Anniversaries

Fantasy action MMO TERA turns one year old today, and En Masse is celebrating by throwing a month-long party through the end of May. The firm is awarding players with in-game raffle items, mystery boxes "filled with rare and valuable prizes," and a new 10- and 20-person Kelsaik raid.

TERA's future looks bright, too, as En Masse has a 20v20 battleground update complete with strongholds, tanks, cannons, and airships waiting in the wings. The devs also have a new player-driven alliance system scheduled for the very near future.

Finally, En Masse has put together an anniversary infographic filled with esoterica like the number of accounts created (over 1.5 million), the ratio of male to female avatars (44.18 percent to 55.82 percent), and more. View the full graphic after the cut.

[Source: En Masse press release]

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We usually don't expect to see much from the final day of the EVE Fanfest, but for this year's tenth anniversary celebration, CCP isn't doing anything by half measures. The first two days of the event had a strong focus on DUST 514 and EVE Online, delving into the specific details of DUST's upcoming Uprising update and EVE's Odyssey expansion. I went into the convention centre today expecting a nice slow wind down with the usual CCP Presents keynote looking at the state of the company, but I left with several huge reveals that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Not only did we find out that EVE Online is finally getting a collector's edition box full of goodies, but CCP revealed that a new EVE comic book and lore compendium are both on the way. As if that weren't enough, there's also an EVE TV series in the works based on player-submitted stories of true events inside the EVE universe. I couldn't help escaping the feeling, though, that this year's CCP Presents talk was more than a little marketing-oriented. As one of the press put it to me after the talk, it felt at times like watching an infomercial. On the plus side, we did get to see more of CCP's future vision for the EVE universe and an amazing new trailer showing the game's core storyline.

Read on to check out the incredible EVE Universe Origins trailer and my summary of the final day of Fanfest 2013.

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The CCP Presents Keynote at the annual EVE Online Fanfest is usually a fairly tame retrospective on how CCP has a company has done the past year and where it's going in the future, but for EVE's tenth anniversary, CCP broke out the big guns. In addition to announcing a massive new collector's edition, the studio has also revealed plans to turn real stories of events inside the sandbox into professional comic books and even a TV series.

Industry giant Dark Horse Comics, the company responsible for comics like Hellboy and Sin City, will be publishing the 54-page graphic novel this winter in both a paid-for print form and a free digital download. For the lore buffs among us, Dark Horse will also be producing a colossal 184-page glossy colour hardback book covering all of the NPC backstory and lore behind EVE Online and DUST 514. Titled EVE Source, the book will be an in-character almanac of everything in the EVE setting that isn't player-created and will even include previously unreleased concept art.

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Moments ago at EVE Online's tenth anniversary Fanfest, CCP revealed plans for its Second Decade Collector's Edition box. EVE never really had a proper collector's edition, and the tenth anniversary of the game is the perfect opportunity to release one. The box will come with an awesome physical Rifter model that doubles as a USB hub, a CD of the tenth anniversary EVE symphony from this year's Fanfest, and a series of codes to redeem to cosmetic items in EVE Online and DUST 514. The box is due for release in October 2013 and on the EVE store and Amazon and can be pre-purhased right now for $149.99 (€149.99 for those in Europe).

Cosmetic upgrades for EVE include a new golden pod skin that applies permanently to one character, some new bloodline-based in-game clothing, and several collector's edition ships. Players will get a five-run blueprint copy of the tenth anniversary Gnosis battlecruiser and a re-skinned red Tash-Murkon Magnate, and pre-purchasers will get a bonus Nefnatar Thrasher. DUST 514 items include a set of permanant Amarr templar drop suits and weapons with the same stats as normal items but lower skill requirements.

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EVE Online's tenth anniversary Fanfest promised to be its biggest yet, with over 1,400 players packed into Iceland's Harpa convention centre to find out the latest on EVE Online, DUST 514, and World of Darkness. The first day focused mainly on DUST and its link with the EVE universe, but today the focus largely switched back to internet spaceships. There were plenty of roundtable discussions, and the CSM and Alliance panels were as awesome as ever, but it was the EVE Keynote that really blew the crowd away.

The day got off to a good start with the highly anticipated World of Darkness talk. Most fans were probably expecting to see more airy game design ideas and another shiny trailer, but this year CCP just came out and put all its cards on the table. We saw that the game is still firmly in pre-production, with much of the previous work going into developing the engine and cool content creation tools and shaders. While I was initially disappointed at the lack of gameplay progress or shiny cinematics, I found this approach of being open and direct with fans very refreshing. As I told WoD art director Thomas Holt, honest beats shiny every time.

Read on for a full run-down of the EVE reveals from the second day of EVE's tenth anniversary Fanfest, including in-depth details of the Odyssey expansion's features.

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While City of Heroes is no longer with us -- you might not have heard, sorry -- the spirit lives on in its former players' hearts. As this week would have been the ninth anniversary of the superhero MMO, the community has decided to celebrate by remembering all of the greatest aspects about it.

On the CoHTitan boards, the call has gone out for players to share specific City of Heroes favorite aspects over a seven-day 10-day span on Twitter. Each day has a particular theme, starting with ways that CoH innovated and going on to include favorite missions, unsolved plots, why players want the game back, and more.

