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The Daily Grind: Do you play some games inactively?
October 20, 2012

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Of course, to really play a game actively you'd need to be powering the computer yourself via bicycle.
I can log into RIFT any time I want. I have my subscription active, and I'm perfectly happy to give Trion Worlds my money on a monthly basis. But my actual playtime with the game is spotty at best. Despite this, I still describe myself as playing the game, because I am still playing, just not in an active capacity. An inactive capacity, if you will.

With free-to-play becoming the dominant business model in the MMO genre, it's easier than ever to be an inactive player in your game of choice. You jump in for a couple of days, let the game sit for a week, then jump back in without any real penalties. You don't have to stick with any game longer than you want to. Still, there are games that require a subscription to play, and some people will pop into a free-to-play game to buy new things and then jump right out. So what about you? Is there a game that keeps getting your money even though it's not an active part of your play rotation?

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!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you play some games inactively? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    WRUP: You don't like that, that's dumb edition
    October 20, 2012

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    To be fair, if the book in question is Ethan Frome, you probably shouldn't like it.
    Oh, reading a book? What are you reading? No, you're not reading that. That's dumb. It's a stupid book because I don't like it, and if I don't like it it's not cool. Since you're also cool, you must not like it. Here, read this instead. It's super awesome and I like it.

    What do you mean I gave you the first book and told you it was awesome and you should read it? You're probably just delusional because you were reading something I think is dumb. That must be it.

    Look, let's just read WRUP. That's pretty cool, if you like seeing what the Massively staff is up to over the weekend and whether or not they like using premade builds in games. Plus, then you can let the staff know what you'll be up to over the weekend in the comments. You can like that. At least until I don't like it any more.

    Continue reading WRUP: You don't like that, that's dumb edition

    MassivelyWRUP: You don't like that, that's dumb edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      The Tattered Notebook: What does a sandbox look like in Norrath?
      October 20, 2012

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      The Tattered Notebook What does a sandbox look like in Norrath
      Last night brought a flurry of new announcements for SOE titles, but one of the more curious moments was when SOE President John Smedley got to talking about EverQuest Next. He started off by bringing out two of the handful of screenshots that we've seen time and time again, and with a click of a button, made them evaporate into a shower of pixels, to be followed by a blank screen and the sound of crickets. In short, they went back to the drawing board.

      It's a bold move to take a year and a half of production and completely scrap it, especially at a time in the industry when the competition is so tight, but Smedley promised that what we'd see in the end would be unlike anything we've ever seen. Perhaps, though, we've already seen a glimpse of the future in the other two titles in the EQ franchise. What will the sandbox gameplay look like in EQ Next? I'll prognosticate below.

      Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: What does a sandbox look like in Norrath?

      MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: What does a sandbox look like in Norrath? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        RIFT drops Storm Legion NDA, livecasts player housing tour
        October 20, 2012

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        RIFT drops Storm Legion NDA, livecasts player housing tour
        As RIFT enters its second beta weekend for Storm Legion, the team at Trion Worlds announced that the NDA for the expansion is now lifted. In addition to all of this craziness, the devs took players on a livestream tour of the new player housing system.

        In the livestream, the dimensions of Granite Falls Inn, Faen's Retreat and Dormant Core were shown off. Players are able to have multiple dimensions, with the first two available for free. At the launch of Storm Legion, there will be 250 objects included in the system with more to come.

        Dimensions can be set to either private or public, with the latter being able to hold up to 200 people at once. Public dimensions have a rating system, may be joined randomly, and can have the option to allow visitors to add their own creations as well.

        You can watch the full dimensions video after the jump, and stay tuned for Massively's hands on with the beta!

        Continue reading RIFT drops Storm Legion NDA, livecasts player housing tour

        MassivelyRIFT drops Storm Legion NDA, livecasts player housing tour originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        SOE Live 2012: Friday keynote highlights DCUO, EQ, and EQII
        October 20, 2012

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        SOE Live Friday Keynote highlights DCUO, EQ, and EQII
        Day two of SOE Live wrapped up with yet another keynote, this one focused on DC Universe Online, EverQuest, and EverQuest II. Creative Director Jens Anderson of DCUO, Executive Producer Thom Terrazas from EQ, Executive Producer Holly Longdale from EQII, and Dave Georgeson, the EQ Franchise head, all took a turn on stage to give a rundown of what each game had launched over the past year, and more importantly, where each is headed for the future. But before that, SOE paid tribute to the military veterans in attendance (pictured above) and gave two of the longest-serving military members NVIDIA cards to thank them for their service.

        Read on for the highlights!

