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EVE Evolved: EVE Online's top selling points
June 10, 2012

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EVE Evolved title image
At E3 this year, EVE Online developer CCP Games said it wants the game to still be running decades from now, continuing its usual trend of steady growth. EVE has barely grown in subscriptions over the past year, and average concurrent logins have flatlined since 2010, but the Crucible and Inferno expansions helped start turning things around. Developers hope to get growth back on track and attract new people to the world of New Eden, but I have to wonder whether they're selling EVE to new people in the right way.

EVE has always spread through word of mouth, with people being brought in by friends or starting fresh after hearing an epic story of in-game events or seeing an awesome video. More recently, existing online communities have been drawn to set up shop in the game and bring hundreds or thousands of members with them. People brought in by friends and people who join organisations in-game are more likely to stay in the game long-term, and it's this angle that I think CCP really needs to push. With its single-shard universe, awesome community, and massive scale PvP, EVE has some pretty huge selling points that no other MMO can match.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at a few of EVE's biggest selling points and how CCP could use them to attract new players.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: EVE Online's top selling points

MassivelyEVE Evolved: EVE Online's top selling points originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jun 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    MMO Week in Review: Massively's E3 roundup
    June 10, 2012

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    MMO Week in Review E3 roundup - ArcheAge
    At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post.

    These are the good days, people! Days filled with delicious bits from E3 2012! PlanetSide 2! RIFT! The Elder Scrolls Online! Star Wars: The Old Republic! Clandestine meetings about ArcheAge! Let's let console fans quibble over whether this year's E3 sucked more than last year's; we MMO veterans know a feast when we see it.

    Join us past the break for a run-down of Massively's best MMO-centric E3 coverage and features as well as the usual smattering of non-con MMO posts!

    Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Massively's E3 roundup

    MassivelyMMO Week in Review: Massively's E3 roundup originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jun 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      The Daily Grind: If a game's gotta merge servers, how should it go down?
      June 09, 2012

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      SWTOR
      Server merges are the destiny of the majority of MMOs with servers, be they games with tiny populations or games that still number in the millions. After all, funneling MMO populations is no easy task, and a game with lengthy queues one month might suffer a shortage of players the next.

      Studios know that the term "server merge" can be seen as a herald of doom, so modern devs have taken to using terminology like "trial servers" and "free transfers," letting players move of their own free will rather than dumping them unceremoniously on some other realm with some other name. Even if you know that merges are going to be good for the health of the game in the long run, the way a merge is conducted can still tarnish your affection for the title.

      Let's assume your game of choice plans to announce server merges of one flavor or another tomorrow. What's the best way the team can go about making it happen?

      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: If a game's gotta merge servers, how should it go down? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        Phantasy Star Universe will blink out for good in September
        June 09, 2012

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        Phantasy Star Universe screenshot
        For six years, fans have been able to play the sci-fi MMO Phantasy Star Universe. Though the game lost some platforms just over two years ago when the PS2 and PC versions were shut down, the XBox 360 version remained intact. Thus, PSU quietly lived on as a console MMO where players could complete missions on worlds like Parum and Neudaiz, craft items, or decorate their private living space. Now, SEGA has announced that this last living remnant of the online game will take its last breath on September 7th, 2012. The single player version, however, will still be available.

        SEGA noted that the decision to close the game was not an easy one, but that the company was preparing to "provide [players] with new opportunities and new experiences." The company thanked all of the players who have supported the game over the years and assured that any who have an active Guardians license following the final date will have their pro-rated subscription refunded. GM Edward also revealed that a number of server-wide bonuses have been added and that plans were in the works for some celebratory events so that the Universe could go out with a bang.

        [Thanks to BGO for the tip!]

        MassivelyPhantasy Star Universe will blink out for good in September originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        WRUP: Ice planet edition
        June 09, 2012

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        Ice planet.
        Are you telling a science fiction story? If so, have you properly considered your ice planet just yet? Every science fiction story needs an ice planet. For some reason, you can take or leave every other kind of planet, but there must always be a planet covered in ice. This ice also must be inhospitable except for a couple of huge nasty things that live there somehow. Maybe they eat the ice. Or the cold. Or confused Canadian hikers. The point is, ice planet.

