Be The Gamer

Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Game mechanics, News items, Free-to-play, Global Agenda

With Global Agenda's switch to a subscription-free format earlier this year, the game was put on track to begin launching content updates and small additions to replace the subscription fees. Up until now, the team at Hi-Rez Studios has been focused on the long-running Sandstorm series of updates, but the game has now begun selling boost packs as the first added service. And what do these packs do? They double your enjoyment -- assuming that you enjoy gaining experience and tokens.

The packs -- available in 10-day, 30-day, and 90-day flavors -- double all experience and tokens earned for the duration for all characters on an account. Not coincidentally, the 30-day boost costs just under $15, the same price as a monthly subscription in most subscription-based games. Each boost runs for the specified length of time and is activated immediately upon purchase, which makes the benefits and drawbacks rather transparently obvious. Players of Global Agenda can purchase packs on the official site, with a small guide available for the new feature.

[Thanks to Caleb Goh for the tip!]

Doubling season comes to Global Agenda originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there's one feature of games from Cryptic Studios that's generated the most controversy, it's the C-Store. That having been said, it's hard to deny that the development team behind Star Trek Online and Champions Online takes any excuse to cut down the prices for a while. A holiday weekend combined with the one-year anniversary of Champions Online is the perfect opportunity to have a general sale for both game stores, lasting until 10 a.m. PDT on September 7th.

For the remainder of the weekend and well into Tuesday, all items in both stores will be 20% off the listed price on the website. The only exceptions are the newest additions to the store -- the Millennium Costume Set for Champions Online and the Excelsior-class ship for Star Trek Online. If you've been putting off picking up one of the many vanity items for sale, now would be a perfect time to add them to your collection.

Filed under: Sci-fi, Super-hero, News items, Star Trek Online, Champions Online, Promotions

Cryptic celebrates the holiday with a C-Store sale originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Democratic Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio has flip-flopped in his stance towards a $75 million loan from the state’s Economic Development Corporation to fledgling game maker 38 Studios. The development house, founded in 2006 by former Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling, is hard at work on the top-secret Copernicus MMORPG and was offered the lucrative deal in exchange for moving the company’s headquarters from Massachusetts to Rhode Island (and bringing a proposed 450 high-paying jobs to the state’s economy).

Caprio, who currently serves as Rhode Island’s general treasurer, is one of several political candidates condemning the deal, a marked change from his views in past weeks, notes the Boston Globe.

“I am not going to stand by and watch us gamble taxpayer dollars on a bad deal when there are thousands of small businesses in need of more access to capital,” Caprio said in a press release dated August 31st.

Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, MMO industry, News items

38 Studios relocation loan in jeopardy originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brookyln rappers Das Racist released a new videogame to promote their single “Who’s That Brown” Thursday.

The retro-styled game finds the hipster rappers on a quest to find their hype man “Dap” when Justin Bieber and Jay-Z are waylayed by a limo accident and the duo are asked to fill in onstage.

Their journey takes the pair through myriad videogame genres. They beat up yuppies on the subway a la Double Dragon, ride Back to the Future hoverboards through the streets of New York in a sequence that looks straight out of Narc, and cross the East River, Frogger-style.

And yeah, they also bump into Sarah Palin (pictured above).

Das Racist is best known for its 2008 viral hit, “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.” Visit the blog Your Music Today to see the non-interactive, music video version of Das Racist’s new Who’s That Brown game.

Image courtesy Das Racist

See Also:

• 8-Bit Imagery Invades Music Videos
• Video: 8-Bit-Styled Scott Pilgrim Game Launches Today

An MMO is a massively multiplayer online game. So what would attract a lone-wolf type to something that is massively multiplayer? You would think this would drive someone who enjoys his solitude away. This is simply not the case, as every MMORPG has lone-wolf players. If that MMO happens to be Fallen Earth, with its post-apocalyptic setting, it might seem to attract individualistic survivalist types who strive to be self-sufficient. I have never played an MMO in which so many people were withdrawn, introverted, and downright antisocial.

Well, it is the apocalypse, and there are times when I just want to be left alone to kill in silence. I am a bit of a lone wolf, myself. But many times, trying to get a group together can be like pulling teeth... from a drunken throwback's maw. Sure, people aren't bound to be as friendly in a ravaged, unlawful world like the one we call home in Fallen Earth, but sometimes the wasteland can be a very lonely place. I enjoy doing my own thing as much as anyone else, and in many cases I don't want to stop what I'm doing to help other players, but I tend to. And I'm almost always glad I did. After the cut, I'll take a look at the pros and cons of being a lone wolf.

Continue reading Wasteland Diaries: Lone wolf

Filed under: Fallen Earth, Opinion, MMOFPS, Wasteland Diaries, Post-Apocalyptic

Wasteland Diaries: Lone wolf originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A gamer, a rabbity-thing, a heavy-weapons expert and a Mexican wrestler walk into a casino …

Telltale Games will release an all-star poker game built around just such an unlikely mix of videogame characters, the publisher said Thursday.

