Virtual World News
Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Trek Online, Dev Diaries
STO executive producer Daniel Stahl has offered up a post that kicks off with praise for Cryptic's new overlords at Perfect World Entertainment. He goes on to state that subs are up as players stream in to check out the new Ground Combat system and that the team is working extra hard to push out the long-awaited Deep Space 9-themed Feature Series 4. Stahl also outlines the devs' fall plans for the REDSHIRT closed beta server and notes that the upcoming September 22nd update "will be pretty big [...] some might say even bigger than the launch of Season 4."
Finally, the post winds down with a meaty list of game features and bug fixes currently in testing, including tweaks to the Duty Officer system, random Borg encounters, the group-finder tool, lore quests, and more.
STO's August engineering report on plans for Feature Series 4 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, One Shots
The amount of care Guild Wars puts into its environments is astounding! My favorite has got to be the amount of planning that has gone into keeping visual lore continuity between Eye of the North and Guild Wars 2.We're looking at the best MMO environments all this week. Do you have a favorite landscape, particularly eye-catching weather effect, or hidden jewel in an out-of-the-way location? Snap a screenshot of your favorite MMO area, tell us a bit about what and where it is, and send it to oneshots@massively.com.
A seemingly insignificant detail takes on much greater meaning as more is revealed. Just coming off Sylvari Week, I was tempted back into playing Guild Wars once again. Running casually by Arbor Bay, one of many instanced jungle maps, I did a double take as I realized the clearing I walked past was going to be the future birthplace of the Sylvari. Ventari was standing by right at the base of the future Pale Tree, and Ronan not too far off.
For an old game, the screenshots still look like something out of an acrylic fantasy painting.
One Shots: Past, present, and future originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Lost Pages of Taborea
RoM's gear-modification system lends itself to EVE-esque combat. Keep in mind we're not talking about how the mechanics or guts of the games are similar or different; we're talking about how the same itch is being scratched. In the case of RoM's PvP being like EVE, it's more like tickling the itch with a feather, which makes you want to scratch it even more. I want to scratch that itch with a Brillo pad by exploring how RoM's open-world PvP could function more like EVE's, thanks to the arcane transmutor. Let's start with how I think battlefields differ from open-world PvP.
Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: Runes of Magic's potential for EVE combat
Lost Pages of Taborea: Runes of Magic's potential for EVE combat originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV
Named after the cat-like monsters found across the series, the new ability permits gatherers to enter an undetectable state for various tiers of levels at the cost of a severe drop in movement speed. Stealth can be maintained even while gathering, however, allowing players to sneak right past aggressive monsters and take their bounty from the land with ease. While Coeurl Step is exclusive to the gathering classes, there are few players who haven't picked up one gathering class or another, so most of the playerbase will benefit from the option to go incognito.
Final Fantasy XIV talks about the new stealthy gathering originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, Previews, Endgame, News items, WildStar
The fact that the game will include PvP is almost a no-brainer, but the endgame has been stated to be diverse for all players. If you don't enjoy raiding, the game will still have a world story for players to explore and get engaged by. The world will feature both open areas and instances, as well, with a definite spread of different ways to ensure that players can experience the game with their friends. Last but not least, classes will be versatile and armor will be heavily customizable -- the game is being shaped to be something where each player can make his or her mark and have a unique look.
If the game interests you, our own staffers will be getting a hands-on experience with WildStar on Friday.
Gamescom wrapups for WildStar tease a few more nuggets of information originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Trailers, Video, Culture, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively
It's been a huge week for online gaming, with DotA 2 being shown for the first time at Gamescom and new details being released on Diablo III. In this week's Not So Massively, we give out beta keys for upcoming online action game Brawl Busters and reintroduce MMO-esque online FPS Blacklight: Retribution. Heroes of Newerth makes some controversial changes this week with patch 2.1.5, putting a free courier in every game and reorganising items in the shop.
The biggest news came out of Gamescom this week was the conclusion of Valve's massive $1.6 million US DotA 2 tournament The International. League of Legends retaliated with the announcement of a $5 million US total prize fund for competitive tournaments in season two. Blizzard also attended Gamescom to reveal new details of Diablo III's difficulty settings, which will include a brand-new Inferno endgame mode designed to challenge even the best players.
Skip past the cut for details of this week's biggest news from the world of MOBAs and other online games.
Continue reading Not So Massively: Diablo III's Inferno mode and million-dollar tournaments
Not So Massively: Diablo III's Inferno mode and million-dollar tournaments originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively meta, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous
Then again, we'll play just about anything. So you tell us: What would you deem the best reveal of Gamescom?
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: What was the juiciest reveal at Gamescom? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game mechanics, Previews, Professions, News items, Guild Wars 2
However, unlike many MMOs that give you a set list of recipes based on your crafting level and then limit you to crafting only those recipes, Guild Wars 2's system allows players to experiment with different combinations of materials to see if they form a new recipe. Only guy on the server who's figured out how to make that badass warhammer? Don't tell anyone and monopolize the market!
Also gone are the days of skill points. Rather than giving crafting recipes a somewhat random chance to give you a skill-up, Guild Wars 2's crafting system provides you with an experience bar for your tradeskill, with each completed recipe providing a set amount of experience toward the next level.
But what if you're not happy with your profession choices? While the game only allows you to have two active professions at any given time, you're able to freely swap one profession for another while retaining progress made in your former profession. So if you want to drop your level 50 profession to mess around with another, you can pick back up where you left off at a later time.
For the developer commentary and a whopping 20 minutes of hands-on time with two different professions, hop on past the cut for the full video.
[Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
Continue reading Guild Wars 2's crafting system detailed and demonstrated
Guild Wars 2's crafting system detailed and demonstrated originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Massively meta, Global Chat, Miscellaneous
There's a lot of hype and excitement floating around the gaming world these days. Exciting titles are in various stages of development, and speculation is the name of the game. Titles still in development aren't the only source of excitement, though. Players love to talk up their favorite games and sometimes the industry in general.
Some of our readers jumped in on various Massively stories this week with some slightly more down-to-earth thoughts -- not that this is bad! Follow along after the jump to see what some of our most astute readers of the week had to say.
Continue reading Global Chat: Rose-colored glasses vs. realism edition
Global Chat: Rose-colored glasses vs. realism edition originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Anvil of Crom
This week, though, I'm indulging in The Anvil of Crom's second top-random-number list, and I'm doing it in response to two reader mails that asked me why their respective authors should give Age of Conan a second shot. In short, there's never been a better time to try (or return to) AoC, so join me after the cut for six reasons why.
Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Six reasons why
The Anvil of Crom: Six reasons why originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.