How big is RIFT? Big enough to attract one of China's heavyweight MMO houses, apparently. Trion has announced a partnership with publishing giant Shanda that will bring RIFT to the Chinese gaming market, and CEO Lars Buttler tells Gamasutra that expanding the game's global reach is only the beginning.

"We do a lot right, but we think there's so much to learn from Asia, and a company like Shanda that has been in the market so long, and has innovated in so many ways, is a great partner to work with and learn from," Buttler says.

Trion is flexing its muscles -- and broadening its horizons -- on the strength of a banner year that included a hefty influx of investment capital as well as RIFT's $100 million revenue windfall. Trion is also developing an MMORTS called End of Nations and an MMO shooter called Defiance. Additionally, the firm is fleshing out its Red Door program which will outsource its development platform and distribution channels to third-parties.

Square-Enix is slimming down its server roster for Final Fantasy XIV. After a year of free-play services due to its troubled launch, FFXIV began charging traditional subscription fees last month. Now, Square says that it will be merging servers beginning on March 27th, and the current lineup will be trimmed from 18 to 10.

Character transfers are mandatory for players on one of the affected shards, and the transfer period starts on March 1st and continues through the 19th. Kotaku reports that the new servers will have temporary names (New World 01, 02, etc.), but Square states that "name assignments will be announced after the transfer selection period has ended."

Minecraft players are well-known for their insane, over-the-top LEGO building projects, but one may have all the rest beat. A player named Rumsey is in the process of recreating the entire world of Azeroth from World of Warcraft inside the game, and while it's not completed quite yet, it's already incredibly impressive.

Rumsey says that he had to cheat a little: Instead of placing every single block by hand, he wrote a piece of software that helps to automate the process of making full-scale version of the world. He's recently completed one continent -- Kalimdor -- and has plans to do the others as well as all of WoW's dungeons. He says that the only problem he's run into is Minecraft's height limit of 128 blocks, so he's had to employ mods to get around that.

When the project is complete, Rumsey has hopes that it will be hosted online for tourists to visit this much blockier version of their favorite WoW stomping grounds.

MMO global chat is a funny thing. I've met friends in it, I've ignored half the server because of it, and I'm amused (and appalled) by it on a daily basis. One thing I normally don't do is turn it off completely, unless I'm gunning for an immersive solo or small-group session that's heavy on roleplay.

My EverQuest II Sage has 19 (19!) channels on his UI, and though I rarely see any activity in the ratonga or evil chat rooms, I keep tabs on them anyway in case a useful nugget happens by.

What about you, dear readers? Does your MMO of choice have multiple global chat channels, and if so, how many do you monitor at once?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

Bulgarian developer Masthead Studios announced earlier today that they're shutting down the servers for their post-apocalyptic sandbox MMO Earthrise.

"One year after the launch of the game, we have decided to stop the Earthrise servers. Earthrise was released too early and did not meet the expectations of its fans" said Atanas Atanasov, Director of Masthead Studios. "We did our best to revive the game in 2011, but the time was not enough to keep up with the user requirements. There is a huge interest in high quality open world sandbox MMORPGs, unfortunately the big publishers do not show any interest in the genre. It is unfortunate that low budget companies like ours are trying to bring innovativeness in the already saturated MMO market. I hope that one day an independent studio will be able to release the long anticipated open world sandbox MMO, which everyone is talking about, but no one is making. We tried, but did not succeed. We would like to apologize to those who were disappointed from Earthrise and to thank everyone who supported us during the years."

The studio does mention that the planned free-to-play version for this year may still launch if any investor interest is shown, but there has been no word on this yet.

Unless you were at PAX Prime last year, about all you've seen of WildStar in action has been the game's cinematic trailer. While it didn't give much of an idea of how the game played, said video certainly had a lot of style. According to the latest WildStar Wednesday community blog post, that style was a big part of the game's narrative design, which is seen as one of the main points of development -- making a game that feels large, engrossing, and epic.