        Continue reading SOE Live 2012: Friday keynote highlights DCUO, EQ, and EQII

        MassivelySOE Live 2012: Friday keynote highlights DCUO, EQ, and EQII originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          SOE Live 2012: EQII's Chains of Eternity adding tradeskill prestige and much more
          October 20, 2012

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          SOE Live 2012 EQII Chains of Eternity adding tradeskill prestige and much more
          Players were so excited about some of the announcements made in yesterday's EveryQuest II's panel on mechanics for Chains of Eternity that the room erupted into applause multiple times. What types of goodies brokered this response from attendees? How about new tradeskill specializations (including a separate AA pool and a gathering sidekick that can harvest rares!), new guild amenities, new adornments, and even adornment removers?

          Of course, those aren't the only incoming changes. Others include increasing in the level cap to 95, alterations to the mentoring system to prevent AFK XP farming, and new prestige abilities.

          Continue reading SOE Live 2012: EQII's Chains of Eternity adding tradeskill prestige and much more

          MassivelySOE Live 2012: EQII's Chains of Eternity adding tradeskill prestige and much more originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            SOE Live 2012: A deeper look at DCUO's housing lairs
            October 20, 2012

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            Some Assembly Required at SOE Live 2012 A deeper look at DCUO's housingSOE Live 2012
            Thursday's announcement of the addition of player lairs to DC Universe Online set this little housing-lover's heart all aflutter! While there were more bits of news about the new Home Turf DLC coming next year, my focus was understandably on the lairs. And I was very happy to sit down at SOE Live and talk shop with Jens Andersen. As creative director for DCUO, Jens shared many juicy tidbits about the new system for this special edition of Some Assembly Required.

            So what's in store for denizens of Gotham and Metropolis? Let's start with personal instances that are accessed from realistic points within the cities, functions that stretch to accommodate different levels of creativity and decorating savvy, and a unique dueling system that will be unlike anything players (or their furniture!) have seen before. Players can even get rewards and achievements for collecting items and decorating their homes. Sounds intriguing, no?

            Continue reading SOE Live 2012: A deeper look at DCUO's housing lairs

            MassivelySOE Live 2012: A deeper look at DCUO's housing lairs originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              SOE Live 2012: Getting to know Wizardry Online
              October 20, 2012

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              SOE Live 2012 Getting to know Wizardry Online
              There's probably no better way to sum up Wizardry Online than with the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for." If you've been yearning for a game with permadeath, you have reason to celebrate. At this year's SOE Live, the Wizardry Online team showed off the game, and it's every bit as hardcore as promised. If you're looking for an old-school challenge, you'll want to check out the highlights below.

              Continue reading SOE Live 2012: Getting to know Wizardry Online

              MassivelySOE Live 2012: Getting to know Wizardry Online originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                SOE Live 2012: John Smedley on EQ Next and SOE's future
                October 20, 2012

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                SOE President John Smedley on EQ Next and SOE's future
                There's been a never-ending news stream this weekend at SOE Live, and underlying all the announcements has been a single theme: a fundamental shift towards emergent gameplay. We had the chance to talk to SOE President John Smedley about that philosophical change and how it fits in to current and upcoming titles. He spoke about the growing popularity of MMOs as viewing entertainment and how it's caught on in PlanetSide 2. And while he wouldn't go into details about EQ Next, he did give some exciting hints about what players will get to experience with this third EverQuest title. Read on for a look at the future of SOE!

                Continue reading SOE Live 2012: John Smedley on EQ Next and SOE's future

                MassivelySOE Live 2012: John Smedley on EQ Next and SOE's future originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                  The Game Archaeologist: A City of Heroes memorial, part 1
                  October 20, 2012

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                  The Game Archeologist A City of Heroes memorial, part 1
                  When I first heard that City of Heroes would be given a hero's farewell, I felt for the players who call that game home. I also was depressed because I spent a fair amount of time in Paragon City myself and have a particular affection for the game. But beyond empathy and misery, I knew that the Game Archeologist had a duty to perform: to preserve the memories of what would soon fade into history.

                  Thus, I put out a call for your City of Heroes characters along with their stories so that I could share them with the world at large. Dozens of readers responded, and for the next couple of weeks, we're going to be looking at the digital face of tragedy and memories. These are the avatars who genuinely meant something to someone, and while they are about to be deleted from the servers forever, I hope that by archiving them here, they'll live on for future generations (read: December 2012 readers) to discover.

                  Let's go meet some of them, shall we?

                  Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: A City of Heroes memorial, part 1

                  MassivelyThe Game Archaeologist: A City of Heroes memorial, part 1 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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