Virtual World News
The Daily Grind: Do MMO studios owe us item restoration?
April 28, 2012
Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous
In World of Warcraft, you'll almost always get your account back if you're hacked or you accidentally delete your favorite hat, but it might take an agonizingly long time. This week, Blizzard launched a new item restoration service that attempts to solve the second problem by simplifying the process of reclaiming lost trinkets (though not items stolen by hackers). I was surprised that Blizzard considers this a problem worthy of automation, but maybe it's more common than I thought.
So now I'm wondering whether companies are actually obligated to restore items we've lost through our own goof-ups. Do you consider this a vital service of a support team, and would you quit a game if your items were truly gone for good?
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: Do MMO studios owe us item restoration? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
WRUP: Yes, it's the beta weekend edition
April 28, 2012
Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous
Or maybe not -- this is going to be the first I've played of it.
As you can probably guess, this week's WRUP involves a lot of skirmishes being fought by organizations for the second time, and I'm not talking about Business Fisticuffs II: Fisticuff Harder. It also contains the other Massively staff activities for the weekend as well as our opinions on the definition of pay-to-win. So jump on past the break to let us know what you're doing, and leave your own plans in the comments.
Continue reading WRUP: Yes, it's the beta weekend edition
WRUP: Yes, it's the beta weekend edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Guild Wars: What keeps fans coming back
April 28, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Opinion, Anniversary
Spring is in the air in Guild Wars! I can hear the pitter-patter of speed-enhanced feet coming from the Dragon Arena, the roar of the crowds watching Rollerbeetle races, and the endless grunts of unlucky players on the Nine Rings. It's a celebration -- the celebration of the seventh anniversary of Guild Wars, to be precise.
In and around the annual birthday cupcake hoarding that's going on for the duration of festivities, this year has a few other exciting tricks up its proverbial sleeve. For one thing, a new and limited-edition pet has been made available; the Hound of Balthazar can be unlocked for free by having a brief chat with Ceira, Sworn to Fire, in Embark Beach. For another, the bonuses from all weekend events are active for the anniversary, so players will have to go pretty far out of their way to not reap sweet, sweet rewards for any time spent in-game between now and May 8th.
Seven's a pretty nice number, don't you think? This is something of a special event, as ArenaNet's promise to get Guild Wars 2 shipped before year's end means that this'll be the last birthday that Guild Wars gets to have before the sequel comes along and grabs everyone's attention -- if, indeed, that's not already happening, what with the beta weekend that's going on right this moment. Even with Guild Wars 2 soaking up some limelight, though, Guild Wars is doing its creators proud and aging with grace and dignity. Let's take a look at some of the building blocks of the game's longevity.
In and around the annual birthday cupcake hoarding that's going on for the duration of festivities, this year has a few other exciting tricks up its proverbial sleeve. For one thing, a new and limited-edition pet has been made available; the Hound of Balthazar can be unlocked for free by having a brief chat with Ceira, Sworn to Fire, in Embark Beach. For another, the bonuses from all weekend events are active for the anniversary, so players will have to go pretty far out of their way to not reap sweet, sweet rewards for any time spent in-game between now and May 8th.
Seven's a pretty nice number, don't you think? This is something of a special event, as ArenaNet's promise to get Guild Wars 2 shipped before year's end means that this'll be the last birthday that Guild Wars gets to have before the sequel comes along and grabs everyone's attention -- if, indeed, that's not already happening, what with the beta weekend that's going on right this moment. Even with Guild Wars 2 soaking up some limelight, though, Guild Wars is doing its creators proud and aging with grace and dignity. Let's take a look at some of the building blocks of the game's longevity.
Continue reading Guild Wars: What keeps fans coming back
Guild Wars: What keeps fans coming back originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Road to Mordor: Is LotRO's questing system over the hill?
April 28, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor
I don't harbor any ill will against Guild Wars 2; in fact, I'm quite looking forward to it. But as everyone's focused on the game's excising of traditional questing as popularized by World of Warcraft, I thought it would be worth examining just how dated Lord of the Rings Online's questing system has become, if at all.
In an era of dynamic events, public quests, full voice-over, and other techniques designed to get us away from the text box questing model, will LotRO hold its ground against these fads or is it truly becoming a relic of the past? Let's dig in!
Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Is LotRO's questing system over the hill?
