few areas that it's improving with the game's next hotfix. The new Fae Yule minion mission pack, with a series of quests that tell a story, will have some of its minion rewards buffed up with better stats. The hotfix will also tackle a few bugs and add minion-releated achievements. Finally, adventure rewards are being fine-tuned and improved, although it has been difficult for the team to handle this as it has been "an extremely extensive change touching dozens upon dozens of loot tables." RIFT beefs up the minion system originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: State of the Minunion

Choose My Adventure: World of Warcraft and the shadowy priest Posted: 17 Dec 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Polls, Expansions, New Titles, PvE, Hands-On, Choose My Adventure, Subscription, MMORPG It's been one week since Choose My Adventure's voters sent me on the path of darkness in World of Warcraft, daring me to cast off my healing roots and adventure forward as a Priest who deals only in shadow. I've gained a couple of levels, tinkered with my garrison, and killed hundreds and hundreds of orcs. I've even managed to work out some of last week's confusion, finding a spell rotation that works for me and laying waste to any PvE enemies that cross my path. I've also completed about a million quests, Warlords of Draenor-style. Continue reading Choose My Adventure: World of Warcraft and the shadowy priest Choose My Adventure: World of Warcraft and the shadowy priest originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs on the warrior class and development transparency Posted: 17 Dec 2014 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Business Models, Classes, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained City State Entertainment -- an indie studio that's becoming better known to our readers, I imagine, after it ran away with our poll for best studio last week -- has today posted its first class concept reveal. The tentatively named Drengr is the Viking warrior class, and in its long design document, the studio has outlined just how the archetype fits into the proposed Path system that will govern character development in the crowdfunded RvR MMORPG. We spoke to CSE's Mark Jacobs about the Path system, warrior reveal, and the impact of transparency on the game development process. Enjoy the interview below! Continue reading Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs on the warrior class and development transparency Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs on the warrior class and development transparency originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: CU dev blog

Landmark's PvE arrives today; SOE shifts to EQ Next full-time in 2015 Posted: 17 Dec 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Interviews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Sandbox, Norrathian Notebook, Landmark We've waited a long time for the chance to have our faces eaten off by vicious monsters in Landmark, and now that opportunity is almost here! After a bit of delay, the infamous PvE patch is heading into our favorite sandbox today. This is seriously going to be a game-changer. Of all the patches throughout the whole year, this one is the biggest -- surpassing the August PvP update and even the original alpha launch, at least according to Creative Director Dave Georgeson. And he's not kidding! I got to check out Landmark's new mobs, linking and triggering, armors, props, and more with Georgeson and Senior Producer Terry Michaels. I didn't think it was possible to be even more excited for this patch, but I am! Can I hear a squeeeee?! Oh, and for everyone who is waiting anxiously for EverQuest Next news, here's a tidbit from Georgeson you might enjoy: When we get to those game mastering systems [after the start of the year] that means we are working on EQN full time. Because those are the systems we need for EQN, and that's what we're building when we're building those game mastering tools. So we're so close to transitioning the team almost entirely to EQN, and then we'll take the elements that we build for EQN and port them over into Landmark, but our focus will shift almost entirely to EQN after the new year. Continue reading Landmark's PvE arrives today; SOE shifts to EQ Next full-time in 2015 Landmark's PvE arrives today; SOE shifts to EQ Next full-time in 2015 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Dec 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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