Virtual World News
Xsyon hosts 10-day welcome back promotion
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Xsyon, Promotions, Sandbox
Any former subscriber to Xsyon will receive a 10-day pass to the game sometime after May 18th. This time will be used over the course of five weeks. Eligible players will be notified by email when their 10-day slot is scheduled.
Xsyon recently celebrated its first anniversary, and since launch has seen explosive growth of both player-created structures and the wildlife population. Other improvements that Notorious Games is proud of include a better crafting system, an overhauled UI, and tweaked visuals.
Xsyon hosts 10-day welcome back promotion originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Xsyon forums
BioWare strikes back at SWTOR declining sub reports
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic
"Nothing is off the table when it comes to making sure our communities are strong and active on each server," Erickson said.
He told PC Gamer that BioWare is doing "anything and everything" to help its numbers. Creutz said that SWTOR subcribers reached a peak of 1.7 million in February, and he estimated that populations would drop to 1.25 million by March of 2013.
BioWare strikes back at SWTOR declining sub reports originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
World of Darkness creative director talks design and the MMO mainstream
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, World of Darkness, Sandbox
Despite the concessions to mainstream accessibility, EVE's influence on World of Darkness will be more than superficial. "The live-action roleplayers of the Vampire the Masquerade tabletop game play this way," Hardarson explains. "It's really about politics and power plays."
Why don't more MMO developers try their hand at sandbox mechanics? Hardarson says designing for emergent play is difficult because you can't test it. It's worth it, though, because MMOs that hand-hold and limit players to a linear path miss the point. "I'm not a five-year-old. If I want to go in the cave and I want to die, that's my problem," Hardarson says.
World of Darkness creative director talks design and the MMO mainstream originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Gamasutra
Drakensang Online compares itself to Diablo III and Torchlight II
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Free-to-play, Humor
According to the comparison chart, Drakensang takes the lead by offering all that its competition has plus more. When you've got a game that was developed in less than two years, is free-to-play, and is a full-fledged MMO, why would you ever want to sample the fruits of Blizzard's and Runic Game's trees?
Will Drakensang nip hard enough at Diablo III's heels to hobble the mighty demon as it releases next month? Time will tell, but you can check out our impressions of Drakensang when Mike plays it for you live on Massively TV this Wednesday evening!
[Source: Bigpoint Games press release]
Drakensang Online compares itself to Diablo III and Torchlight II originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Test drive a new BMW in Auto Club Revolution
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Real life, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play
ACR is a free-to-play racing title that delivers a "console-quality racing experience" according to Eutechnyx. Gamers can collect, customize, and race models from over 50 real-world manufacturers. Visit the game's official website and sign up to access the challenges needed to unlock your new BMW.
[Source: Eutechnyx press release]
Test drive a new BMW in Auto Club Revolution originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
EVE's Escalation patch brings new status bar, missile effects, and more
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Sandbox
Lead designer CCP Soundwave is today's talking head. He takes us through the changes to the drone regions, which CCP hopes will revitalize EVE Online's mining trade. "Mining will actually be done through mining rather than shooting NPCs," Soundwave deadpans.
Incursion spawns and payouts are also being tweaked, though Soundwave doesn't spend much time on that particular detail in this video. He does show off EVE's new effect bar, though. Prior to the patch, pilots needed to hunt down aggressors via the game's overview, but now there's a little status bar above the hull/armor/shield readout that gives you pertinent combat info at a glance.
Finally, CCP has been hard at work revamping EVE's missile effects. The tweaks follow on from last year's turret upgrades to bring even more visual ooohs and ahhhs to EVE's combat. More details are available in the clip after the cut.
Continue reading EVE's Escalation patch brings new status bar, missile effects, and more
EVE's Escalation patch brings new status bar, missile effects, and more originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: CCP YouTube
RIFT kicks off service in Korea
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, News items, RIFT
The game is also launching with several of the usual launch events such as promotional giveaways, although they're of limited utility if you don't read or speak Korean. It's an unusual export, but with several Korean games making major promotional pushes in the US (such as Aion and TERA), it might be the time to see if cross-cultural appeal works in the other direction. And if you're familiar with the language and want to see how the game plays when adapted, now's the time.
RIFT kicks off service in Korea originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Korean site
Celebrate Lord of the Rings Online's 5th Anniversary with free stuff from Massively!
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Contests, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Giveaways, Anniversary
To help celebrate this success after five years, Turbine has teamed up with Massively to offer special prizes for three lucky winners: 5,000 Turbine Points, 10,000 Turbine Points, and a Lifetime account!
To be eligible, you must reside in North America (these are for NA accounts) and be over 18 years of age. If that checks out, just head on over to our contest post in our forums and leave a reply to the thread letting us know what your favorite moment was from the last five years of LotRO. Be sure to get your responses in before 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 27th. We'll then randomly select the first-, second-, and third-place winners and notify them by the end of the day Friday.
Also be sure to check out the 5th anniversary video just after the cut below. Best of luck to everyone!
Celebrate Lord of the Rings Online's 5th Anniversary with free stuff from Massively! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
EVE's Escalation video talks new status bar, missile effects, and more [Updated]
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Sandbox
Lead designer CCP Soundwave is today's talking head. He takes us through the changes to the drone regions, which CCP hopes will revitalize EVE Online's mining trade. "Mining will actually be done through mining rather than shooting NPCs," Soundwave deadpans.
Incursion spawns and payouts are also being tweaked, though Soundwave doesn't spend much time on that particular detail in this video. He does show off EVE's new effect bar, though. Prior to the patch, pilots needed to hunt down aggressors via the game's overview, but now there's a little status bar above the hull/armor/shield readout that gives you pertinent combat info at a glance.
Finally, CCP has been hard at work revamping EVE's missile effects. The tweaks follow on from last year's turret upgrades to bring even more visual ooohs and ahhhs to EVE's combat. More details are available in the clip after the cut.
[Update]: While the missile effects are featured in the video, we've changed the title of the article to reflect the fact that they're not live yet. We've also flogged ourselves accordingly.
Continue reading EVE's Escalation video talks new status bar, missile effects, and more [Updated]
EVE's Escalation video talks new status bar, missile effects, and more [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: CCP YouTube
The Game Archaeologist: Are graphical updates worth the hassle?
April 24, 2012
Filed under: Anarchy Online, Opinion, Ultima Online, The Game Archaeologist, Miscellaneous
"If they re-released this game with modern graphics, it would be way more popular."
"The Game Archaeologist is my hero, and I will name my progeny in his honor."
How many times have we heard the above statements? From my perspective as someone who tries to keep tabs on classic MMOs, I see these claims quite a lot. Such sentiments pop up in nearly every other post Massively does about older games: "This title is rock-solid except for its aging visuals. Update those, and it would recapture its former glory and then some."
This has gotten me thinking whether such logic would pan out or not. With Anarchy Online's much-hyped graphics overhaul on the way, this discussion seems to crop up more often. Is the power of a graphics conversion or overhaul strong enough to pull back in previous players and fresh blood? Or is it merely slathering on new paint over a rusting hulk?
Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: Are graphical updates worth the hassle?
The Game Archaeologist: Are graphical updates worth the hassle? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Jump to page:
37