Virtual World News
Filed under: Fallen Earth, Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Promotions, Post-Apocalyptic
Now, before you ask, it's not quite free -- the rebate comes after the end of the promotion, meaning that if you spend $20 during the promotion, you will be credited with $20 after the promotion ends. Still, it's a chance to pick up all sorts of fun accessories, several of which are deeply discounted during the promotion. Fallen Earth players would be well advised to browse the market and decide if there's anything worth buying -- after all, it all comes back to you in the end.
Fallen Earth store goes all the way with a 100% rebate event originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Classes, Game mechanics, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter
Well, not so much. Due to a perfect storm of circumstances, I didn't get any significant leveling in, and this weekend is also coming before a dump of several new powers rather than just after. So unlike last time, this time I mostly just took part in other activities. (If you really have to know what I was doing, tune back in on Saturday.) So instead, I'm going to take the time to talk a little bit about Temporal Manipulation, partly because I'd like a bit of a do-over for the past weekend, and partly because I'm not sure if I like it just from reading about it. It strikes me as a set that could be very good, but in its own way that might be kind of a bad thing.
Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Whose side is time on, anyway?
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Whose side is time on, anyway? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Video, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries
The dev diary introduces players to a couple of the early bosses they'll be encountering, such as the nasty Blood Skeleton and the hulking Butcher. In addition, it details the rewards players can reap for defeating these challenging fights, such as copious amounts of gold, high-quality equipment, and high-value loot cards. For the full diary, including some footage of players facing off against the game's many bosses, jump on past the cut for the full video.
Continue reading New Rusty Hearts dev diary gets bossy
New Rusty Hearts dev diary gets bossy originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Culture, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous
Weidenhaupt claims, "The market for high-quality MMO games that are free to play is growing dynamically and we intend to become a major player in the space." The company is already hard at work bringing those "high-quality MMO games" to its customers, with Weidenhaupt noting, "We've already begun assembling a top-notch team and are looking to fully utilize our resources by bringing some great games to the western world in 2012." So if you're in the market for a shiny new F2P title, keep your eye on Infernum and find out what it will be bringing to the table.
Former Frogster CEO forms new F2P publishing company originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Rumors, Faxion Online
According to a forum post citing a former UTV employee, it's rumored that the entire team has been given their pink slips. "It is now officially dead," the unnamed source wrote. "They laid off the rest of the Faxion team, so there is no one left to do anything."
Disney recently bought out UTV Ignition, which oversees Faxion Online, and there was some speculation that the Mouse House might be making cuts in this struggling PvP MMO and elsewhere. So far this is an unconfirmed rumor, and it remains to be seen what impact this will have on Faxion going forward if true.
Rumor: Entire Faxion Online team laid off originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: New titles, War, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous
Today Wargaming.net announced that it will be rounding out its "World of" trilogy by adding a third MMO to its roster: World of Battleships. This free-to-play title will focus on the iconic battleships of the last century as players duke it out on the high seas.
Like World of Tanks and World of Warplanes, World of Battleships will incorporate player-friendly controls and a clean interface to allow the maximum amount of carnage with the minimum amount of confusion. There will be a wide array of battleships available to play on maps with changing weather conditions and challenging obstacles.
Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi sees this as the final step for world domination: "Humans always needed to conquer the elements -- earth, water and air. With World of Tanks, World of Warplanes and World of Battleships we will offer players to conquer all, simultaneously."
The company plans to allow players to "distribute resources" between all three titles once they're all up and running. You can get a first look at World of Battleships in the gallery below!
Wargaming.net announces World of Battleships originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Classes, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous
Some players want to go with the Final Fantasy XI approach, creating one character who can learn to do pretty much everything in the game, given enough time. Others prefer a more focused approach a la World of Warcraft, a game in which a character does one thing and specializes in it heavily. What do you feel? How diverse do you want each individual character's ability pool to be, and are you willing to give up some flexibility if it means more unique skills for your particular focus?
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: How versatile do you like your characters? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Massively Event Coverage, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Livestream
You can watch the EA press conference livestream after the jump!
Continue reading EA livestreaming The Old Republic at 10:00 a.m. EDT
EA livestreaming The Old Republic at 10:00 a.m. EDT originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries, Miscellaneous, Sandbox
CCP Greyscale outlines twelve bullet points discussed at length amongst both the dev team and the Council of Stellar Management, all with the aim of making nullsec the place to be in terms of EVE Online's primary gameplay. The post talks everything from mining, to territory and conquest, to intel and exploration. CCP Greyscale uses this last one as an example of how far-reaching the changes to EVE are shaping up to be.
"Hopefully the amount of stuff in here will also make it clearer why we're saying 'more than five years.' For example, those few bullet points under 'exploration' mean replacing all of the exploration content that's been developed in the past five years," he explains.
EVE Online dev blog outlines major long-term changes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Massively Event Coverage, RIFT, Miscellaneous
Talking to a crowd at GDC Europe, Reid spoke on an inevitable "new era" of premium games that are being fashioned in the forges of increased competition, challenging business models, higher development costs, and lower social interaction. "It's a lot harder to make your money back in the premium games space than it used to be," he said.
Reid used Trion's approach as an example of how MMO studios need to be at the top of their game when developing games, including "AAA ambition and polish, massive scale, persistence, and customization."
RIFT, which he cites as having over a million customers and holding the number two spot in the West, made sure that high-quality visuals were a key part of the experience, but also that the team was willing to listen to player feedback when preparing future content. He also pointed to End of Nation's free-to-play model and Defiance's synergy with the Syfy TV show as ways to captivate player interest and stay on top of the game.
Trion's David Reid: 'New era' of premium games inevitable originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.