Virtual World News
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Game mechanics, New titles, News items, PvE, ArcheAge, Sandbox, Crafting
As usual, Steparu also provides readers with a number of video highlight clips. Check out some battles with the undead in the dark of night and take a look at upgrading your armor through crafting in the clips after the break.
Continue reading New ArcheAge gameplay clips showcase crafting, questing, and undead
New ArcheAge gameplay clips showcase crafting, questing, and undead originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Steparu.com
Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Dungeons
The adventure pack is targeted at high-level AoC players and boasts a new dungeon called The Sepulcher of the Wyrm. View the video in its entirety after the cut.
[Source: Funcom press release]
Continue reading Funcom teases Age of Conan Secrets of the Dragon's Spine trailer
Funcom teases Age of Conan Secrets of the Dragon's Spine trailer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Leaderboard
For today's Leaderboard, I'd like to focus on these NPC bots, not just in EverQuest II but as an MMO design concept in general. On the one hand, they're clearly a boon to solo players. On the other, they do discourage grouping and could possibly be seen as a detriment to newer players checking out an older game. What do you think? Vote after the cut!
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: Yay or nay on NPC mercenaries
Leaderboard: Yay or nay on NPC mercenaries originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Horror, Real life, Events, in-game, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Secret World, Chaos Theory
No more Mayan Zombie hate!
The end had finally come. No, not of the world -- of the in-game event that was celebrating the end of days in The Secret World. For just over two weeks, folks got to enjoy special missions, collect special loot, purchase special costumes, and even fight special mobs. But once the end came, the opportunity was lost forever. You see, the End of Days was a singular affair commemorating one particular real-world happening. As such, it was a bit of a once-in-a-lifetime deal. That particular happening -- the end of the Mayan calendar -- will never repeat, so it makes sense that TSW's event shouldn't either, right? Wrong.
While I fully concur that events should not go on forever or be so frequent that they lose their special nature and the excitement that comes with being a part of them, I do not agree that The Secret World should have any one-time-only events. Like any successful performance, events should be granted encores. Instead of these events being once-in-a-lifetime, I propose that events should be once-in-a-long-time. Anything else actually hurts the game. Here's why.
Continue reading Chaos Theory: The Secret World's events deserve encores
Chaos Theory: The Secret World's events deserve encores originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Sandbox, Crowdfunding
So far, the campaign has been raking in a steady flow of contributions, and $30,000 in six hours isn't a terribly farfetched goal. Unless there's a sudden drought of pledges, it looks like Pathfinder Online is going to achieve its goal with (admittedly very little) time to spare. If you're trying to decide whether or not to pledge and would like to know more about the game, Goblinworks CEO Ryan Dancey has started an impromptu ask-me-anything thread on Reddit, so feel free to pop by and ask some questions.
[Update: The Kickstarter just passed $1,000,000. Pathfinder Online incoming!]
Pathfinder Online Kickstarter now successfully funded [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Pathfinder Online Kickstarter
Filed under: Business models, New titles, News items, MOBA, Crowdfunding
If the project hits its funding and makes it to release, we're hoping it'll feel right at home in our Not So Massively column.
Gas Powered Games announces Wildman originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Contests, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Guild Wars 2, Miscellaneous
The nominees for the 16th annual D.I.C.E. (hint: It's spelled out right in the image) awards have been listed! While Journey is (deservedly) leading the list with 11 nominations, MMOs and not-quite-MMOs have done their genre proud. Diablo III, Torchlight II, and Guild Wars 2 are all in the running for Role-Playing / Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year. Diablo III also got tapped for a shot at Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design, and Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition. World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria expansion is also in the running for the original music composition award.Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday, February 7th. There are oodles of other games in the running for oodles of other titles, so be sure to check out the complete listing of nominees.
Check out the D.I.C.E. awards finalists originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: AIAS press release
Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Previews, Diablo III
One of Patch 1.0.7's chief features is the addition of a dueling zone to the game. This anything-goes, just-for-fun area is called the Scorched Chapel, and it's there that groups of two to four people can hang out and go all fight club on each other. While dueling has neither score nor rewards, the studio figures people might want to do it just for the fun factor.
Other improvements coming with 1.0.7 include tweaks to Wizards and Monks, more crafting recipes, an increase to the amount of XP that the monster power system produces in Inferno mode, and an end to the increasing resurrection timer for consecutive deaths.
Diablo III lays out the welcome mat for patch 1.0.7 testing originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Patch 1.0.7 preview
If you still haven’t taken advantage of Digital Kids Conference’s Early Bird Registration, it’s getting down to the wire. Tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 15, is the last day to get the discounted price of $595. Starting Tuesday, Jan. 16, online registration goes to $695.
Digital Kids Conference is the single largest gathering of tech professionals dedicated to developing, marketing and distributing high quality children’s digital entertainment products and services. Our knowledgeable keynotes and speakers are excited to share their experiences from the industry with you and discuss what to expect in the coming year.
Early Bird Registration [...]
Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Humor, Star Wars: The Old Republic
According to Fox News, Makeb will be the "gay planet" added in the expansion, likening the current limitation of this new content to segregation and noting that many players are opposed the inclusion of same-sex relationships in the game. There is no mention of the number of players requesting the feature, nor of the variety of (presumably) non-gay quests and content available on Makeb. In short, it's missing a number of nuances regarding the situation, something that might be good for a raised eyebrow or two from fans and detractors alike.
Fox News discusses Star Wars: The Old Republic's gay expansion planet originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.