Archives for Jan 14th, 2014
Learn about claims in EQ Next Landmark's livestream tomorrow
There are still plenty of unknowns when it comes to EverQuest Next Landmark, which is all the more reason to catch tomorrow's official livestream! Starting at 7:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday the 15th, devs will take to the airwaves to answer more questions about the upcoming sandbox -- specifically abou...
The Stream Team: Ambling through EQII's Advanced Solo dungeons
If you can't find a group for some of the highest dungeons in EverQuest II, that's OK -- there are Advanced Solo versions that you can do with just a friend or even a mercenary. Between Destiny of Velious and Tears of Veeshan, there are plenty of these that Massively's MJ has yet to venture into, s...
Doctor Who: Worlds in Time shutting down
It's a day that ends in 'Y,' which means that somewhere someone is shepherding a free-to-play pseudo-MMO through its death rattle. Today that title is Doctor Who: Worlds in Time, a browser-based thing from developer Three Rings that's been operating since March of 2012. According to the official...
Jukebox Heroes: Guild Wars Nightfall's soundtrack
We're slowly but steadily working our way through the Guild Wars library, having already covered Prophecies and Factions in this space. It's time to move on to the third and final full campaign of the original game: Nightfall. Nightfall has a special significance for me in that it was my startin...
McQuaid's Pantheon adds pledge tiers, touts $50k in 20 hours
Brad McQuaid has posted a lengthy update on Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen's Kickstarter project page. He says that the fledgling MMO surpassed $50,000 in donations within 20 hours of the crowdfunding launch, and that this is proof positive that a "large crowd" wants a game "that returns to the roots...
The Stream Team: The SHSO devs play the game with an eight-year-old
From the moment we first saw the demonstration for Super Hero Squad Online, Massively has had a soft spot for it. Then about a month ago, Massively's Larry Everett and his son played this game in a Family MMO Night livestream. One of the developers loves it so much that she requested to join them. ...
Stahl vacates STO lead role for 'exciting new project' at Cryptic
Star Trek Online executive producer Daniel Stahl is now former Star Trek Online executive producer Daniel Stahl, according to a post from new executive producer Stephen D'Angelo. He writes that Stahl "decided to step down from the captain's chair to pursue an exciting new project at Cryptic Studios...
Final Fantasy XI introducing challenge versions of old bosses
Remember Rise of the Zilaart in Final Fantasy XI? For most American players that's kind of difficult to do; the expansion came baked in with the launch client and more or less formed part of the base game from a player standpoint. It's probably part of the reason the expansion's two main antagonist...
Firefly Online shows off the AFAS fighter
The titular ship class in Firefly Online won't be the only spacecraft players will encounter when the game goes live this summer. The arrogant Alliance have their own spiffy line-up of ships, and today Quantum Mechanix revealed the faction's first one: the Alliance Fast Attack Ship. The AFAS, al...
Vanguard's Cave of Wonders releases today
What once was lost is back again: Vanguard's Cave of Wonders, present back in beta but nixed from the launched version, has returned! And devs have not only excavated this long-buried cave but reworked it to fit the current lore and add all-new raid mechanics. In this next step in the City of Brass...
The Stream Team: Healing for gold in FFXIV's duty roulette
Patch 2.1 gave players the duty roulette system, Final Fantasy XIV's take on random dungeon finding. Alts are now faster to level, tomestones are easier to collect, and lower-level folks have slightly less horrifying queue times for story dungeons! Join Massively's Jasmine live at 3:00 p.m. EST as ...
Hyperspace Beacon: Entering the SWTOR Kuati Drive Yards
You all remember the very first scene from Star Wars. A tiny ship carrying very important cargo was fleeing an imposing mammoth of a battle cruiser. The gigantic ship eventually swallows up the smaller one. We eventually learn that the Empire owns fleets of these Star Destroyers, but we never learn...
ArcheAge's English version in Friends & Family testing
No matter how dedicated you might be to the idea of ArcheAge, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was never coming out in the US. But there is something worth looking forward to on the horizon after all. The game's English client is apparently now in Friends & Family testing over at Trio...
Greg Street is now lead game designer at Riot Games
Greg Street, also known as Ghostcrawler, was the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft for much of the fantasy MMO's life. When he left Blizzard late last year, the rumor mill exploded with speculation on where (and why) one of WoW's most familiar and visible developers might be going. As of ...
Flameseeker Chronicles: Taking Guild Wars 2 job specialization to a new level
Have you been missing something in Guild Wars 2? Do you wish your character had a way to unlock new abilities that was more involved than spending a handful of skill points? Did you ever dream of subclasses? If you've wanted any of that -- or, conversely, if you haven't -- it might interest you ...
The Soapbox: Launching with a subscription is still a good idea
The massively multiplayer online game industry is constantly changing, but one thing about it never will so long as capitalism stands: MMOs have ongoing costs, and those costs are passed on to the end user. Exactly how they're passed on is one of the things that has been changing, but new methods d...
First RuneScape poll invites players to choose big update
In a move to ensure that RuneScape's continued direction is shaped at a grassroots level by its players, Jagex has introduced an in-game polling system and launched the first question: Invention skill vs. Elf City –- which do you want first? If you have a preference as to which content releas...
Massively Speaking Episode 280: Alpha is the new beta
In this week's riotous podcast, Bree and Justin give each other the silent treatment. Yup, it's 65 minutes of pure cold, stony silence that will make you feel so uncomfortable that you yourself will end up babbling just to hear someone talk. Naw, we actually have a lot to talk about, including w...
Exclusive preview of Guild Wars 2's Origin of Madness release
The end is near! After a brief period of peace and quiet, Guild Wars 2's update cadence will begin again, and ArenaNet has no plans to ease Tyria gently back into the groove. Next week brings the first of four releases, which will culminate in the end of GW2's Scarlet Briar story arc. Massively ...
The Daily Grind: How patient are you with explanations?
I run a lot of random dungeons in Final Fantasy XIV. It's not uncommon to wind up grouped with someone who hasn't seen one of the newer dungeons, or even someone who just happened to forget the mechanics in a lower-level fight. That's fine, and I have no problem explaining the fight in detail to pe...
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