filed in Site on Aug.31, 2009
Playnet, Inc. Announces Upgrade to its Proprietary UNITY 3D MMO Game Engine, Advancing Graphics and Game Play for WWII ONLINE: BATTLEGROUND EUROPE, Delivering New Features and Technologies to MMO Game Application Suite. (PRWeb Aug 31, 2009)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/08/prweb2802474.htm
filed in Site on Aug.31, 2009
The devs over at Age of Conan have just posted their August newsletter on the game’s official website. In it they look back over the last month and the announcement of the new AoC expansion, Rise of the Godslayer, as well as clarifying some titbits about the new expansion. This includes thanking players for their feedback and explaining why they chose to venture to Khitai (the Conan-version of China) over other lands featured in the original books. The devs also touch on the fascinating subject of world design and how player feedback has shaped the new armor they are working on.
The most interesting nugget in the newsletter is a sneak peak at what the immediate future holds for AoC in the form of the 1.06 update. This includes the possibility of splitting the update into parts rather than deluging players with a giant patch. They also look at the new level 80 dungeon, the House of Crom, the Veterans System and Tier Three Raiding. So if you’re an AoC player excited about the new expansion and the next big update, you might want to head over to the official site and check out the newsletter for yourself.
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, New titles, Patches, News items
Age of Conan devs release their August newsletter originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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These patch notes are certainly epic. Never before has a developer attempted to defeat the Iliad with the power of bug fixes and game improvements. The patch notes for DDO go over everything from the new class, to the new level cap of 20, to the UI enhancements, feat changes, class specific patch notes, adventure areas, and much, much more.
If you’re interested in checking out what’s in store for you at the launch of DDO, look no further than Turbine’s patch notes. Enjoy your scrolling!
Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Launches, MMO industry, Patches, Free-to-play
DDO Unlimited’s final patch notes released originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A game we’ve had our eyes on from Hi-Rez Studios is Global Agenda, a cross between a class-based shooter and an MMO. Given its first person shooter roots, the game is heavily PvP-oriented. This match-based combat is the focus of an interview by Jon Wood at MMORPG.com with Global Agenda Executive Producer Todd Harris.
Harris relates that PvP in Global Agenda happens both in small squads and “AvA” (agency vs. agency), where players will participate in a “massive meta-game to control land and resources involving hundreds of territory locations and tens of thousands of player agents.”
Continue reading Global Agenda interview breaks down PvP game mechanics
Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, PvP, MMOFPS, Global Agenda
Global Agenda interview breaks down PvP game mechanics originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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So, ok, we’ve been talking about Champions Online recently here in the column. Been talking about it a lot, as a matter of fact. I don’t feel like risking having this column turn into a Champions love fest (as much fun as I’m having with the game), so we’re going to change gears significantly this time and get onto a completely new train of thought.
This week’s topic: social gameplay. No, I don’t mean those games you play obsessively/compulsively on Facebook or your social network of choice. I’m talking about how some aspects of gameplay completely rely on human interaction, for better or for worse. It’s present in all of our games, but are we really taking advantage of it? We’re going to take a look at some games that do take advantage of human-powered conflict, and why, perhaps, it might be a wave of the future for online games.
Continue reading Anti-Aliased: Socially awkward
Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Face of Mankind, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Anti-Aliased
Anti-Aliased: Socially awkward originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
filed in General on Aug.31, 2009
Wired.com has obtained a partial list of upcoming downloadable songs for Rock Band that includes Queen, The White Stripes, and The Raconteurs.
The list, which comes from a highly-placed source close to Harmonix, features a number of interesting bits of news about the near future of the Rock Band franchise, including confirmation that the songs from [...]
filed in Site on Aug.31, 2009
Ever since Massively first learned of Jagex’s sci-fi follow up to RuneScape at GDC 2009, a project codenamed “MechScape” — and that it will be more than “RuneScape in space” — we’ve wondered what to expect from the game. Jagex has given us a few hints though: four distinct species; choice of alliances which affect player adventures; and the potential for cloning, player-built vehicles, perhaps even spaceship construction.
There’s now more info out there about MechScape through a Eurogamer interview with the game’s Chief Designer Henrique Olifiers. Eurogamer’s Rob Purchese learned just how different a spin on MMOs MechScape might be. Olifiers said, “From the beginning we didn’t want to make another RuneScape: it can’t be another fantasy game, so no more elves… no more orcs, no more dragons.” This sci-fi game will not share some of the standard MMO game mechanics we’ve come to expect.
Olifiers said, “We don’t have XP, we don’t have skills; it’s all different.” Perhaps more significant is that Jagex aims to remove the grind from MechScape. His comments also hinted that the game will be solo-friendly, with an emphasis on player housing (bases).
Purchese writes “MechScape is aimed at an older audience, combining an ‘engrossing’ and ‘more adult’ storyline with ‘very complex’ (but accessible to begin with) gameplay mechanics.”
