Virtual World News
Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Sandbox, Anniversary
Guild Software is hosting a couple of celebration events this weekend. The company has also announced that its massive 1.9 patch is coming later this year, followed by an even more massive expansion in 2013.
Vendetta is unique among MMOs for its twitch-based space combat and extensive trading, mining, and exploration gameplay. Large space battles, dynamic territory control, and player-generated content systems round out the feature set, all of which is coded and maintained by a four-man dev team. The single-universe game server is accessible from a number of different platforms that include Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. In March 2011, Vendetta became the first PC MMO to jump to mobile platforms, and it spent several weeks as the number one paid app on Android devices.
Check out the game's official website for more info, and don't forget to sign up for the trial while you're there. You can also read Massively's latest game impressions in Some Assembly Required.
[Source: Guild press release]
Vendetta celebrating 10-year anniversary, prepping new content originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, News items, Roleplaying, Miscellaneous
The MMO roleplaying community lost one of its most prolific authors this week, as Brian "OddjobXL" Rucker passed away at the age of 48.Rucker maintained a blog called The Roleplayer's Redoubt on MMORPG.com, and he was also featured in Massively's The Game Archaeologist where he talked at length about MUDs, MUSHs, and Star Wars Galaxies.
Massively columnist Larry Everett remembered Rucker as "a very prominent member of both of my websites and a personal inspiration to me as a gamer, writer, and roleplayer." Rucker, known as Cap'n in SWG circles, covered roleplaying in dozens of disparate MMO titles. He also offered plenty of sage advice for both newbs and veterans alike.
[Thanks to Laura for the tip.]
Prolific MMO blogger Brian "OddjobXL" Rucker passes away originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Final Fantasy XIV
The company has announced two new promotional campaigns, the first of which is aimed at players who have paid for at least 90 days of sub time since January 6, 2012. You should be getting an email from Square if you're eligible, and you'll receive a discount on your monthly sub ($9.99 for 30 days) as well as 40 playable character slots on your account (with a maximum of eight per world).
Legacy members will also get an exclusive chocobo mount with version 2.0 as well as the option to have their name listed in the update's credits.
Square's second announcement concerns the Welcome Back Campaign, which is intended to stoke the interest of former players with inactive service accounts. Eorzean ex-patriots can come back for free between May 9th and May 20th. During the 10-day trial Square says that you can take part in the "once-in-a-lifetime" Seventh Umbral Era content and experience the new job system and inn room updates. Finally, Naoki Yoshida has published a new producer's letter which expounds on the campaigns as well as the game's future.
[Thanks to William for the tip!]
Final Fantasy XIV beckons former players with Legacy, Welcome Back campaigns originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: FFXIV campaign info
Filed under: Historical, Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, PvP, Opinion, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks, The Firing Line, Anniversary
Anyhow, what's even scarier than the passage of time is the fact that World of Tanks (and the company behind it) is showing no signs of slowing down.
Continue reading The Firing Line: World of Tanks first-anniversary retrospective
The Firing Line: World of Tanks first-anniversary retrospective originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage, Community Q&A
We'll be on the scene as Cryptic Studios fields a wide variety of questions from ardent fans of the game. If getting that burning question you've had off your chest isn't enough of a reason to attend, the developers will also show a few trailers and sneak peeks of upcoming content.
The panel will take place on Saturday, August 11th, from 2:00 to 3:00 EDT (11:00 a.m. to noon PDT) at the Rio Suites Hotel in Las Vegas.
Massively to co-host STO panel at the Official Star Trek Convention originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Official Star Trek Convention
Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, News items, Roleplaying, Miscellaneous
The MMO roleplaying community lost one of its most prolific authors this week as Brian "OddjobXL" Rucker passed away at the age of 48.Rucker maintained a blog called The Roleplayer's Redoubt on MMORPG.com, and he was also featured in Massively's The Game Archaeologist, where he talked at length about MUDs, MUSHs, and Star Wars Galaxies.
Massively columnist Larry Everett remembers Rucker as "a very prominent member of both of my websites and a personal inspiration to me as a gamer, writer, and roleplayer." Rucker, known as Cap'n in SWG circles, covered roleplaying in dozens of disparate MMO titles. He also offered plenty of sage advice for both newbs and veterans alike.
[Thanks to Laura for the tip.]
Prolific MMO blogger Brian 'OddjobXL' Rucker passes away originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Final Fantasy XIV, Promotions
The company has announced two new promotional campaigns, the first of which is aimed at players who have paid for at least 90 days of sub time since January 6th, 2012. You should be getting an email from Square if you're eligible, and you'll receive a discount on your monthly sub ($9.99 for 30 days) as well as 40 playable character slots on your account (with a maximum of eight per world).
Legacy members will also get an exclusive chocobo mount with version 2.0 as well as the option to have their names listed in the update's credits.
Square's second announcement concerns the Welcome Back Campaign, which is intended to stoke the interest of former players with inactive service accounts. Eorzean ex-patriots can come back for free between May 9th and May 20th. During the 10-day trial, you can take part in the "once-in-a-lifetime" Seventh Umbral Era content and experience the new job system and inn room updates. Finally, Naoki Yoshida has published a new producer's letter that expounds on the campaigns as well as the game's future.
[Thanks to William for the tip!]
Final Fantasy XIV beckons former players with Legacy and Welcome Back campaigns originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: FFXIV campaign info
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, News items, TERA
For those not yet in the beta, here's the down-low: Players begin their journey aboard a ship bound for the Island of Dawn, and as anyone familiar with fantasy tropes knows, getting on a ship bound for an unknown land is often just a prelude to a terrible shipwreck. TERA's prologue is no different, and players soon find themselves stranded in exceedingly hostile territory with a rather nasty demon infestation. Naturally, it falls to players to play demon exterminators and get the shipwrecked crew to safety because everyone else is too busy standing around telling the players what to do. Lazy chumps. At any rate, to get a first-hand look at the new prologue zone and all of the demon-ass-kicking it entails, just go watch the official trailer for yourself.
Continue reading Latest TERA trailer takes players to the shores of the new Island of Dawn prologue
Latest TERA trailer takes players to the shores of the new Island of Dawn prologue originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Video, New titles, Previews, News items, Free-to-play
The Soul Summoner, the Knight, the Archer, the Mage, the Thief, and the Berserker pages each have some photos of the relevant class in action as well as a description of why it's the best out of the six classes. If that doesn't get you interested in the game, the teaser site also features a video showing off cinematics and gameplay. More news on beta testing and launch as it develops.
[Source: gPotato press release]
Continue reading Eternal Blade posts a teaser site and class Facebook pages
Eternal Blade posts a teaser site and class Facebook pages originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous
Roleplaying is all about creating a shared space for your character to inhabit with other characters. It's about crafting trials and challenges that can be overcome through narrative means; it's about building a set of experiences together. And all of the columns I've written up to this point have been entirely about making that work well and creating a shared environment that's fun for everyone.
But it can end. One day, you may log in to find that the people you've been roleplaying alongside are no longer there -- that the friends you once had have left, the allies you once charished have moved on, and your universe has narrowed by degrees until it's just you. After all of the roleplaying you've done, it tuns out that your group of fellow roleplayers has slowly drifted away until the only person who remembers these stories is you. And it seems fitting, for the 100th column, to talk about what happens when you're left remembering a universe that never was.
Continue reading Storyboard: One hundred moments and done
Storyboard: One hundred moments and done originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.