Poker Night at the Inventory will seat Tycho from Penny Arcade, Sam of Sam & Max fame, internet celebrity Strong Bad and The Heavy from Valve’s multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2 at the same poker table, and will deal players in as the verbal sparks fly.

Wired.com spoke to Telltale Games CEO Dan Connors by e-mail to get the scoop on the new game.

He said Poker Night at the Inventory would play like the ultimate videogamer fan fiction. “We really thought about the sorts of things these characters would say and the different dynamics they would have with each other: Who would like who, who everyone would just loathe, etc.,” Connors said. The fully voiced characters will trash-talk, display unique tells and react dynamically to the game — promising to create a new experience every time.

Connors confirmed to Wired.com that Poker Night at the Inventory is a single-player game. “Our goal is to make the player feel like there are hanging out with their virtual buddies, shooting the breeze and playing a good game of poker,” he said. “Of course, if your buddies are sociopaths and professional killers, anything can happen.”

The $5 game comes to Steam this fall for the PC and Mac and is being released as part of Telltale Games’ Pilot Program — an effort to give new, risky game concepts a chance to shine. According to Connors, the game will have to sell between 100,000 to 200,000 units to be worth reviving as a franchise. “If this version with these game characters work, we will likely follow it up with new game characters or maybe other celebrities, rock stars and the like.”

Image courtesy Telltale Games

See Also:

• Homestar Runner Game Coming to WiiWare
• Christopher Lloyd Plays Doc Brown in Back to the Future Game …

I'm free! I've been locked in a trunk all summer while Justin pretended to be me and took my Dungeons and Dragons Online column! Thankfully a rogue with a lockpick happened by, and now I shall exact my reve... ah, you know what? The truth is, I was pretty buried with the kids out of school for the summer, and Justin graciously stepped in for the past few months while I spent extra time with my little gamers-in-training.

But now I'm back, and I want to take a moment to ask you guys to join me in giving Justin a huge round of applause. He helped save my sanity and did a bang-up job on Exploring Eberron. Justin, you are awesome.

So follow along after the jump for Exploring Eberron: The "I am finally back" edition!

Continue reading Exploring Eberron: The sum of their parts

Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Free-to-play, Exploring Eberron

Exploring Eberron: The sum of their parts originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Develop, a European-based games industry trade magazine, has revealed the sale of Project MyWorld from troubled studio Realtime Worlds to an unnamed American company. In a story released on its website earlier today, the publication stated that the purchase has split Realtime Worlds into at least two separate entities, each of which is being eyed by several potential buyers.

The fate of the 23 developers recently re-hired by administrating firm Begbies Traynor is currently unknown, as is the ultimate fate of Realtime Worlds' more famous creation, the $100 million MMOFPS known as All Points Bulletin. Develop's confirmation of a U.S.-based purchaser for Project MyWorld would seem to invalidate speculation that the anonymous buyers are Realtime Worlds heads Dave Jones and Ian Hetherington.

You can view all the details at Develop's website.

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, All Points Bulletin, MMOFPS

Realtime Worlds' MyWorld purchased, APB still in limbo originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you weren’t lucky enough to get into the Final Fantasy XIV open beta right away, it’s been an interesting couple days, with beta keys being given out briefly, disabled briefly, then given out once again ad infinitum. While the cycle continues unabated, it’s telling that Square-Enix has released a new quintet of servers for the beta, bringing the current total to 15. While that doesn’t mean the distribution of beta keys has returned to full operation, it’s clear that Square is working overtime to address the demand.

In other server-related news, Final Fantasy XIV’s official server list has sparked a number of community votes for movement, including one that will have a large impact on server atmospheres. The community-run FFXIV Roleplaying Coalition has designated the Besaid server as the unofficial RP server after a day-long vote, a fact which has been spread around to the general fansite community in hopes of promoting the destination. Roleplaying linkshells and communities have already begun establishing themselves on Besaid, both to reserve character names for launch and to begin building a future server culture.

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Culture, News items, Consoles, Roleplaying, Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV beta gets new servers and a roleplaying home originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DDO's Update 7 is coming sometime in October, and we spent some time at PAX this morning chatting with members of the Turbine crew. They had some extremely exciting things to tell about Update 7 and sprung more than a few surprises on us. First up were the new races. Yes, that was plural. Half-orcs, the resident tough guys of Stormreach, are the coming race that players have been looking forward to, but Update 7 will also bring half-elves. Half-elves will be a very versatile race, with some special feats that make them ideal for solo builds.

Update 7 is bringing much more in addition to the two new races. There will be a 12-man raid at level 6, the first large raid suitable for players below level 10. It will be added to the Devil Assault Adventure Pack, so if you already own that one, you'll find it within that arc. Devil Assault will also gain epic mode with this update. The raid isn't the end of new content, of course. There's a new adventure pack coming, and this one's free! This level 12 quest arc will send you to solve the long-running mystery of Nat Gann's fate, and it may or may not involve time travel.