As to when the game will launch, Jagex isn’t saying. They don’t want to put a release date out there and be pressured to release the game before it’s truly ready. Olifiers said this is to “avoid the pitfalls we see so many other MMOs going through by releasing a product they can only get right a year afterwards.”
These are just a few highlights of what was revealed, but for more with Henrique Olifiers and Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard (and some MechScape concept art), check out the Jagex interview at Eurogamer.
Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Mechscape
New details surface about MechScape originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Second Life has a certain notoriety for the first six-to-ten hours of the user-experience being an uphill battle. We wonder, in fact, if virtual environments like Second Life can even make do with a conventional tutorial at all. In an MMOG, at least, all you have to do is teach the user how to play the game.
Second Life, on the other hand, is more like being dropped off in a remote, busy community. You’re not trying to level up – there’s no experience-points and no levels; no game-trappings at all. You’re trying to meet compatible people, go shopping, explore, see the sights, make money, start up a business, find educational opportunities, or learn the language.
Trying to cram that into a tutorial is like trying to produce a short accessible tutorial for Osaka, or Budapest.
And that’s really the problem here. You can polish up the first hour, on basic movement, communication and mechanics until it gleams with a lustrous sheen, at which point your users are still strangers in a strange land, and run smack up against the harsh realities of the second hour. Then the third.
It’s trendy to talk about the grammar of user-interaction in terms of verbs and nouns. That works for Web-sites and for most MMOGs, but we’re way beyond that here. New users dealing in sentences. It’s not just “shop”, “explore”, “play”, “work”, “learn” – those verbs don’t work once you get past the Web-site.
As soon as users finish dealing with the very basics (and often before they have), they have far more complex interests than that. How does the economy work? How does land work? How do I make money? How do I get a job? Where do people like to hang out? What does [company] do in Second Life? How do I start my own business? What’s the difference between buying and renting? Why is my system performance poor? What sorts of things can I make? What sort of government does Second Life have?
And the complexity goes up from there. Those are fairly typical first and second hour questions. If you’re a Second Life user, you’ve come across far more complex and involved questions than these from new users, many of the answers to which engender many, many more questions.
The odds of the average new user getting the answers to these questions is fairly low, largely hinging on how likely they are to bump into the right person at the right time. How the heck do you, as a virtual environment operator, even begin to address this in any kind of hands-off or automated way? We don’t really think you can.
That’s not to say that the problem is insoluble. The Web flopped in the mainstream for years for similar reasons (some say it’s still a mainstream flop). The Web took a long time just getting to the verb-and-noun stages of user-interaction. Second Life is streets beyond that, and to crack this nut is going to require that rarest of business commodities: genuine innovation.
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Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively’s Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop. |
Filed under: Business models, Culture, Opinion, Second Life, Virtual worlds
Second Life: The first hour and beyond originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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CCP Games has announced their 11th free expansion for EVE Online, called “Dominion.” As the name suggests, the winter expansion focuses on territories and player control over them. We’re told that the Dominion expansion focuses on conquering and holding space, and will feature a reworking of the sovereignty system of territorial control for player alliances. We don’t have any further details on the sovereignty revamp yet, but according to CCP the changes have been made with subscriber feedback in mind, particularly through the player-elected Council of Stellar Management.
Given that CCP Games is tying more of EVE Online’s gameplay into the planets of the New Eden galaxy, the next step they’re taking with the Trinity graphics engine is to add more detail to these planets (and presumably moons).
Beyond this focus on planets, Dominion will also bring the first iteration of COSMOS, a social network for EVE Online that ties in game features with web functionality — character, corporation, and alliance profiles; a new mail system; and contacts.
Perhaps tying in with the release of EVE Online’s next novel, The Burning Life, is the introduction of Pirate Epic Mission Arcs, giving some much needed attention to the game’s various pirate factions.
CCP has just put up an announcement for Dominion on the game’s official site and they’ve also launched a new EVE Online: Dominion feature page which should be where further expansion info will be announced.
Lastly, for those of you interested in the Walking in Stations feature where EVE’s capsuleers will be given avatars — it will not be part of the Winter expansion. More info should be forthcoming about the feature at Fanfest, but it’s no longer known by its “Walking in Stations” or “Ambulation” codenames. The “Walking in Stations” feature has been named “Incarna“.
This is what we know so far, but more details will emerge as EVE Fanfest 2009 approaches. Keep an eye on Massively’s EVE Online coverage for more on the Dominion expansion in the coming weeks.
Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Guilds, MMO industry, News items
EVE Online announces Dominion expansion, ‘Walking in Stations’ renamed Incarna originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Earlier today, it was announced that Disney is buying Marvel for $4B, divided among the current Marvel shareholders. This type of news is nothing groundbreaking, and it probably doesn’t affect you, as an MMO gamer, right?
You’re mostly right. Disney’s purchase of Marvel will certainly affect the enormous hold that Marvel has on general gaming now (in a good way, we hope), but don’t forget there’s also a Marvel MMO in the works. When we asked Gazillion Entertainment how this purchase will affect their Marvel Universe Online project, we were told that all they can relay at this point is a quote from Lowell Singer, Disney’s senior vice president of investor relations: “On the video game front, Marvel has some smart licensing agreements with some of the best video game manufacturers in the business. As these licensing deals expire we have the luxury of considering what’s best for the company and the products.”
