Virtual World News
Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, PvP, News items, RIFT
Conquest isn't the only thing on today's menu, of course. There's also the new barbershop functionality, a new mentoring system, more instant adventure locations, and the Summerfest world event. Summerfest includes scavenger hunts and some interesting activities like pet wrangling and the chance to ride a barrel over a waterfall.
The patch features a number of additional tweaks and updates, all of which are yours for the reading on the official RIFT forums.
Trion reveals RIFT's 1.9 Conquest patch notes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Patch notes
Filed under: Fantasy, Cabal Online, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Anniversary
Razer gaming headsets, artwork, in-game Drei Frame armor, and several other virtual armor and weapon pieces are up for grabs. The devs are also adding new high-end outfits, content, and items. Don't worry if you're a low-level player, though, Games Masters is adding goodies for you too. Full details are available on the game's official boards.
CABAL Online celebrates sixth anniversary with events, prizes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: CABAL forums
Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, MechWarrior Online, MOBA
Don't be fooled by the name: The four pillars of MechWarrior Online have nothing to do with story. Instead, Bullock gives an overview of how Piranha is making combat more than tab-targeting and button mashing. These four MWO pillars are mech (the build of your battle machine), information (battlefield awareness), role (taking on a specialty role in combat), and community warfare (engaging in the conflict outside of the game).
The explanation of the four pillars are interspersed with in-game clips, including a neat one of a 'mech powering up. You can catch up on your MechWarrior Online knowledge after the jump.
Continue reading MechWarrior Online video dev diary on the four pillars of warfare
MechWarrior Online video dev diary on the four pillars of warfare originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: You Tube
Filed under: Fantasy, Polls, Game mechanics, Opinion, Choose My Adventure, TERA, Dungeons
I spent a lot of time questing with Higiri this past week, since that's easily the most efficient way to level, and as a result I had some further insights into the nature of questing in the game that build off of my insights last week. But running the dungeon was the centerpiece, and my runs through were... memorable, yes, but probably for the wrong reasons. And no, not in the "crazy, horrible party" sense.
Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Exploring dungeons with Higiri
Choose My Adventure: Exploring dungeons with Higiri originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Endgame, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift
Was I insane? Probably. My biggest worry at this juncture is that I won't be ready for Storm Legion when it comes this fall. When you've been at the level cap for a while, you probably don't even think about the amount of content you need to chew through to get there. I didn't want to be caught flat-footed when the expansion released, shouting, "Wait up guys!" as I fell behind.
Re-rolling was good for me for two reasons. One, it's allowing me to connect with this new character and feel out all of the changes in the game. Two, it's giving me the chance to prove that anyone could start RIFT right now and be totally prepared for the expansion -- even if you're just a casual player. Today I want to share a few of my experiences on the leveling game and why it's not too late to get ready for Storm Legion, even if you're a newbie.
Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Going from zero to Storm Legion in a summer
Enter at Your Own Rift: Going from zero to Storm Legion in a summer originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, New titles, Guild Wars 2, Massively Event Coverage, Livestream
For a limited time today, developer ArenaNet is putting its soon-to-be-released online world, Guild Wars 2, to the test with a four hour beta event. Joystiq, having recently discovered the joy of yelling into a microphone while readers watch editors fail at video games, will be streaming the tail-end of today's event.
From 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET, the stream from Joystiq's new Twitch.tv account (which you should totally follow) will be open. While Xav de Matos plays through the game with a fresh character, Massively columnist Elisabeth Cardy will be on-hand to manage your questions from the stream chat and comments on this post. Hilarious banter between both editors is expected, but not guaranteed.
This event represents a game still in beta and things may not function properly. Due to the nature of a "stress test" we may experience crashes, game freezes, and other performance and connection issues.
Watch the Guild Wars 2 beta 'stress test' live originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Screenshots, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, First Impressions, City of Steam
City of Steam is an indie MMO, but don't let that put you off; the team is substantially larger than you'd expect and brimming with talent. The steampunk title loads extremely quickly in your browser, thanks to the Unity web player and a ridiculously small client size. In its current state, City of Steam has four large overworld zones and around 80 instanced dungeons, and yet the total size is -- get this -- 17 megabytes. Yes, you could fit this entire MMO on 17 colorful 3 1/2" floppy discs (if you still had any lying around, that is).
With the repeated caveat that this was all still pre-alpha and subject to change, Laforge let me log in and explore to my heart's delight. What follows is raw and shocking footage from that journey.
Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Seeing the sights in City of Steam
Massively Exclusive: Seeing the sights in City of Steam originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, News items, TERA
The system works fairly transparently: Chronoscrolls can be purchased for real-world cash and then placed on the auction block, and a scroll thus purchased can be redeemed for extra subscription time. That means that players with piles of in-game gold can get plenty of free time to play the game. And if you're wondering why you'd like to spend that money, there is an event taking place starting on Friday, June 29th, in which players will hunt down reptilian egg thieves for special rewards. So you've got some motivation.
[Thanks to Dengar for the tips!]
TERA rolls out the Chronoscroll system and an upcoming event originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA
Well, it turns out that the Universal Society for Hinduism has caught wind of the fact that SMITE players can control Hindu deities such as Kali and Agni, and the organization's president, Rajan Zed, is not pleased. Zed claims that "controlling and manipulating goddess Kali and other HIndu deities... is denigration as these deities are meant to be worshiped," not "reduced to just a character in a video game." As such, Zed called for the immediate removal of all Hindu deities from the title.
Hi-Rez, however, has no plans to do so. The studio's COO, Todd Harris, gave the following response: "SMITE includes deities inspired from a diverse and ever expanding set of pantheons including Greek, Chinese, Egyptian, and Norse. Hinduism, being one of the world's oldest, largest and most diverse traditions, also provides inspiration toward deities in our game. In fact, given Hinduism's concept of a single truth with multiple physical manifestations one could validly interpret ALL the gods within SMITE to be Hindu. And all gods outside of SMITE as well. Ponder that for a minute. Anyway, going forward SMITE will include even more deities, not fewer."
Religious group calls for removal of Hindu deities from Hi-Rez's SMITE originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: India Times
- Via: Game Politics
Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Expansions, News items, Consoles
Japanese players on the console will still be receiving the expansion, likely due to the higher percentage of console subscribers in Japan compared to other regions. Hilton was quick to point out that support would still be offered to PS2 players, but that's cold comfort to any console players left out of the upcoming expansion. There's been no word yet on whether or not the game will begin phasing out console support entirely, but if you consider the age of the PS2, it's entirely within the realm of possibility.
[Thanks to FusionX for the tip!]
Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin not on PS2 outside of Japan originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Official Boards
- Via: FFXI Gamerescape