Virtual World News
Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, PvE, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles
There are a few of ways that your experience gain might not match up to your desired or expected level. These ways mostly deal with feeling underleveled for storyline content and zone progression. As I said, everyone's moving through the game differently: Some folks made a point to run around major cities right of the bat to tuck a few safe levels under their belts, while others made a beeline for personal story content, and others still (and I count myself in this category) are stumbling this way and that through content with all the focus and willpower of a drunken goldfish.
Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Your Guild Wars 2 mileage will vary
Flameseeker Chronicles: Your Guild Wars 2 mileage will vary originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Screenshots, Legal
The watermark is made up of several strips of custom bar codes, which can be decoded to reveal information from the game. While the revealed information isn't extremely personal, it does contain the server IP, player account numbers, and a time stamp. The account number is publically accessable through Blizzard's Armory site and cannot be used to hack accounts.
WoW Insider says that this information is most likely used by Blizzard to take down private servers, rogue employees, and cheaters.
World of Warcraft hiding information in screenshots originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: WoW Insider
Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV
Players with currently active subscriptions will be able to continue playing from September 30th up until the game shuts down on November 11th. (The last snapshot of character progress will be on November 1st, however, so the last 10 days of play will not be transferred to the new version.) Players whose subscriptions are already cancelled or will be cancelled after September 30th will not be able to play for free during this period, and the last day to reactivate a subscription or redeem any other codes will be the 29th. Read through the full dispatch for all of the details if you're not sure where you'll be after the end of the month, and keep your eyes peeled for more information as the relaunch draws closer.
Final Fantasy XIV service fees to discontinue on September 29th originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, Culture, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Trading card games, Wizard101, Battlestar Galactica Online, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous
I hate it when MMORPG players completely misrepresent this hobby. I cringe every time I find myself in the middle of a discussion about "MMOs" when most of the people chatting are pulling only from their experience as a World of Warcraft raider and nothing more. There are hundreds -- actually, thousands -- of MMOs in existence. Discussing MMOs without knowing about as many as possible is really talking about specific titles, not a genre. You wouldn't catch a group of "foodies" basing all of their passions on a few items from a handful of menus. The same should apply to MMO discussions if we ever want the genre to be taken more seriously by outsiders.
MMO players love to pigeonhole titles. What are some of the worst descriptions? "Hardcore" is one. What does that even mean? Does it mean a title is hard to play? In what way is it hard? Does it mean that it takes time to play? How much time equals hardcore? "Facebook game" is another term that drives me crazy, and it's often used by many MMO fans to dismiss all sorts of titles. While I know that the term generally refers to FarmVille-style gaming, using the term literally reflects how little the person knows about the variety of games that actually appear on or are connected to Facebook.
The term that drives me the craziest of all is pay-to-win.
Continue reading The Soapbox: There's no such thing as pay-to-win
The Soapbox: There's no such thing as pay-to-win originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, News items, Free-to-play
Starting at 2:00 p.m. EDT on the 14th, anyone with an account for the game can log in to the client and start playing. The focus is on stress testing to ensure that the game's servers can handle a heavy load of concurrent players, so some lag and choppiness is to be expected. If you're not deterred by this, you can head over to the official site and download the client now so that you'll be all prepped and ready when the doors open on Friday.
Path of Exile is holding a stress test this weekend originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Interviews, Opinion, Humor, Massively Interviews, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon
TORWars stands out among its peers because of its fun, honest, and dare I say, professional atmosphere. Not only will you find some of the most enthusiastic SWTOR articles on TORWars, but those bits of news and editorial content are released daily by quality writers.
I wanted to get in on the site's celebration of its 100th podcast, so I asked hosts Jeff Hollis, Deirdre Hollis, and Brian Waggoner for an interview, to which they agreed after I bribed them with alcohol. We spoke for over two hours about the ups and downs of running one of the most popular SWTOR fan sites. Unfortunately, that's too much text for a single column, but I have grabbed the highlights, wrapped them up in a bow, and presented them here for you to enjoy. (The bribing with alcohol bit may or may not be true.)
Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: TORWars gets candid for its 100th episode
Hyperspace Beacon: TORWars gets candid for its 100th episode originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind
That exact situation has already hit Ryzom players, whose servers are set to be wiped and consolidated in an effort to keep the game online. So suppose your favorite game lost all of its data for some reason. Your characters are gone, with no hope of retrieval. No levels. No currency. No twinking gear. No achievements. No vet rewards. No guilds. No resources. All of it, gone.
Would you start over? If not, would you take it as a sign to play another game? And if so, what would you do differently the second time around?
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: Would you still play if you had to start over? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide
Every week, the Massively Stream Team 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 each week, so you'll find a variety of titles to watch. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, or 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, and let us know if there's a specific game you'd like to see streamed next week!
Continue reading MV Guide: September 10 - 16, 2012
MV Guide: September 10 - 16, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Free-to-play, Wings Over Atreia
Actually, address might be too gentle of a word because the more I think about it, the more it is turning into an outright rant. And you know that it takes quite a bit for me to get riled up enough to unleash; with only three rants in over two years, I definitely lag behind in the rant department!
What could be getting my goat enough to actually fire up the ol' rant-o-matic? It's not anything that's been done -- or not done -- by NCsoft. The company is in the clear this time. It's actually the players. More specifically, it is the unacceptable attitude of bigotry and intolerance that's being heaved about in Aion against other nationalities and other languages. A great big W. T. F. here folks. Now I am not accusing all players of this, not by a long shot. But the fact that it is cropping up with any frequency is a problem.
Something needs to be said. So I am saying it.
Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: A rant against xenophobia in Aion
Wings Over Atreia: A rant against xenophobia in Aion originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Super-hero, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Anniversary
Starting next week, players can enjoy rewards such as legacy gear and vanity pets, as well as an upcoming concert starring Sapphire. Don't get too complacent with the festivities, however, as rampaging robots will be trying to crash the party. These machines are part of Dr. Destroyer's army from 1992, and are building up to a full-on invasion of Millennium City later this month.
Get a jump on the party with an exclusive listen to Sapphire's anniversary song and a sneak peek at a trio of new comic book-style loading screens that are coming soon to the title!
Champions Online Exclusive: Rock out with Sapphire! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.