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Star Trek Online goes behind the scenes with Denise Crosby
May 01, 2013

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Yes, the face of the Romulans is only half-Romulan.
When Star Trek Online launches its first expansion, Legacy of Romulus, players will find themselves facing off against the formidable Empress Sela right from the start. The return of Sela also marks the return of veteran actress Denise Crosby to the game, and the community team behind STO had a chance to speak with Crosby about returning to the franchise and to the same characters she portrayed years ago on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Crosby mentions that while she enjoyed the chance to reprise the role of Tasha Yar (a character she jokingly says simply refuses to die), revisiting Sela is a chance to dive deeper into a character who was not fully realized during her first appearances. Sela's life is the Empire, and she feels that any means necessary to restore the power and prestige of her people is more than justified. Click past the break to see the full video and learn a little bit more about the face of the Romulan Empire in the expansion.

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MassivelyStar Trek Online goes behind the scenes with Denise Crosby originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    MMO sandbox TUG launches its Kickstarter
    May 01, 2013

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    MMO sandbox TUG launches on Kickstarter
    If you're the sort of sandbox aficionado who's more into crafting and exploration than griefing, then this post is for you. Brand-new to Kickstarter today is an MMO called, well, The Untitled Game, or TUG for short. Inspired by the likes of Minecraft, Zelda, and EVE Online, TUG promises an immersion-driven, "massive procedurally generated world to explore" along with such features as combat, crafting, building, an organic UI, modding tools, hidden civilizations, animal taming, "logic engineering," a day/season cycles, realistic weights, support for roleplayers, and no DRM. Like rival Shroud of the Avatar, TUG will be playable solo, on a private server, and on the official MMO server.

    Developer Nerd Kingdom styles itself as "a collective of scientists, researchers, technologists, economists, content creators, artists, modders, and gamers from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds" with a "deep passion for the nerdery of academic sciences, art, and technology," but in spite of its academic background, the studio promises a survival sandbox/multiplayer RPG hybrid without all the associated spreadsheets and number-crunching.

    The game is targeting 2015 for launch with an alpha this coming July; the digital download edition of the game can be secured for as little as 10 bucks on Kickstarter now. See whether the videos behind the break don't convince you.

    Continue reading MMO sandbox TUG launches its Kickstarter

    MassivelyMMO sandbox TUG launches its Kickstarter originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Defiance bugs invade RIFT
    May 01, 2013

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    And this has somehow happened before Zerg invade Azeroth. I'm speechless.
    Adventurers of Telara, you've kind of got a good news/bad news situation taking place here. The bad news is that RIFT is getting invaded, which was already the case. The worse news is that it's now being invaded by the Hellbugs from Defiance, which usually require a great deal of automatic weapons fire to be put down. The good news is that if you can somehow manage to overcome the distinct lack of any firearms and put down the invasion, you can keep a Hellbug around to ride! Wait, that might still be bad news.

    Yes, Trion Worlds is kicking off a cross-promotional event with new fire rifts that give players a chance at Defiance-related rewards, most notably the chance to pick up a Hellbug mount. The event is open to all players, even if you're just trying out the game's Lite version. No word on how long the event will last, but it's probably best to assume that it won't be forever -- which is also sort of a good news/bad news situation, unless you wanted to see the game overrun by Hellbugs.

    MassivelyDefiance bugs invade RIFT originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Dragon's Prophet shows off screenshots of Wynnadia
    May 01, 2013

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    Dark secrets, sure, but mostly it looks like a lovely countryside vacation.
    Despite the name of the game, Dragon's Prophet does not exclusively feature dragons and prophets thereof. It also has lands for all of that to occupy. The Wynnadia zone even has houses and people living there, providing a rich background for all prophet- and dragon-related antics. It's a pleasant zone filled with rolling hills, farming communities, undead monstrosities clawing their way up from the depths, and charming beaches.

    Wait, do we need to go back to that middle one?

    Once in game, players will be tasked with exploring the Accursed Tower and the Nameless Keep, full of dark secrets and alluring treasure. But it's not all monster-stomping day, as the zone is also home to the cities of Zarland and Lilia, with the former composed mainly of outcasts and refugees and the latter serving as an impressive naval stronghold. While we're assured that there's danger in the zone, all of the pictures in the gallery below look more inviting than deadly.

    [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]

    MassivelyDragon's Prophet shows off screenshots of Wynnadia originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      SMITE unchains the might of Fenrir
      May 01, 2013

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      Who's a good boy? Who? Is it you? Who wants a treat?
      After many years, we finally have the answer to a rhetorical question: SMITE let the dogs out. Well, one dog -- Fenrir. But he's enough dog to count for all the others. If you hadn't guess, Fenrir is the newest deity added to the game, coming into the game with a full suite of melee abilities suitable for a wolf feared by the Norse pantheon.

