MMO Updates

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• The Mog Log: A tourist in Final Fantasy XI
• Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Underrated MMO
• Borderlands Online confirmed for a Chinese release
• H1Z1 talks about the details of animations in new video
• The Daily Grind: Are you playing any of the December releases?
• MMO Week in Review: Revan returns in SWTOR
• The Stream Team: World of Warcraft's instant 90
• EVE Evolved: The Sleepers are coming!
• Massively Interview: Marvel Heroes' Magneto makes his mark
• WoW, Guild Wars 2, and ArcheAge are ZergID users' top games

The Mog Log: A tourist in Final Fantasy XI Posted: 08 Dec 2014 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Game Mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, The Mog Log, Subscription I don't write much about Final Fantasy XI in this column, but those with some knowledge of its history know that wasn't always the case. There are long stretches of the column that have focused on Final Fantasy XI's trials and tribulations. It's just that as I've said many times over, there's not a whole lot of point to talking about FFXI on a regular basis now. While Final Fantasy XIV keeps getting bigger and better, FFXI is slowly and quietly declining. But that doesn't mean you can't take a trip back. A few weeks back, my wife and a dear friend floated the idea that the three of us could try heading back to Final Fantasy XI, exploring the game from the start, completely fresh all over again. It would be very different from how it had been before. And true to form, it certainly has been. The game is very different now from the one I remember, and it's interesting to look at why, even from the perspective of someone just about to hit 20 for the first time on a single class. Continue reading The Mog Log: A tourist in Final Fantasy XI The Mog Log: A tourist in Final Fantasy XI originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 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 Underrated MMO Posted: 08 Dec 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous We're breaking with tradition this year when it comes to the Massively end-of-the-year awards. Instead of lumping them together into one huge article that no one reads because everyone's busy cheering and jeering over the GOTY down in the comments, we're going to pace ourselves so the little ones get some attention too. We'll also be explaining our votes so you can see the split and the rationale behind our picks. And because we know you want to have your say too, we'll throw in a reader poll as well. Please don't cheat. Today's award is for the Most Underrated MMO of the year. As will be the case for many (though not all) of this year's awards, games must have launched in 2014 to be eligible, which makes the list of eligible games fairly short. All of our writers were invited to cast a vote, but not all of them chose to do so for every category, so some games will literally win by a hair. The Massively staff pick for Most Underrated MMO of 2014 is... Continue reading Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Underrated MMO Massively's Best of 2014 Awards: Most Underrated MMO originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Borderlands Online confirmed for a Chinese release Posted: 08 Dec 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic, Miscellaneous Remember that crazy rumor from last week that Borderlands was going to be an MMO? It was so crazy and unbelievable you just had to laugh. It was also completely true, and it's now confirmed that Borderlands Online will be coming to China, published by Shanda Games and developed by Gearbox. There are no apparent plans to bring the game to the US. Four classes will be available in Borderlands Online: Warrior, Ranger, Wizard, and Berserker. The game is planned for a release in 2015; a mobile title is also in development, although it's unclear whether it will be a tie-in to the online game or a port of an existing title. So, yes, that crazy rumor was apparently right on the money. Borderlands Online confirmed for a Chinese release originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Dec 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMO Culture

H1Z1 talks about the details of animations in new video Posted: 08 Dec 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Horror, Video, News Items, Post-Apocalyptic, Miscellaneous, Sandbox, H1Z1 You probably don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about the animations of your favorite game, but they're still important. H1Z1's latest dev spotlight video highlights senior artist Dave Carter, the man behind motion captures and animations in the game, and he talks at length about what is in the game and how much influence animation has upon elements in the game. For example, adding zombies who can climb over vehicles and through windows is a balance issue, but it's also an animation issue; the developers can't add one without the other. Carter also discusses the existing animations in the game and some of the flow between them in the video. Although the animations aren't completely finished, the motion capture sessions have taken place and the team is fairly far along in bringing the game into motion. Check out the full video just past the break. Continue reading H1Z1 talks about the details of animations in new video H1Z1 talks about the details of animations in new video originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Dec 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: YouTube