There are some updates coming to the UI and basic game that players will definitely enjoy. You'll find a slight change to the UI color, but that's not the best part. The inventory UI has an upgrade that will allow you to sort your items by type, making it much easier to keep things organized. You'll find tabs for each gear type, ingredients, potions, and more. And finally, the auction house got an update that should have DDO fans jumping for joy: search. That's right, Update 7 will bring string search to the auction house. You'll be able to search across categories, choose exact phrases, or be a little more general.

Engine upgrades to enable DX11 graphics, reactive water, hireling AI upgrades, bug fixes, and a few more special surprises round out this exciting update. Want to know more? Keep your eye on Massively -- we'll be taking an in-depth tour of Update 7 later this month!

[Update: To clarify, both of the new races will be available for purchase in the DDO Store.]

Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Patches, News items, Free-to-play

DDO Update 7 bringing half-elves, half-orcs, and more [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you read about Champions Online in its first days, you would not have thought of it as a triple-A title. The game was full of bugs, the community management was not the best, and it just seemed like the devs were intent on shoveling out more broken stuff that barely worked. I think that, in particular, the first three or four months were the worst.

If you were to go back in time and ask me about whether or not I thought CO would make it to its first anniversary, my response would have been: "Maybe, but it'll be bleeding subs if it even makes it that far." Since then, a lot of things have changed. I talked about the first six months of CO, but it's been a full year since that painful launch day patch.

I'm not sure I'm even playing the same game anymore.

Continue reading One full year of being a Champion

Filed under: Super-hero, Opinion, Hands-on, Champions Online

One full year of being a Champion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can take that toe tag off Duke Nukem Forever again: The game, presumed dead after developer 3D Realms pulled the plug on it last year, is alive and kicking at Penny Arcade Expo.

Gearbox Software has taken the reins of the first-person shooter, which will supposedly be published by Take-Two Interactive next year, according to The Wall Street Journal. At least a portion of the game is being shown to attendees at PAX 2010, the massive videogame gathering this weekend in Seattle.

“We’re in the polishing phase now. This is a game where we cannot make a promise we cannot fulfill,” Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford told the paper.

The oft-delayed videogame, a sequel to 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D, became the perennial winner of Wired’s Vaporware Awards.

GameLife editor Chris Kohler is playing Duke Nukem Forever at PAX. Wired.com will have a full report as soon as possible.

See Also:

• Learn to Let Go: How Success Killed Duke Nukem
• Goodbye, Good Riddance to Antiquated Action Hero Duke Nukem
• Video: Duke Nukem Forever Gameplay Footage

There has been no shortage of player interest in Vindictus, the upcoming action-MMO from Nexon. And it’s not hard to see why — the game been pushing forward some interesting mechanics, on top of beautiful graphics and high-energy gameplay. The first closed beta recently came to a conclusion, but there’s good news for hopefuls, as the game is starting the newest round of open beta testing on September 15th.

Although the official line is that the beta is open, the development team seems to be using the term in the sense that the game isn’t closed off behind an NDA. That being said, all testers from the first round of the Vindictus beta will be granted two codes to offer any friends interested in playing, and Nexon plans to distribute codes to more outlets. With the next wave of testing just under two weeks away, players should keep their eyes open — and maybe make a few friends with former testers.

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, real-world, News items, Free-to-play, Vindictus

Vindictus rolls out the next phase of beta testing September 15th originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX 2010 has just begun and the curse team already had a chance to demo Arena Net’s Guild Wars 2! The star of the demo was the revolutionary ipad and smart phone application currently in development.

At launch, the app will have tons of features available, designed to help offline players connect with their friends in-game. Along with the ability to chat with your friends and guildmates from your portable device, players will also be able to view the location of their friends via a fullscreen map, showing their actions and movement in real-time.

Other planned features of the app include a remote auction house and the ability to add new friends straight from your portable device. The app will be available to Guild Wars 2 players for no extra charge.

Check out this thread for discussion on the topic!

The upcoming free-to-play conversion isn't the only big change coming to Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online over the next little while. In a new dev diary released yesterday on the European community website, Games System Engineer Narrel provided a glimpse into what began as the "pet project" of three developers and has now morphed into a full-fledged extreme makeover of the game's user interface capabilities.

Using the venerable and lightweight Lua scripting language, Narrel, Agiclaw, and ForsakenArcher are closing in on their stated goal of bringing extensive customization possibilities to LotRO's UI.

"The future of Lua in LOTRO is a bright one," Narrel writes. "While the current functionality is certainly limited, we fully intend to continue the development of this system so that both existing and new game systems will expose functionality to the user, allowing for a much more personalized user interface."

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO industry, News items

LotRO UI implements Lua, preps for extreme makeover originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ballistic Publishing has partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC and Santa Monica Studio to produce The Art of God of War™ III.

(PRWeb September 03, 2010)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/09/prweb4458584.htm