      Fenrir's core mechanic is a stacking set of runes, with each of his abilities gaining a major buff when at a full stack of five. Normally, Fenrir can leap to do damage to an area, leap to do damage to a single target, or buff himself with increased damage and lifestealing. With a full stack of runes, his area leap stuns, his single-target leap becomes an AoE, and his buff becomes more efficient. He can also grow to a massive size, increase movement speed, and carry an enemy god around like a chew toy. Take a look at all of Fenrir's trick in the reveal video past the break, and read up on the full list of changes in the official patch notes.

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      MassivelySMITE unchains the might of Fenrir originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Free for All: Introduction to MUD May
      May 01, 2013

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      Gemstone IV character description screenshot
      For the month of May, I will be using this column to cover the world of MUDs aka multi-user-domains or dungeons. MUDs are text-based MMORPGs, and playing one is sort of like playing through a choose-your-own-adventure book with potentially thousands of other players. I'm not so arrogant to think that I could cover the decades of MUD development within the span of five articles, but I've had a go at it in the past and want to examine the topic more. Why?

      There are many reasons, and to kick off this series, I'd like to talk about them. After today, my columns will concentrate on interviews with developers and players to explain how and why MUDs still work, and I hope that all of this will encourage many of you who have never tried a MUD to pick one out now. The recent buzz surrounding Twine-based games and interactive storytelling is perfect fuel for MUDs to come back into the spotlight. Unless, of course, many of the issues with the insulated community of MUDers sabotage the perfect timing.

      Let's get started.

      Continue reading Free for All: Introduction to MUD May

      MassivelyFree for All: Introduction to MUD May originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        WildStar sneaks a peak at Stormtalon's Lair
        May 01, 2013

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        Maybe he just has allergies.
        Making a new discovery on Nexus is always sort of a double-edged sword. The good news is that the Exile Academy of Science has discovered all sorts of fascinating details about the Thundercall Pell race living in the south of Galeras. The bad news is that some of this has come about as a result of discovering strange energy readings emanating from the caverns known as Stormtalon's Lair and the loss of a science team investigating the region, meaning that WildStar players will have to go in and deal with whatever ate the team that went in the first time.

        The latest WildStar Wednesday sheds some light on this early dungeon, explaining the motivations behind the inhabitants of the Lair and some of the mysteries still surrounding them. Players will be tasked with fighting their way into the depths, stopping the Thundercall High Priest from awakening the eponymous Stormtalon. Which means you'll probably arrive just in time to fight Stormtalon before it gets free, because really, how else could this end?

        MassivelyWildStar sneaks a peak at Stormtalon's Lair originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Daily Grind: What was the worst guild meltdown you've ever seen?
        April 30, 2013

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        For the record, if every guild you're involved with ends in a free-for-all PvP match, you might want to just stop joining guilds.
        Guilds break up. Just like bands, it's a sad reality. Sometimes they just slowly drift apart because some people are leaving The Secret World and other members are developing differing interests, so the guild shuts down with no animosity. Other times the shutdown is accompanied by an explosion of drama so profound that you'd swear you were undergoing multiple simultaneous divorces instead of just dissolving a gathering of EverQuest II players. There is GM intervention, there are angry phone calls, in extreme cases there may even be bricks thrown through windows.

        At the time, they're not fun to watch. But those horrible drama-filled guild demolitions do at least make for entertaining stories after the fact. So today we ask you: What was the worst guild meltdown you've ever seen? Were you involved in it or were you just an observer? In retrospect, was everyone blowing things out of proportion or blowing things far out of proportion?

        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: What was the worst guild meltdown you've ever seen? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          Flameseeker Chronicles: It's time for some retribution in Guild Wars 2
          April 30, 2013

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          Flameseeker Chronicles It's time for some retribution
          Another patch day is upon us. Among other things, Guild Wars 2's Flame and Frost: Retribution is bringing in a new living story dungeon and some much-needed structured PvP improvements. Over the weekend, members of the press were invited to preview some of the incoming content. I'd like to talk about it with you, so be warned that there are spoilers for the living story dungeon ahead.

          Something that I found particularly interesting about all of this is that the Molten Weapons Facilities dungeon is going to be available for less than two weeks. The dungeon is due to exit on May 12th. I had expected it to be time-limited, of course, but I think I was expecting a little more time than that. Anyway, let's dive right into it.

          Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: It's time for some retribution in Guild Wars 2

          MassivelyFlameseeker Chronicles: It's time for some retribution in Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            The Soapbox: My lore problem
            April 30, 2013

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            Guild Wars 2
            "In the distant forests of El'quen, a dark evil stirs. Marrowgore the Unhunter, imprisoned for a thousand years in Cauldron Lake by the Eye of Son'drak, has broken free. Now, he and his evil BoneSlurpers stage an all-out war on the United Provinces. You, a freshly christened hero known for valorous acts both on and off the battlefield, must take charge of the Sacred Axeblade of Loqtai, harness the power it contains, and send the Unhunter back to his watery prison.

            "But first, can you get me nine wolf pelts?"

            Continue reading The Soapbox: My lore problem

            MassivelyThe Soapbox: My lore problem originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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