The Daily Grind: Are you playing any of the December releases? Posted: 08 Dec 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Expansions, MMO Industry, New Titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind This is a pretty full month for MMO content releases. We've got a couple of new games in The Crew and Elite: Dangerous, though how "MMO" they are remains to be seen. We've also got expansions for Star Wars: The Old Republic, TERA, and Destiny, one of which I'm already playing and another of which I'll get to before the month is out. What about you, Massively readers? Do any of this month's MMO content releases tickle your fancy? Which one(s) are you playing? 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: Are you playing any of the December releases? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 08 Dec 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Week in Review: Revan returns in SWTOR Posted: 07 Dec 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post. Star Wars: The Old Republic's Shadow of Revan expansion launched for early-access players this week, adding new locations and storylines, revamping skill trees, selling strongholds for a song, and nuking training costs. And yes, it's that Revan. Massively's SWTOR expert Larry Everett scoped out the expansion ahead of launch and judged it worthy even for soloers. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top MMO stories. Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Revan returns in SWTOR MMO Week in Review: Revan returns in SWTOR originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Dec 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: World of Warcraft's instant 90 Posted: 07 Dec 2014 04:00 PM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Video, Expansions, New Titles, PvE, Hands-On, Choose My Adventure, Livestream, The Stream Team, Subscription, MMORPG Choose My Adventure is heading into World of Warcraft this month, and it all begins with the creation of a brand-new character that will immediately receive an instant boost to level 90. Join Massively's Mike Foster as he investigates the instant-leveling process and explores the tutorial system Blizzard has put in place to explain dozens of skills to a fledgling WoW player. The chaos begins at 7:00 p.m. EST. Game: World of Warcraft Host: Mike Foster Date: Sunday, December 7, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: World of Warcraft's instant 90 The Stream Team: World of Warcraft's instant 90 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Dec 2014 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: The Sleepers are coming! Posted: 07 Dec 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events (In-Game), Expansions, Game Mechanics, Lore, Patches, Previews, PvE, Opinion, Hands-On, Roleplaying, EVE Evolved, Dev Diaries, Sandbox, Subscription, MMORPG Ever since the announcement of 100 new wormhole systems and the unique Thera wormhole hub system, some interesting things have been going on in EVE Online. A new star appeared in the night sky and began rapidly growing in brightness like a supernova, and curiously, the light from that star was able to be seen from every star system in New Eden simultaneously in clear violation of the laws of physics. Two days prior to the event, Sansha's Nation were seen scattering from an Incursion site and leaving the area without using wormholes, hinting that something big was happening in their home system. Combined with the intruiging story of Thera, this has had even non-roleplayers scrambling through the EVE lore to come up with theories about what's to come. Players slowly set apart picking the mystery to pieces, conducting a galaxy-wide search to find the origin of the bright star and sending people into the test server to get clues. The mystery intensified when players discovered that the star was likely near or within restricted Jove space, and soon after they began finding strange cloaked structures throughout known space. While observing these structures, players even found that an all-new form of Sleeper NPC called the Circadian Seeker was periodically warping into the site and using some kind of scanning beam on the cloaked structure. All of this comes in anticipation of the public release of the Rhea patch on Tuesday 9th, which will introduce hidden Sleeper sites in known space and kick off the arms race to discover tech 3 destroyers. In this lore-heavy edition of EVE Evolved, I look at everything we know of EVE's new Sleeper storyline event and try to figure out how it all fits together. Continue reading EVE Evolved: The Sleepers are coming! EVE Evolved: The Sleepers are coming! originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Dec 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively Interview: Marvel Heroes' Magneto makes his mark Posted: 07 Dec 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, Classes, Interviews, Free-to-Play, Marvel Heroes Heroes are all well and good, but there is plenty of fan love for the villains. There's just something about those bad boys and girls redeeming themselves that makes those characters so interesting. Gazillion knows this and has responded by releasing Magneto, the latest of the playable villains, to the Marvel Heroes lineup. Fans of Professor Xavier's long-time nemesis/friend can now jump in and command the forces of magnetism to defeat foes and destroy the environment. We chatted with Creative Designer and Community Manager Ryan Collins about this latest addition. We even gleaned a few snippets about the upcoming Axis One-Shots and got a release time-frame for the Spider Girl enhanced costume. For those who want to see Magneto in action, we've also included his official trailer. You can also tune in to Massively TV on Monday, December 8th, at 9:00 p.m. EST to watch him live. Continue reading Massively Interview: Marvel Heroes' Magneto makes his mark Massively Interview: Marvel Heroes' Magneto makes his mark originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Dec 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WoW, Guild Wars 2, and ArcheAge are ZergID users' top games Posted: 07 Dec 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Business Models, Interviews, MMO Industry, News Items, Miscellaneous Back in November, we told you about ZergID, a new social networking website aimed specifically at MMO players who are looking for guilds (or friends from games past) across the MMOverse. We spoke to one of the project's founders, Scott Katz, to get more information on how the service's beta is shaping up. Massively: How many guilds have signed up since the launch of beta? Scott Katz, co-founder, Zerg Inc.: We have more than 650 guilds currently signed up for the site, with more joining each day. Continue reading WoW, Guild Wars 2, and ArcheAge are ZergID users' top games WoW, Guild Wars 2, and ArcheAge are ZergID users' top games originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Dec 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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