MMO Updates

The Game Archaeologist: How to return to older games
WRUP: Zelda Syndrome edition
The Daily Grind: Do you want to worry about ammunition?
Massively Exclusive: The MapleStory developers talk about the Root Abyss
Betawatch: January 5 - 11, 2013
RuneScape explains why it does what it does
Star Trek Online transmits plans for next two seasons, mid-year event
Survarium challenges players to survive 'the green apocalypse'
Asheron's Call heeds the Darkest Night
Learn to live in a State of Decay with Undead Labs' new survival guide

The Game Archaeologist: How to return to older games

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 09:00 AM PST

Filed under: Anarchy Online, Opinion, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous

The Game Archaeologist Overcoming obstacles in returning to older games

Let's face it: It's just not that easy to either try out or return to an older MMO. It defies logic because you would think that these games would explicitly crave people to come play them, but it's almost like there's a chest-high wall topped with itchy fiberglass shreds warning people away. It's not impossible to surmount, of course, just inconvenient and a little daunting. And so we log back into World of Warcraft or (thrashes around for a random title) Champions Online instead.

However, this column doesn't care about them fancy games with their exclamation marks and free-to-plays, no sirree. We're all about the love for classic MMOs, and it would behoove us to consider supporting that which we love.

It's that time of year when I feel the call to return to one of my first MMO loves, Anarchy Online. After tangling with the account page, looking for a subscription variant that apparently no longer exists, and mentally adjusting to the extremely dated graphics, I started to wonder if it was even worth it. But a little perseverance paid off, and I wanted to share a few lessons learned about overcoming obstacles when it comes to diving back into the past.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: How to return to older games

The Game Archaeologist: How to return to older games originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WRUP: Zelda Syndrome edition

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 07:00 AM PST

Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous

He's supposed to be attacking here, but it looks to me like War is doing a merry jig.

One of the games that motivated me to buy the Humble THQ Bundle was Darksiders, which I had heard described as basically Legend of Zelda with ultraviolence and Joe Mad. It delivers what it promises, but as a result, I'm in the late game and fighting hard against my Zelda Syndrome.

Zelda Syndrome is a condition wherein a player stops playing an action-adventure title after the majority of the game is done, usually with all of the really annoying bosses already dead. All that's left is a dungeon or two and the final boss, but for some reason sufferers simply lose interest and go back to playing something else. I've fought against it with every single Legend of Zelda game and several points related. There is no known treatment.

While I raise awareness of this horrible syndrome, you can entertain yourself with this week's installment of WRUP, which outlines the games that the Massively staff will be playing this weekend. You can also let us know what you're playing down in the comments. After doing so, please consider giving money to researchers addressing Zelda Syndrome by purchasing a related title -- possibly Okami.

Continue reading WRUP: Zelda Syndrome edition

WRUP: Zelda Syndrome edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you want to worry about ammunition?

Posted: 12 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Realistically, those guns should fire once, take at least five minues to reload, and be screamingly inaccurate. In other words, they make better thrown weapons.

Despite the fact that my thief in Guild Wars 2 carries pistols which appear to be capable of holding one shot at a time, I don't recall her ever reloading. Nor do I recall ever having to buy the oxcarts full of ammunition that she apparently has at all times, because it has to come from somewhere. Like many games, Guild Wars 2 does away with worries about ammunition and focuses instead on just giving you weapons that fire when you want.

On the one hand, this makes sense -- ammunition in World of Warcraft was such a hassle that the designers eventually did away with it altogether. It's a break in verisimilitude for ease of play. On the other hand, removing the need for ammunition removes the possibility of special types of ammunition, and the ease of play issues could be addressed in other ways. So do you want ammunition in your game? Or would you prefer to just have an infinite quiver and focus on shooting arrows?

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 you want to worry about ammunition? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Jan 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively Exclusive: The MapleStory developers talk about the Root Abyss

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 06:00 PM PST

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MapleStory, Patches, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Dungeons

Well, that's the face of horror right there.

When dealing with international games like Nexon's MapleStory, it's a simple reality that updates are often going to be coming out later for US players. It's just the nature of the beast; new updates have to first be tested natively, then localized. But the upcoming Root Abyss breaks the mold, with the full version due to be released on the global servers on January 16th before the Korean servers get a live push of the update.

But there's more to the dungeon than just the release date -- there are four new bosses and a variety of updated prizes for everyone to earn. If you're looking for more insight into how the dungeon was designed, click on past the break for an exclusive developer diary from the Korean design team. You can also check out the dungeon's trailer, which features a quick preview of all four monstrous and disturbing bosses.

Continue reading Massively Exclusive: The MapleStory developers talk about the Root Abyss

Massively Exclusive: The MapleStory developers talk about the Root Abyss originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Betawatch: January 5 - 11, 2013

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 05:00 PM PST

Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, News items, Betawatch, Miscellaneous

EVE Online should not be the only game that gets to have this fun. I want to be nuking stuff from orbit in every game, up to and including Hello Kitty Online.

DUST 514 is still officially in closed beta, but it's connected to EVE Online and character data will not be wiped again. That means that EVE players can experience the joys of getting a call from their allies and nuking a site from orbit, which we can all agree should be present in more games.

Age of Wushu is still officially launching on February 1st, but its beta servers are remaining up and character data will not be wiped, making this more of an early access for subscribers. City of Steam is focusing on functional improvements to the game client prior to open beta, while Marvel Heroes has introduced a Founders Program for players to buy into the game early. And while WildStar is still not even in closed beta testing, you can get a sense of how the very limited alpha plays.