As lead designer Chad Moore explains it, the narrative design team is responsible for outlining the world of Nexus, which was in part created to serve as a perfect locus for a variety of different adventures. While this design team isn't particularly concerned with mechanics, it is concerned with ensuring that every part of the game has the same degree of personality as the first cinematic trailer. If you're one of the many people anticipating the game heavily, take a look behind the scenes to see how it produces its feel.

I'm going to let all of you in on a secret. Actually, it might not be a secret; everyone might have figured this out by now independent of any admission on my part. But here it is, just the same.

I'm not actually a very good City of Heroes player.

I mean, I'm "good" in the sense that I play the game, enjoy it, think about it, try to improve my character appropriately... but I'm not actually very skilled at the game. My rotations look awkward, my slotting is usually sub-optimal, and my ability to recall important data is pretty paltry. I understand the mechanics just fine, but when it comes time to log into the game, somehow I wind up as the guy who just subtly makes the entire team worse. I'm not terribly skilled. And for all that I'm going to be playing the game for some time to come, I don't think that I'm ever going to reach the point that I say I'm really any good.

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ArenaNet has just announced that the third installment of Winds of Change, Miku's Tale, will be going live tomorrow! Part of Guild Wars Beyond, an effort to bridge the story between Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, Winds of Change has been following the shifting states of affairs in Cantha. The rise of the Ministry of Purity, a new governmental organization, has had a central role in the story. First fighting with player characters against the blighted Afflicted then gangs of criminals, the Ministry slowly grew in influence and power. Guild Wars players aided the Ministry of Purity in its fight for justice until a chance encounter at a Ministry rally turned things sour. Since then, players have been rescuing captives, working with the Tengu, and generally making a nuisance of themselves as far as the Ministry is concerned. Now, with things in Cantha at the edge of chaos, we can once again pick up the story -- and dive into the final chapter of Winds of Change.

If you'd like to see the new content in action, join us tomorrow, February 9th, at 7 p.m. EST for a special edition livestream. Our own Richie Procopio will be joined by ArenaNet staff as he streams the game live on our Twitch channel!

Going toe-to-toe with your first big, recurring villain in a final showdown is an important moment in every superhero's life and an experience that DC Universe Online players will get to treasure in the game's next content pack. The update will bring Brainiac, the main scumbag since DCUO launched last January, to his knees -- and bring players to Paradise Island, home of Wonder Woman and the Amazons.

Players will find Brainiac as he's assaulting the Amazons' island and have their final confrontation with him there. But don't worry about the ache of missing your main antagonist, heroes! If there's one thing that comic books have taught us, it's that you should never count a villain out for good -- and that the conclusion of one story arc doesn't mean that things are going to settle down at all. As Jens Anderson (Creative Director for DCUO) says, Brainiac's future isn't settled; his fight "will be an ongoing one as he tries to recover from the player's resistance and future Luthor's manipulation of everyone... The story will then move into a new phase, but Brainiac's actions will always have a lasting effect on DC Universe Online." Moving forward, players can anticipate learning more about the shady figures of Future Lex Luthor and Future Batman.

One of the toughest issues that game developers have to treat when it comes to kid-friendly MMOs is chat. I touched on this in a past column, but it's worth further discussion. If you're making a game where lots of players are interacting and doing stuff together, you need to allow them to communicate, otherwise you're pretty much making a single-player game with the other players as background scenery.

On the other hand, when it comes to kids MMOs, having open communication means other players can use it to harass each other. Worse is the scenario of the deranged adult abusing it to exploit young people. As a result, virtually every kid-friendly MMO has some sort of filter in place that restricts what players can say to each other. But are these chat filters really that effective? Are kids better off without them? Let's take a look in today's MMO Family.

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In the happy, carebear world of Warhammer Online, we've reached the time of year when the clouds break to let in a ray of sunshine that warms the souls of all it touches and sprinkles hearts with... oh, forget it. It's Murder-o-Rama, aka the Night of Murder.

Mythic's annual WAR bloodfest centers around players attempting to appease a gruesome Elf god by taking out contracts on each other's lives. From February 9th through the 22nd, players will try to complete Tome of Knowledge tasks by completing "Marked for Death" quests and killing those with a dripping red skull-and-crossbones over their heads.

