Virtual World News
Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox
The latest EVE Online dev blog does just that, and CCP Punkturis says that while a full-scale UI revamp is quite difficult and time-consuming due to the original design, the dev team is nonetheless hard at work on the next best thing: UI scaling.
The feature is currently in testing and while there's no official date for its deployment to the live Tranquility server, Punkturis does provide a few nifty screenshots if you're curious to see how it looks.
CCP talks EVE UI scaling originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: UI dev blog
Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, RIFT, Dev Diaries
Several Trion devs get some face time in a new making-of video, all with great things to say about the new zone and how it adds quite a lot of content to the game for max-level players. Chief among the gameplay additions are the new sourcewell mechanics. Sourcewells function as defensible (and upgradeable) areas connected to Telara's lore, which are also tied in with many of the update's quests.
Finally, Caduceus Rise is the largest of RIFT's dungeons, representing a bit of a departure from the linear crawls common to many MMO dungeons. "One of the things we wanted to do was a much more non-linear, exploratory dungeon that would let players pick and choose where they want to go and what bosses they want to kill," explains lead content designer Berenger Fish. Check out the full video clip after the cut.
Continue reading Trion releases making of RIFT's Ember Isle video
Trion releases making of RIFT's Ember Isle video originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser
Well, wonder no more. SEE has announced that it is working on a browser-based Total Recall MMO which will tie into the upcoming film remake. The game will be free-to-play and supported by microtransactions. No release date has been announced yet, but the movie itself is tentatively scheduled for August 3rd, 2012, so a similar release date for the game wouldn't be unreasonable.
SEE Games confirms Total Recall browser MMO originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Shack News
Filed under: Sci-fi, Lore, New titles, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon
Twi'leks have graced the Star Wars universe since Return of the Jedi. In the movies, the women have always been beautiful and athletic, whereas the male Twi'leks have been ugly, and frankly, disgusting. Oola, the green-skinned dancer for Jabba the Hutt, showed us a tragic side of the species when she was sacrificed to the rancor at the whim of the gangster. Bib Fortuna, Jabba's majordomo, exemplified the slimy underbelly of the Twi'lek culture.
In Star Wars: The Old Republic, besides being prominent NPCs, Twi'leks are a possible player species for several classes. Smugglers, Consulars, Jedi Knights, and Sith Inquisitors can all be played as Twi'leks. With this wide variety of players running around as these humanoids, it may be a good idea to know where they came from and why they are important to Star Wars lore. Dance past the break to find out more.
Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Holocron Files - Twi'leks
Hyperspace Beacon: Holocron Files - Twi'leks originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, EverQuest, Expansions, Interviews, Lore, Previews, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on
I had a chance to tour some of these zones with Community Manager Eric "Piestro" Cleaver, who showed off some of the new content that's coming soon to EverQuest. Read on for a look at several new zones and the storylines behind them.
Continue reading Massively tours EverQuest's Veil of Alaris with Community Manager Eric Cleaver
Massively tours EverQuest's Veil of Alaris with Community Manager Eric Cleaver originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous
You see them more often than you probably want to admit. They're remarkably easy to spot, most often lower-level characters dressed in the best possible equipment, limply following behind higher-level characters like some sort of ersatz satellite. When you talk to them, they give short answers before the higher-level characters answer everything. You see them trudging along, going through the motions, but not showing any signs of interest.
You've witnesses someone suffering from Girlfriend Syndrome.
Girlfriend Syndrome is a disease that affects any number of people worldwide, and it is thankfully wholly curable. But in order to cure this debilitating ailment, you have to understand why people suffer from it, what can be done for them, and whether or not in-game euthanasia is really the best option. Girlfriend Syndrome, you see, is not airborne; it's transmitted, willingly, by someone who already has the gaming bug.
Continue reading The Soapbox: Diagnosing and understanding Girlfriend Syndrome
The Soapbox: Diagnosing and understanding Girlfriend Syndrome originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous
Blizzard says mass layoffs are 'just a rumor' originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Virtual worlds, Miscellaneous
Rod Humble details experimentation and innovation at Linden Lab originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Gamasutra
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Economy, MMO industry, Miscellaneous
Starting with the bad -- everyone asks to start with the bad news, don't they? -- World of Warcraft's subscriber numbers are much lower than they were this past May. The company reports that subscriptions have dropped from 11.4 million to 10.3, representing a loss of 10% of the playerbase. These numbers represent the total worldwide, and Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime said that most of the losses were suffered in the eastern market. No matter where the losses come from, this continues the downward trend of the title during the past year. Blizzard declined to provide a subscriber forecast for the next quarter.
The good news is that the company has whooped expectations by nearly tripling its profit for the quarter over this time last year. During this past quarter, Activision Blizzard raked in $627 million worth of sales, of which $148 million is pure profit. A majority of the revenue -- 62% -- comes from its digital sales.
The company expects 2012 to be even better, with titles like Diablo III and another Call of Duty in the works. CEO Bobby Kotick is nothing if not confident in the company's future: "I believe our unyielding commitment to excellence and our creative talent around the globe will continue to position Activision Blizzard as the leader in interactive entertainment."
Activision Blizzard loses 1.1 million WoW players, triples profits originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: WoW Insider, Gamasutra
Filed under: Fantasy, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA
League of Legends announces ranked team system originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.