You want to know about more games in testing? Perhaps in list format past the break? Then you're in luck.

Continue reading Betawatch: January 5 - 11, 2013

Betawatch: January 5 - 11, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RuneScape explains why it does what it does

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 03:00 PM PST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries

Have you ever wondered how an MMO studio plans its upcoming content delivery? A new RuneScape dev diary takes us behind the scenes at Jagex, where Mod Mark outlines the nuts-and-bolts of the process: "We think about the next 12 months of content and what we want to achieve within those 12 months and have a broad idea of what we want to achieve over the next three years. We think about what sort of players we've got and we try to make sure that the content we have planned over the next year is appropriate for all of those groups of players."

Mod Mark said that the team also considers what it's focused on recently, what areas haven't been touched on in a long time, and what parts of the game may have become dated. Content additions and improvements are then scheduled according to the time available to the team.

One lesson to take away is that it always takes the development team a lot more time and effort to create new content than players assume. Sometimes even a single quest may spend up to a year in development before being pushed to live.

You can watch the full dev diary after the jump!

Continue reading RuneScape explains why it does what it does

RuneScape explains why it does what it does originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Behind the updates

Star Trek Online transmits plans for next two seasons, mid-year event

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 02:00 PM PST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Previews, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Community Q&A

Executive Producer Dan Stahl is hardly shy in tackling the myriad Ask Cryptic questions, and today's Star Trek Online queries proved to be no different for him. While there was a hodge-podge of questions from players, it seemed as though the focus for many was on the future of the game and Season 8 in specific.

Stahl said that Season 8 is due in the first half of the year, possibly in May, although there will be some content arriving this month for the three-year anniversary of the game. He promises that Klingons will "get some love" in Season 8 and hints at the vast wealth of additions coming with the update: "[It] will focus on adding new missions and storyline to the game in the form of a new adventure zone, new episodes, and another big feature, which is yet to be revealed."

Following Season 8, Cryptic will then roll out a mid-year event and Season 9. The mid-year event was compared to the game's current winter event, with the possibility of taking place on Risa.

Stahl is quite pumped for the year in general: "Season 8 and Season 9 are both going to be BIG releases. I'm very much looking forward to them because they represent the first big releases we will have been able to do with the increase to our live team staff."

Star Trek Online transmits plans for next two seasons, mid-year event originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Ask Cryptic

Survarium challenges players to survive 'the green apocalypse'

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 01:00 PM PST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Interviews, New titles, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic

If you're one of those bummed out by the lack of the apocalypse in 2011 because it meant that you couldn't exercise your survival skills, then Vostok Games' Survarium might console you. The team took many of the concepts that it was developing for the (now canceled) single-player Stalker 2 and decided to create a free-to-play MMOFPS out of it instead.

In an interesting interview with PC Gamer, Lead Designer Alexei Sytyanov paints a picture of "the green apocalypse" that hits the whole world, causing mutations and a ravaged ecosphere. Sytyanov says that players will need to band together to overcome the odds: "On top of the story and game tasks, there is communication and competition between the players, all to add dynamics and unexpectedness to the gameplay. Each game session differs from the previous one. The game constantly encourages players to show their inventiveness and skills, abilities of strategy to achieve victory."

From the sound of it, Survarium is a lobby-based MMO with timed sessions (Sytyanov says that these will go from 15 to 60 minutes based on the mode). Players can choose from PvP, co-op, or free play modes to explore the world, attempt to achieve objectives, and generally survive the best they can.

Even with the lobby structure, Sytyanov indicated that there will be player actions that will persist: "Ultimately, the side accomplishing more tasks will impact the story. Therefore, it will decide whether that story object is to get preserved or destroyed for the entire world of Survarium."

Survarium challenges players to survive 'the green apocalypse' originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: PC Gamer

Asheron's Call heeds the Darkest Night

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 12:00 PM PST

Filed under: Fantasy, Asheron's Call, Events, in-game, Lore

Asheron's Call harkens the Darkest Night

It seems quite fitting to the season for Asheron's Call to name its newest event Darkest Night. The January event continues the game's story with an attempt to put down Hoshino Kei once and for all.

Several new quests are being added to the game for the event, and an interesting "tell the story from the villain's point of view" lore tidbit gives some insight into the challenges that lie ahead for adventurers. There is also a quartet of screenshots from the event that include a lock with no key, a treasure room, a deadly pit, and a key. Hm. Going to be hard to figure that one out, eh?

Asheron's Call heeds the Darkest Night originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Darkest Night

Learn to live in a State of Decay with Undead Labs' new survival guide

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 11:00 AM PST

Filed under: News items, Consoles, MMOFPS, Post-Apocalyptic, Dev Diaries, Sandbox

There's a lot to consider when you're stuck in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Do you have enough food? Will your shelter hold up against the endless legions of undead? Do you have enough of that ammo that makes zombie heads explode? Thankfully, Undead Labs is here to help make State of Decay players' transitions to the post-apocalypse as simple as possible.

The studio has released a day-by-day survival guide written from the viewpoint of characters within the game's universe. The guide provides a flavorful look at some of the features players will be utilizing to survive in State of Decay. Players will learn how to construct a defensible stronghold, how to scavenge for supplies, and of course, how to defend themselves against zed onslaughts. It's quite a read, but a very worthwhile one for anyone who would prefer to remain on the side of the living in the war against the undead.

Learn to live in a State of Decay with Undead Labs' new survival guide originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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