Virtual World News
Guild Wars 2 dev blog talks achievements, Thief tweaks
December 20, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Guild Wars 2
As it turns out, GW2's achievements come in three flavors, and they comprise long-term goals, dailies, and monthly tasks that "encourage a variety of play and reward you with gold and experience."
Peters details recent changes to Thief class gameplay, and he pays particular attention to the steal and backstab abilities. He also spends a bit of time talking about improvements to combat timing and animations. "Making these improvements has been really interesting and fun because it has shown us how our game can feel appropriately action-oriented without taking away the familiarity of the MMO genre," Peters explains.
Guild Wars 2 dev blog talks achievements, Thief tweaks originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: ArenaNet blog
City of Heroes opens up friend referrals once again
December 20, 2011
Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, News items, Free-to-play, Promotions
Any player who does not have an active City of Heroes account or has an account that's been inactive for 90 days is eligible for the referral, which can be processed through the official site or via the in-game market. Assuming your target subscribes for at least one month, you receive an extra month for free, and the referred player receives a bonus of 500 Paragon Points in the market. Paragon Studios, meanwhile, gets another player. So really, everyone wins.
City of Heroes opens up friend referrals once again originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Player referral announcement
Champions Online introduces Star Warsy archetype
December 19, 2011
Filed under: Super-hero, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Champions Online
The Unleashed is a new brawler role that looks quite a bit like your average Sith lord, right down to the dual red blades and sinister black robes. Cryptic's archetype description features phrases like cosmic knight, dark inquisitor, and militant monk, and the release blurb says that the Unleashed is coming to Champions today, December 19th.
Is it a tongue-in-cheek homage or a shameless attempt to capitalize on the biggest hype-train the MMO space has ever seen? You decide, and be sure to head to the Champions website to learn more.
Champions Online introduces Star Warsy archetype originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: The Unleashed
The Daily Grind: Will SWTOR succeed in Asia?
December 19, 2011
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Miscellaneous
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is a prediction on whether or not SWTOR will succeed in the Asian market. We know, for example, that a huge portion of WoW's 12 million users came from the Far East, and sales suggest that Eastern gaming audiences are very different from their Western counterparts (see the ongoing popularity and profitability of games like Aion and Lineage II, which draw contemptuous sneers from American audiences -- if they notice them at all).
When you compare BioWare's focus on narrative with Blizzard's focus on progression, it's very possible to see TOR falling short of WoW's Asian success. What do you think, Massively readers? Will TOR conquer the Asian MMO market?
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: Will SWTOR succeed in Asia? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
MV Guide: December 19-25, 2011
December 19, 2011
Filed under: Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV.
Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.)
Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule.
Continue reading MV Guide: December 19-25, 2011
MV Guide: December 19-25, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tiny Speck and Trion Worlds make gaming headlines in 2011
December 19, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Browser, RIFT
Trion's story is seen as one of high risk and higher rewards, especially considering that it was bringing in no revenue before last March while developing three titles. "RIFT has had tremendous success -- the commercial results are just astounding -- but we've got two more big games coming... There is no joy in Mudville," said Trion's David Reid. The article notes that once a MMO breaks even, the profit margin can be as high as 70%.
Trion is reportedly adding 100 new people to the team in the first part of 2012, which will put this studio in giant-sized territory: 520 employees in total.
Tiny Speck may not be as large, with just 41 employees, but the team is growing due to Glitch's success. Even though the potential to make money is there, co-founder Eric Costello says that the team puts in long hours as primarily a labor of love: "The game industry is famous for running their employees into the ground, and we definitely don't want to do that, but we've also found that building a game is a lot harder than we thought it would be."
Tiny Speck and Trion Worlds make gaming headlines in 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Wall Street Journal
BioWare taking SWTOR queues 'seriously'
December 19, 2011
Filed under: Sci-fi, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic
There were 140 servers open for business this past weekend (a pre-launch period in which BioWare staggered waves of invites to legions of early release customers), and more are being added due to queue times approaching two hours. With Star Wars: The Old Republic's actual launch day looming tomorrow, BioWare's Jeff Hickman did his best to deflect criticism and soothe the impatient rumblings of disgruntled players.
"While we can't promise that there won't ever be queues, we can promise you that we are taking this matter seriously and constantly reviewing them to make sure that they are manageable and reasonable," he said.
BioWare taking SWTOR queues 'seriously' originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Eurogamer
Leaderboard: Hybrid vs. specialist
December 19, 2011
Filed under: Classes, Opinion, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard
But which is better, overall? Is it better to gun for a specialized class? After all, this allows you to be the absolute best you can be at a singular role, to get those high numbers and fulfill your purpose well. Specialists are prized in endgame activities, since being at the top of one's form is vital to helping your group succeed.
However, are hybrids ultimately better due to their jack-of-all-trades flexibility? Is having the option to switch between roles on the fly more crucial to individual and group success than being locked into one thing only? Hybrids also allow for more choice down the road, especially when you might be getting bored of a particular role and want to experiment with something else.
So which will top today's Leaderboard: hybrids or specialists? Hit the jump to cast your vote!
Continue reading Leaderboard: Hybrid vs. specialist
Leaderboard: Hybrid vs. specialist originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Korean gaming giants adjusting data collection policies
December 19, 2011
Filed under: Fantasy, MapleStory, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play
Korean gamers will still need to fork over the number to play NCsoft games, though, according to a report at ThisIsGame.com. Players need only an email and password to register for the PlayNC portal, but the RRN may still be required to verify that new registrants aren't bots, and NCsoft has handed off the collection responsibilities to a third-party agency. "We have acknowledged the importance of personal information for a long time. So we have collected minimum personal information and have asked another agency to do the sensitive information work including the RRN on behalf of us," said an NCsoft official.
ThisIsGame also reports that NHN Hangame has decided to stop collecting personal information, while Nexon and Neowiz are formulating new collection policies.
Korean gaming giants adjusting data collection policies originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: ThisIsGame
Black Prophecy releases Episode 3: Rise of the Boids
December 19, 2011
Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Black Prophecy
It's been a big week for sci-fi fans, but what about the fans who are less about space-knights and melodrama and more about blowing things into oblivion with big spaceships armed with big guns? Don't worry, gamigo has you covered with Black Prophecy's newest addition, Episode 3: Rise of the Boids. So wtf is a Boid, you may wonder. Well, according to this press release, "the Boids are a robotic race who have been waiting eons for a mysterious, universe-altering event to occur." Ominous.
On the gameplay side of things, Episode 3 raises the level cap to 50 while also adding "new story missions, one new warzone, a new open world sector for players level 40 and up, 11 new job missions and a brand new PvE raid system." That's right, a brand new raid system, which will allow large groups of players to band together to tackle the two newly added raids. And all of this comes with a few tweaks and fixes for various mishaps. For the update's official release trailer, click on past the cut, then head on over to Black Prophecy's official site to get in the game.
[Source: gamigo AG press release]
On the gameplay side of things, Episode 3 raises the level cap to 50 while also adding "new story missions, one new warzone, a new open world sector for players level 40 and up, 11 new job missions and a brand new PvE raid system." That's right, a brand new raid system, which will allow large groups of players to band together to tackle the two newly added raids. And all of this comes with a few tweaks and fixes for various mishaps. For the update's official release trailer, click on past the cut, then head on over to Black Prophecy's official site to get in the game.
[Source: gamigo AG press release]
Continue reading Black Prophecy releases Episode 3: Rise of the Boids
Black Prophecy releases Episode 3: Rise of the Boids originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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