        Are you looking to find out what the Massively staff is up to this weekend? If so, have you properly considered reading this week's installment of WRUP? Every installment tells you what the staff will be up to over the weekend, and this specific one talks about what we thought of this year's E3 offerings. Click on past the break to read all about us, and let us know what you'll be up to in the comments.

        Continue reading WRUP: Ice planet edition

        MassivelyWRUP: Ice planet edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          E3 2012: Hands-on with World of Warplanes
          June 09, 2012

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          World of Warplanes
          It was difficult to miss one of the most impressive booths on the show floor at E3. Wargaming.net established its dominance on the floor by setting up computers and allowing all E3-goers to play its latest games against the Wargaming development team. Its flagship title at E3 was World of Tanks, but I sneaked away to the team's press room to watch a demo of something similar.

          World of Warplanes is one title out of three that Wargaming.net is proud to show. For the unfamiliar readers, Wargaming.net launched World of Tanks last year, and its booth at E3 2011 wasn't quite as large as this year's.

          Continue reading E3 2012: Hands-on with World of Warplanes

          MassivelyE3 2012: Hands-on with World of Warplanes originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            League of Legends accounts compromised
            June 09, 2012

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            League of Legends - Katarina
            Given League of Legends' immense popularity, we knew it was only a matter of time before a large-scale hacking attempt succeeded against Riot Games' MOBA juggernaut. The firm sent out an email this weekend notifying EU West and EU Nordic and East customers that their account details may have been compromised.

            PC Gamer reports that players' "email addresses, encrypted account passwords, and dates of birth have been leaked." Riot bigwigs Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck posted an apology on the EU West forums and implored users to change their login credentials, as "more than half of the passwords were simple enough to be at risk of easy cracking."

            MassivelyLeague of Legends accounts compromised originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            The Road to Mordor: Breaking down Riders of Rohan's pre-purchase
            June 09, 2012

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            The Road to Mordor Breaking down Riders of Rohan's prepurchase
            This past week or so has been absolutely nuts with all the new information flooding in about this fall's Riders of Rohan. We've gotten confirmation about the release date, the expansion website, pricing information for the different expansion pack editions, a partial feature list, an official FAQ, word of a forthcoming instance cluster, and a first look at the mounted combat system.

            Expansions always rile up the Lord of the Rings Online faithful, and I'm pretty jazzed to see whether Turbine can pull off what's probably the most epic addition to the game since Mines of Moria. I'm going to save analysis of the expansion as a whole until next week because today I want to dive into the slightly confusing morass of pre-purchase options and pricing to see what's worth pursuing -- and what might be worth ignoring.

            Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Breaking down Riders of Rohan's pre-purchase

            MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Breaking down Riders of Rohan's pre-purchase originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              The Mog Log: What we saw of FFXIV at E3
              June 09, 2012

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              The Mog Log header by A. Fienemann
              When it became clear that we weren't getting our 2.0 trailer at this year's E3, I sort of assumed that Final Fantasy XIV fans would have to be content without much new information. As usual, Naoki Yoshida proved me wrong in the most excellent way possible. So while we've only seen the tip of the iceberg about what's coming into the game, that tip is providing quite a bit of fascinating information all on its own.

              My first thoughts on seeing the screenshots for the second version was that it might as well be an entirely different game. It's familiar elements ported into an altogether unfamiliar setting. I've been looking forward to it before, but I think this was the first time that I truly believed that this was going to happen and that it would be awesome. So if you've been following along with the game's E3 coverage across the web -- and I know you have -- let's just dive into reaction.

              Continue reading The Mog Log: What we saw of FFXIV at E3

              MassivelyThe Mog Log: What we saw of FFXIV at E3 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                The Tattered Notebook: Peeling back the layers of time, part II
                June 09, 2012

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                EQ2
                A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how EverQuest II is like an onion. It's got layers upon layers of content, and some of it has really helped the game mature, like a bottle of fine wine. In the previous column, I talked about how some of those layers have made gameplay more convoluted, but for every arena pet and every lonely looking-for-group tool, there are many examples of clever features that greatly improved the quality of gameplay, and in some cases, should be considered a standard feature in all MMOs going forward.

                With the recent buzz around SOEmote, it's a great time to look back at some of the changes to EverQuest II that really left their mark.

                Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Peeling back the layers of time, part II

                MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: Peeling back the layers of time, part II originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Jun 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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