The rewards are worth the effort, though, with items like Lobbin' Noggins, Khaine's Caress, and a fun pike sporting your opponent's head that you can slam down next to a defeated foe. It's the yearly holiday your mother always warned you about, but you never listened then and you're probably not going to start now.

I thought it might be a cool idea to do a comparison of free-to-play models for my next few articles. As free-to-play has become more and more popular, cash shops and tiers of service have become much more important to how a player might enjoy or interact with a game. While the standard free-to-play model, the most popular one by far, is one that allows players to download a free client, has no subscription at all, and tacks on a cash-shop, the freemium variant is quickly becoming widespread. Freemium seems to be the model of choice for many Western games that were previously subscription-only.

The problem is that I do not really like the freemium model. I'm old-school, I guess. I enjoy the model that was imported to the States maybe eight years ago. A free client with a cash shop on top is all I need to steer my fun by. I'd rather skip any sort of tiered service as well.

There are exceptions to the rule, of course.

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Seven Souls Online is a new fantasy MMO from NEOWIZ that focuses on the concept of controlling the seven most destructive and powerful forces of humankind. These seven souls have essentially leaked out, and it's up to you to seal them back up. Sound like a fun Friday night? Good, because the devs want you to help test it out!

The beta will begin on February 15th (so it won't be available until then!), but we have some keys to get you ready for the event. Simply head on over to our giveaway page, click "Claim Your Key" at the bottom, and go to this link to redeem your code. You'll need to register for an account on their site and click on "Apply for Beta" to complete the process, but after that, you'll be all set for the February 15th beta.

If you've ever wanted to wield a pink assault rifle, APB Reloaded is the game for you (also, seek professional help). It's only for a limited time, though, and the shenanigans are a part of GamersFirst's Valentine's Day massacre event.

All you have to do is log in, as G1 is sending everyone a couple of V-Day-themed weapons. Furthermore, each gun "contains an exciting new modification," according to a post on APB's official boards. Killing foes with the special weapons will advance two new roles and lead to Valentine prizes like new theme music, symbol art, and heart-shaped sunglasses.

The shindig kicks off today and runs through February 20th, so be sure and get started on your role advancement ASAP.

The Secret World launch is fast approaching (though it may not be exactly when we some are reporting), and plenty of things of things about the game remain, well, secret.

GamesRadar recently cornered lead designer Martin Bruusgaard and sussed out a few details regarding the game's skill deck mechanics. Bruusgaard says the system was designed to offer players a way to get their heads around the game's 500-plus abilities. While there are some recommended decks and combos for newer players, Bruusgaard says the intent behind the The Secret World's classless progression system lies is adaptability and plenty of customization options.

"Some of the beauty of the system is allowing the players to come up with cool stuff themselves. We want to reward the players who dive into this and take their time to tinker with this, and there are lots of cool combinations we will save for these players," he explains.

The latest Vindictus Europe video has a scary new boss monster on display. Nexon is introducing Thor (no, not that Thor), a giant crocodile-like creature with three mouths and a nasty disposition.

Nexon describes Thor as an "outlaw of the dark and damp underworld," and the trailer shows a cross-section of Vindictus heroes slicing and dicing the new monster using the title's unique action combat mechanics.

While we're on the subject of heroes, the video also teases the latest Vindictus Europe playable character, a giant brawler named Karok. Check out all the gory details after the cut.

[Source: Nexon Europe press release]

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A couple of weeks ago Trion announced its plan to get RIFT in the Guinness Book of World Records for hosting the most virtual marriages in a 24-hour period. Today the company has released a new video designed to show off the matrimony mechanics and give fans a sneak peek of what's in store for the Valentine's Day record attempt.

The festivities begin at 12:00 p.m. EST on February 14th, and Trion says that "any two RIFT players who get hitched in-game will be counted in the Guinness World Records title attempt and will receive 'The Avowed' in-game title." Don't forget to check out the video after the break.

[Source: Trion press release]

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