Virtual World News
Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Patches, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV
But even 1.21 isn't the big end goal of the game; that's the 2.0 relaunch happening in November. We had a chance to ask a few questions of the game's producer, Naoki Yoshida, regarding both the updates coming with patch 1.21 and Final Fantasy XIV's ongoing road of improvement as version 2.0 draws nearer. So what can players look forward to when they download the patch? What's coming before the relaunch? And how fashionable will your new armor make your chocobo look?
Continue reading Final Fantasy XIV's Naoki Yoshida talks patch 1.21 and the future
Final Fantasy XIV's Naoki Yoshida talks patch 1.21 and the future originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, Previews, Free-to-play, Massively Event Coverage, MechWarrior Online, MOBA
The team is filled with huge fans of the MechWarrior and BattleTech franchises, so the devs were eager to construct a proper MechWarrior title when Piranha got ahold of the license this year. The studio seized upon the free-to-play model early on as the best way to draw in as many potential 'Mech pilots as possible. It also snagged the CryEngine 3 to provide the best possible graphical fidelity for its product. Unfortunately, it's going to be hard to categorize MWO as "massively," as its non-persistent arena maps will host up to only 24 players in 12v12 fights.
Setting-wise, MechWarrior Online begins in 3049, but that date will keep tempo with the real-world calendar (so tomorrow it'll be March 9th, 3049, and so on). As events happen in the story according to the game's canon, the game will change to reflect that in real-time.
Read on to hear what the devs had to say about two of the game's four pillars: mech warfare and role warfare.
Continue reading GDC 2012: Locking on to MechWarrior Online
GDC 2012: Locking on to MechWarrior Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Ultima Online
Oh, and they decided to induct Ultima Online -- a game for which we have something of a soft spot.
In any event, the site features an MMO timeline, a World of Warcraft timeline, and a listing of UO releases, expansions, and special editions. You can also view the site's voting committee, which includes Blizzard, Sony Online Entertainment, and Wizard101 developers as well as MMO writers and fans.
[Source: MMO HoF press release]
Ultima Online inducted into new MMO Hall of Fame originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook
Dominion is weird because it doesn't have a real, established metagame. Although cries of "4 top, 1 bottom" can be heard in virtually every match, they rarely hold up for more than a few minutes, and the four top players can be seen running backdoors, ganking bottom, or solo jungle roaming as the game progresses.
This is my first attempt at a Dominion overview, but the honest truth is that even the hardcore analyst-types like yours truly struggle to define exactly what wins Dominion games. There's a lot of room for discussion on this one, so let's get started.
Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: The game without a meta
The Summoner's Guidebook: The game without a meta originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous
What? Animals do it all the time, and they seem pretty happy. Especially the orange killing machines in the picture.
Anyhow, this week's Ask Massively is briefer than the last installment, but it still covers some Massively meta-issues as well as the looming prospect of ArcheAge's hopeful release stateside. If you have a question for a future installment of the feature, send it along to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments below. Questions may be edited slightly for brevity and/or clarity.
Continue reading Ask Massively: A week to sleep edition
Ask Massively: A week to sleep edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, Launches, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Browser
Gamers can try The Lord of the Rings Online now, with Dungeons & Dragons Online to follow soon [...] via a simple one-step registration process that will provide them instant access to try the full version of the award-winning, free-to-play massively multiplayer experiences.A Turbine FAQ further clarifies that this service provides only one hour of gameplay. [Thanks to reader Mr. Angry for the heads up.]
This marks the first MMO streaming Gaikai will have undertaken; its streaming portfolio includes non-MMO games like Spore, Mass Effect 2, and The Sims 3.
[Source: Warner Bros. and Gaikai, Inc. press release]
LotRO and DDO coming to a cloud near you originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Turbine FAQ
Filed under: Historical, Business models, MMO industry, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks
This isn't a simple port of the European or American client, either, as Wargaming.net says gamers in the region can expect full localization, a Singapore-based server group, and dedicated support services.
Online gaming in southeast Asia features an estimated 100 million players, who will generate nearly $1 billion in sales by 2015, according to market analysts at Niko Partners.
[Source: Wargaming.net press release]
World of Tanks takes aim at southeast Asia originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, News items
One topic that's frequently revisited throughout the post-mortem is the talent system revamp. In a nutshell, Ghostcrawler says that the team (and the players) were largely pleased with the ability to choose a spec and gain powerful, useful skills right at level 10. What didn't work out as planned? "Everything else!" says Ghostcrawler. The team realized that "the talent tree model where you pick up tiny performance increases here and there (and where there's, mathematically, nearly always a 'right' answer and a 'wrong' answer) is not a great model." He goes on to add that Mists of Pandaria's talent system "should fix this problem once and for all." Well, third time's the charm, right guys?
At any rate, there's more on the discussion table than just talents, so head over to the full article and see what lessons Cataclysm has taught the devs.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm post-mortem reflects on success, failure, and lessons learned originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Previews, News items, RIFT, Dungeons
Infernal Dawn isn't the only new feature in the works. Gershowitz also reveals that the studio is working on new Instant Adventures set on the Ember Isle. Less pugilistic players will be receiving some new treats as well in the form of new tradeskills. While Gershowitz doesn't reveal any specifics on what these new tradeskills will be, he does hint that they "may or may not involve bodies of water." We've been fishing for ideas all day, but we're just not getting any bites. Oh well, we'll find out soon enough! In the meantime, check out the full video tour and prepare yourselves; Infernal Dawn is planned to go live in "just a month or two." Oh, and remember: Former RIFT subscribers can play free starting today until March 14th, so if you wanna get back into the world of Telara, now's the time.
And finally, be sure to keep an eye out for our own Karen Bryan's RIFT coverage straight from GDC 2012, which will surely shed more light on these upcoming additions.
Continue reading Trek through fire and flame in RIFT's Infernal Dawn raid
Trek through fire and flame in RIFT's Infernal Dawn raid originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: GameSpot UK
Filed under: Podcasts, Events, real-world, Massively Event Coverage, Massively Speaking, DUST 514, World of Tanks, Miscellaneous, World of Warplanes, World of Battleships, MechWarrior Online
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Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 190: GDC Wednesday
Massively Speaking Episode 190: GDC Wednesday originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.