Gazillion also reminded us that their MMO licensing deal with Marvel is until 2019.
Filed under: Super-hero, Business models, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Comics, Marvel Universe Online
What does Disney buying Marvel have to do with us? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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filed in General on Aug.31, 2009
ANAHEIM, California — Blizzard is creating a new MMO game. With the enormous success of its World of Warcraft, it doesn’t seem to make sense for the same company to release a competing title.
Yes, judging by the recent unveiling of its new expansion Cataclysm, Blizzard is still supporting World of Warcraft and its 11.5 million [...]
filed in Site on Aug.31, 2009
Good news for Final Fantasy XI players looking to make the jump into Final Fantasy XIV in 2010 — you may be able to keep your existing FFXI character names in the upcoming title. At least, you will if Square Enix Producer Hiromichi Tanaka has his way. Tanaka and FFXIV Producer Sage Sundi were interviewed by the PlayStation Blog’s Chris Morell at GamesCom 2009, when they were asked if name transfers between the Final Fantasy MMOs will be possible.
Tanaka said, “It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but we would like to give incentives to the players. First of all, FFXI has 32 worlds, and they may have the same name across different worlds [...]. However, when we have FFXIV, we still don’t know how many worlds there’s going to be yet, but players might have the same name if they all move to the same world, so there may be conflicts.”
Square Enix’s solution, if implemented, is to have a surname system where players can keep their original name but pair it with something else unique in a surname. While the ability to import character names into FFXIV isn’t confirmed, it’s still good news that Square Enix is considering offering this to their long-time fans in Final Fantasy XI.
[Via Joystiq]
Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Interviews, New titles, Final Fantasy XIV
Square Enix: FFXI players may be able to keep their names in FFXIV originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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filed in General on Aug.31, 2009
One of gaming’s heaviest hitters has finally jumped on the iPhone App Store bandwagon, leading with its best foot forward.
Rockstar Games announced Monday that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be released for the iPhone and iPod Touch this fall.
The game was originally created for the Nintendo DS, but sold below expectations. A port of [...]
filed in Site on Aug.31, 2009
While Champions Online is designed to allow players to live out their fantasy of being a lone superhero badass taking on all-comers solo, if that’s what they’re after, there’s also content and features aimed at groups of players. A new video hosted at GameTrailers and featuring Bill Roper is focused on the things that await people who are interested in getting together with others to tackle crime and evil. The title of the video leads you to believe that it is all about SuperGroups (Champions Online’s guilds), but most of Roper’s comments are related to grouping in general.
The reinforcement system, lairs/headquarters, group events, multiple-group content and different roles in groups all come up during the featurette. Head past the break to see how you can help save the world with a little help from your friends.
Filed under: Super-hero, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, Guilds, Raiding, Grouping, Champions Online
Bill Roper explains teams and SuperGroups in new Champions trailer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Where does one put a fallen hero? Well, if you’re a follower of fantasy, the best place is in an ornate subterranean vault, much like this fascinating one from EverQuest II. Today’s One Shots image comes to us from EverQuest II blogger Ratwarlock, who writes in to explain this for the rest of us: [This] is a picture of a rarely visited zone, the Crypt of Betrayal. It is the 3rd sub-level of the Qeynosian catacombs, and used to be visited quite often in the early days of the game, but I doubt many players even know it exists, now. The artwork stands the test of time, however! Extremely detailed.
We love to look around MMOs, and appreciate each and every reader who sends in their “postcards” from the front lines of various worlds. If you’d like to send in an image, we’ll be glad to run it. Just email it to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. Simple, no?
Gallery: One Shots
Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, EverQuest II, One Shots
One Shots: Paying respects originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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How would you like to play Champions Online with the Massively team on launch day? As we mentioned on Friday, we’re going to have an in-game event to celebrate the launch of Champions Online. A few of our writers will be in-game to run through some quests, and we want you to join us!
This will take place all day tomorrow, at various times throughout the day. Instead of meeting up in the initial tutorial though, we’ve decided it would be best to meet people at each crisis zone, which is just after the initial tutorial. This basically means around level 5, which is not hard to reach. Simply send an in-game message to the following account names for a group invite:
Shawn Schuster – @MassiveShawn (in the Desert crisis zone)
Kyle Horner – @General-Kraken (in the Desert crisis zone)
Colin Brennan – @Octal_Black (in the Canada crisis zone)
Since Champions is set up in instanced shards, we’ll get groups together as we can in each crisis zone. As a general rule, we’ll try to meet up in instance #5 of each zone. Later this week, we’ll put up a small gallery of images from the event and hopefully do this more often for new game launches. Hope to see you all there!
Filed under: Super-hero, Events, in-game, Launches, New titles, Grouping, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, Champions Online
Join us at Champions Online’s launch originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.