Archives for Jan 4th, 2012
Firefly MMO gets a possible second shot at the stars
While Multiverse, the development platform that was supposed to be the driving force for possible Buffy and Firefly MMOs, suffered a studio shutdown, the source code lives -- and has been snatched up by the newly formed Multiverse Foundation. Fortunately for those who were holding out hope for an...
Choose My Adventure: How Lineage II feels to a Western newcomer
We're down to the wire for Lineage II's Choose My Adventure, with one more week to go. My Abyss Walker quickly rushed to the 40s, at which point leveling has slowed down considerably. I've talked about pets, explored (only a fraction of) the countryside, and touched on crafting and other features...
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: What we need on the road ahead
Here we are after the kick, and I have to say, thus far 2012 feels pretty much the same as 2011 but with fewer weather effects. But it also brings the opportunity to ask for a new round of features from City of Heroes, and as I think you've all learned by now, I'm always willing to ask for new st...
BioWare's James Ohlen: Bug fixes coming weekly
Any new MMO, even big-budget behemoths like BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic, is often fraught with bugs and exploits that can keep the game from living up to its full potential. The Old Republic's game director, James Ohlen, recognizes this and has stopped by the official forums to let pl...
Brad McQuaid reminisces about the birth of EverQuest
Maybe you're a big fan of EverQuest. Maybe you were at one point, but your ardor has cooled. Maybe you never liked it. Whatever your opinion on the game, you can't deny that it had a massive impact on the face of MMOs as a whole. In a new interview, Brad McQuaid talks about the genesis of EverQue...
DC Universe Online giving players a little more R&D
There's nothing like a little crafting to spice up a game. In the wake of what appears by all accounts to be a successful free-to-play transition, DC Universe Online is giving players a new way to enjoy a little crafting in the form of the Research & Development system. A preview of the syste...
Former subscribers get an early engagement to Star Trek Online's free-to-play model
In the universe of Star Trek Online, it's the 24th century and humans no longer make use of money. Here in the 21st century, however, you've still got a bit more time until you can play Star Trek Online without the use of said money. Or do you? Starting tomorrow, January 5th, the doors will open ...
Enter at Your Own Rift: Of apps and patches
On the surface, things have been relatively quiet in RIFT. The Fae Yule Event moved along merrily, but there hasn't been much revealed about update 1.7 yet. Fans are so used to the rapid pace of updates that they've made a minigame out of guessing what's coming and when it will arrive. But if ...
Conquer Online details upcoming Invasion of Pirates expansion
Conquer Online, NetDragon's free-to-play fantasy MMO, is getting a taste of the high seas come January 11th as the team launches the game's newest expansion, Invasion of Pirates. The expansion will introduce the new Pirate class, which will allow players to use new weapons and abilities whil...
MechWarrior Online fights with knowledge as well as lasers
In any combat situation it is key to be as well-informed as possible: to know where your enemy is (hopefully not right behind you), what resources you have on hand (dual Twinkies), what you're up against (spouse aggro), and so on. The makers of the upcoming MechWarrior Online have devoted their s...
The most popular Massively stories of 2011
When you consider the most popular debate subjects or recent conversational trends, you might think about politics or religion or even pop culture. So when the bloggers of Massively looked back on the previous year to take stock of which articles and categories were the most popular by pageview, ...
EVE Templar One novel now available
Picture this. You're sitting in your internet spaceship, pounding space rocks or waiting for your fleet leader to assign you some hapless newb of a target. You've already caught up on the all the relevant EVE Online news courtesy of Massively, and you can't really spin your ship since you're not ...
Hellgate reveals 2011 stats, hints at 2012 updates
T3Fun has released a few statistics designed to keep Hellgate Global in the public eye. Included in the data are interesting nuggets like the gender breakdown for characters created (60/40 in favor of the guys), the most-played class (Marksman), the least-played class (Guardian), and the class wi...
BioWare's Freed talks Wookiees, relatability, and story-based MMOs
What's up with the lack of Wookiee player-characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic? BioWare scribe Alexander Freed says it has to do with both development costs and a concept called relatability. "There are enormous technical obstacles, there is building all the lip synching, all the emotion ...
Eligium community manager emphasizes the importance of beta testing
Thus far we don't know a whole heck of a lot about Frogster's Eligium (other than the fact that it features kung-fu pandas). The devs have released a trailer and kicked off the game's closed beta last month, but there's still a lot of mystery surrounding this particular MMO. Thanks to an inter...
Free for All: A surprising evening of roleplay in RuneScape
Roleplay is often treated as the odd cousin of the MMO family. You know the kid I am talking about... your Aunt comes to visit and your mother tells you to hang out with him, and he ends up vomiting in your room. (Did it only happen to me?) The truth is that the odd cousin is often just misunders...
Breakdancing breaks SWTOR enemies' spirits [Updated]
We've heard of many a bug and exploit in MMOs over the years, but sometimes there comes along one special case that is so entertaining you can't help but wonder if some mischievous developer planned it on purpose. Such is the case with Star Wars: The Old Republic's latest glitch, where players...
The Daily Grind: Were older MMOs better by virtue of experimentation?
If you haven't sensed it by now, the Massively staff is made up of a very wide range of preferences, experiences, and gaming types. Sometimes quite heated discussions -- OK, rabid rubber chicken-throwing screamfests -- erupt due to disagreements over what makes MMOs great, what the industry shoul...
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