The Road to Mordor: Is LotRO's questing system over the hill? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Tattered Notebook: EQII's hidden gems for low-level explorers
April 28, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Tattered Notebook
GU63, however, really doesn't offer any new content for lower-level players, and it's hard for someone under level 90 to get around the Withered Lands and Skyshrine safely. But one of the reasons there's not much new content at the lower levels is that past updates have added in so much already that there's almost too much to see and do. Queue up the Bud Light music, for in today's Tattered Notebook, we salute you, Mr. Low-Level Player. You tirelessly work through the Golden Path, but you deserve some cool hunting spots and gorgeous vistas. Below the cut are some of my favorites!
Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: EQII's hidden gems for low-level explorers
The Tattered Notebook: EQII's hidden gems for low-level explorers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Mog Log: Blindsided by FFXIV's patch 1.22
April 28, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log
Of course, in a lot of ways, this patch is smaller than its predecessors, though not in terms of content, obviously. No, it's a smaller patch by virtue of the fact that it's a pure content patch. New systems are in short supply, but new things to do are in abundance. It's a focus patch, in other words. Recent patches have vehemently focused on trimming up the mechanics and making sure that the game plays nicely with all sorts of content; this patch focuses instead on what you can do with all of your shiny abilities and classes and so forth. And aside from a couple of missed opportunities, it succeeds at that beautifully.
Continue reading The Mog Log: Blindsided by FFXIV's patch 1.22
The Mog Log: Blindsided by FFXIV's patch 1.22 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Free Realms throws itself a nice big birthday bash
April 28, 2012
Filed under: Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play, Free Realms, Family
There's more to the party, however: The game's offering a number of daily quests to help Queen Valerian produce the best birthday party ever. There's also the dread monster Cakenstein, a beast assembled from... well, you can probably guess from the name. The extended events will be running until May 24th, but the Station Cash promotion and the hat are only for today. So if you're a fan of Free Realms, log in and start enjoying the festivities today!
Free Realms throws itself a nice big birthday bash originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Guild Wars 2 sells out of digital editions
April 27, 2012
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, in-game, Guild Wars 2
While it may seem head-scratching that a company can sell out of a digital product, ArenaNet says that this was done to ensure enough server capacity for the event. The good news is that GameStop and Best Buy are still accepting prepurchase orders, and it looks as though ArenaNet will resume taking orders through the website once the beta weekend is underway:
We limit sales to ensure we have enough capacity for our customers. We're likely to have capacity available after the initial crunch at the start of the weekend. Players who purchase when we're able to resume digital sales at buy.guildwars2.com will still be able to play for the remainder of the weekend.[Thanks to FlyinBuddha for the tip!]
Guild Wars 2 sells out of digital editions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Facebook notice, Prepurchase page
The Daily Grind: Have you ever facerolled MMO content?
April 27, 2012
Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Endgame, PvE, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Dungeons
At endgame, anyway. I realize that outside of heroics and raids and PvP, WoW (like many MMOs) aims for accessible simplicity, which is nice when you're just happily grinding away or teaming up with weekend warriors not looking for a stressful challenge. One of my mates even bragged about facerolling his way through the dungeon finder, and I had to wonder, do people really do that? Even if content is easy, I still try to play it "right." I'll still make sure I know how to play my character, probably because I'm terrified of being that person in a PUG -- you know, the one who makes people hate PUGs. But I have to admit that the idea of honestly just punching whatever buttons just to see if we'll still win has its own amusing charm (and a strange level of challenge too).
Have you ever facerolled MMO content, literally or figuratively?
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: Have you ever facerolled MMO content? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Image source
Get into the Neverwinter beta by pre-ordering Torchlight II
April 27, 2012
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-play, Promotions, Neverwinter
The closed beta access comes with a couple provisions. You'll have to specifically pre-order through Perfect Worlds to get beta access, as a Steam pre-order won't reap the same results. Also, it's important to note that Runic Games says that the "exact date of [beta] access will vary."
Runic Games is a subsidiary of Perfect Worlds, which also owns Cryptic Studios.
We found ourselves incredibly impressed with Neverwinter after getting our hands on it at PAX East, so it's great to have a guaranteed path into the beta. Make sure to read up on our impressions of this upcoming title from Cryptic.
[Thanks to Jay for the tip!]
Get into the Neverwinter beta by pre-ordering Torchlight II originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Torchlight II pre-order page
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