Virtual World News
Filed under: Horror, Real life, Business models, Events, real-world, News items, The Secret World
Not sure if TSW is really your thing? You can check out our regular column devoted to the game (especially the most recent installment) and see if you can get a feel for it. If different perspectives are kind of your thing, you could play compare and contrast with the reasons why Justin, Matt, and MJ all play TSW.
Amazon puts The Secret World on half-off sale originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, News items, Free-to-play, DUST 514
In case you've been hiding under a rock or avoiding all CCP news for a good long while, DUST 514 is an upcoming shooter that will extend and interact with the world of EVE Online. The game's in closed beta at least through the beginning of 2013, but if you're a Playstation Plus member, you can hop in and take it for a spin. [Source: CCP press release]
New DUST 514 screenshots released originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Game mechanics, News items, Dev Diaries
The team has a handful of goals for the game. These aren't features that will be making it in for launch but instead are are being planned for now so that they integrate seamlessly and enhance the play experience. For example, landing on planets will eventually be a possibility, but not until those planets are stocked with flora, fauna, and sprawling cityscapes. There are also plans for players to experience the ships' interiors, to see incoming fire and lost cargo from the perspective of the ship's crew.
Skip below the cut to let Braben speak for himself.
[Thanks to intrepid explorer Mattias for the tip!]
Continue reading Elite: Dangerous dev diary talks about plans for development
Elite: Dangerous dev diary talks about plans for development originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Culture, Previews, News items, The Elder Scrolls Online
The fansite Tamriel Foundry has put together a short video hitting several of the most common misconceptions about The Elder Scrolls Online, explaining both the inaccurate belief and the truth of the matter. This covers everything from the actual developers (Zenimax Online) to the changes to the combat system (you won't be actively aiming, with the game instead establishing a soft target lock on your selected target). Even if you think you know all there is to know about the game already, it couldn't hurt to sit and watch -- and maybe have a few mistaken ideas cleared out.
Continue reading The Elder Scrolls Online gets some myths dispelled
The Elder Scrolls Online gets some myths dispelled originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
With Tech Career Expo just about three months away on March 8-9, 2013 in Austin, TX, everything is coming together quite nicely. So far we have a great line up of more than 25 companies participating, and we’ll be adding about 30 more in the coming months.
Some of the great companies that will be joining us in Austin, TX this year are WhaleShark Media (RetailMeNot.com); Groupon, Inc.; Advisory Board Company; ARC; athenahealth; CSID; Dell; eBay Inc.; Pandora; Reddwerks;
Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries
In a new dev diary, the team shares a few of the pertinent details of the remaining revamp. The bottom line? "Each zone now has many more quests, a simple questing path, fewer monsters, and hopefully no more frustration with excessive back-and-forth questing."
Update 9's revamp covers the areas of Zelem-melek, The Redhorn Lodes, The Flaming Deeps, Nud-melek, The Dimrill Dale, and The Foundations of Stone. The team added 70 new quests, removed some deadwood, and added the remote quest bestowal system that is being used in Riders of Rohan.
LotRO details remaining Moria revamp originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Dev diary
Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Mobile, Casual, MMORTS, Miscellaneous, MMObility
I would also like to clear up what Facebook is. I've covered it many times before, but there is always a section of players and readers who have no idea or have only heard what Facebook is and what it does. To many of them, Facebook is FarmVille and spam, period. While I will not deny the existence of either of those things, I'd rather take this week to break down what Facebook is to developers, how it actually works, and how recent changes might affect players like yours truly who enjoy playing games through, on, or by utilizing Facebook.
Continue reading MMObility: How Facebook's recent changes affect MMOs
MMObility: How Facebook's recent changes affect MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous
This leads to an obvious question: Why?
It's not as if I can't come up with other characters, nor is it that she's always the best fit for the game. For that matter, she's not even suited to every possible setting. So why keep playing the same character? There are a few different reasons, all of which show off the advantage to playing the same character across several games instead of starting fresh every time you step into a new world.
Continue reading Storyboard: The advantage of familiar characters
Storyboard: The advantage of familiar characters originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, News items, Betawatch, Miscellaneous
City of Steam's testing continues apace, with the next round of closed testing almost here. The project has also gone up on Steam Greenlight. Darkfall Unholy Wars has also gone into the beta mode after a fashion, allowing players to test the relaunch if they pre-order the game. And if that's not hardcore enough for you, Wizardry Online is going live on January 16th, fulfilling all your permadeath needs.
For more shuffling statuses and the like, step on through the break to see the full list. If there's anything we missed, let us know in the comments!
Continue reading Betawatch: December 8 - 14, 2012
Betawatch: December 8 - 14, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Community Q&A
Is a customizable UI in the works? Will the Adorian ship come later than January? Is the Voyager bundle coming in Season 8? What's the one thing Stahl would add to the game if it were up to him (wait, it's not?)? These questions and many more are all answered in this month's Q&A.
If you'd like to see your own question be considered for a future Ask Cryptic, keep an eye on the forum board "Federation News Network" for the monthly thread.
December's Ask Cryptic covers Season 8 and the third anniversary of Star Trek Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: December Ask Cryptic