"This isn't a time for negativity," the post's author writes. "This is about celebrating what was and what could have been. Join me in this celebration of love towards our beloved City of Heroes."

The 10th anniversary EVE Online Fanfest is beyond massive, with over 1,400 players piling into Reykjavik's Harpa building for three days of intense internet spaceshippery. Players fly from across the world to meet their corpmates and chat with other players as passionate about EVE as they are. CCP runs a packed schedule of game design presentations, reveals, and roundtable discussions with players, but for many attendees, the event is about being a part of a tight-knit community that usually exists only inside a game server.

CCP made the bold statement to the press team this morning that its goal is "to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life," and with so many people flying across the world to meet other players face to face, I'd say the studio has succeeded. Today saw talks on EVE's hugely successful Retribution expansion, ship rebalancing, map generation in DUST 514, and lowsec PvP, and of course, we attended the DUST 514 keynote speech. There were also some hilarious shenanigans with the wormhole roundtable room filling to bursting and a guest science lecture on the possibility of faster than light travel in real life.

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EVE Online's colossal tenth anniversary Fanfest hasn't even officially begun, but the excitement from attendees is already practically palpable. The Reykjavik nightlife has been invaded by hundreds of foreigners yelling about internet spaceships as players from around the world reunite with their online comrades and meet corpmates for the first time. Over the course of the weekend, a record 1,400 EVE fans and hundreds more press and partners will flood into the Harpa building for non-stop news and festivities from EVE Online, DUST 514, and World of Darkness.

The talks and events start later today, but last night CCP kicked off the festivities with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra delivering stunning renditions of tracks from the EVE Online soundtrack. Today, I'll be reporting back from key talks including the Retribution expansion roundup at 8 a.m. EDT (noon GMT), ship rebalancing at 9 a.m. EDT (1 p.m. GMT), lowsec PvP and crimewatch at noon EDT (4 p.m. GMT), and of course, the DUST 514 keynote speech at 2 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. GMT). I may also be able to join in on the roundtable discussion on wormholes and live events at 10 a.m. EDT (2 p.m. GMT) for an inside look at CCP's current thoughts. Check out the Fanfest timetable and let me know if there's something interesting you think I should try to squeeze in.

I'd expect the tone of these talks to be one of looking back at another successful year and the great player response to the Retribution expansion. We probably won't hear much of anything about the Odyssey expansion today, but I do expect some big DUST 514 news from the keynote. While many are probably hoping for word of a PC release, I'd be very surprised to see CCP actually do it. We'll most likely just get a release schedule for the PS3 launch and possibly footage of the game running on a PS4 devkit. I'm personally also hoping for more details on post-release updates such as the ability for DUST corps to own and manage their own territory and industrial supply chains.

Whether you're a die-hard fan of internet spaceships or just a gawker on the sidelines, EVE Fanfest is the EVE Online event of the year (and the key source of new DUST 514 and World of Darkness scoops!). Follow Massively's Brendan Drain as he reports back on this year's Fanfest starpower, scheming, and spoilers from exotic Reykjavik, Iceland.

About five years ago, on April 27th, 2008, I joined the Massively team and wrote the very first issue of the EVE Evolved column. Five years later, the column is still going strong and delivering its weekly dose of EVE Online to thousands of readers. I used to worry about running out of ideas to write about, but regular game updates and hilarious player shenanigans mean there's always something interesting going on in New Eden. When EVE hits its 10th anniversary in May, this column will have been running for just over half of the game's lifetime. In that time, I've written over 250 in-depth articles, guides, in-game stories and opinion pieces on EVE Online and a few on DUST 514.

As usual, I'll be celebrating this anniversary by rounding up this year's column highlights and giving away two 30-day Pilot's License Extensions to two lucky readers. To enter the competition, write a comment explaining which EVE Evolved articles from this year you liked best and what topics you'd like to see covered in the coming year. You will need an active EVE account to claim the prize, so be sure to include your character name in your comment if you want to be in with a chance. If you'd rather not give out your character name or don't have an EVE account but would like to give the game a go, you can sign up a new trial account and use the name of your new character.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look back at the highlights from the column's fifth year!

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Uh, seriously guys, it was just yesterday that I was celebrating the third anniversary of Lord of the Rings Online with you in this column. At least it felt like yesterday. Really, has it been six years already? I guess it must be. It just seems like time moves so rapidly in MMOs, especially ones you've been in for years.

Even if you don't count my first six months in the game prior to and after the game's launch, my current stint in LotRO is the longest period of time that I've ever played an MMO. It's been a little over three years now that I've been playing and covering this game for Massively, and my interest in it has yet to wane. That amazes me; just when I think I might burn out on it, I find something about LotRO to rekindle my interest and passion.

There's something special about this game world that I haven't found elsewhere, I've concluded. Perhaps it's the IP restrictions and continuity that makes Middle-earth more "real" to me than other virtual worlds. Maybe it's the sheer breadth of content or the goofy hats. I can't decide. But I'm happy to raise a glass to LotRO as it turns six and look back at some of my favorite moments over the years.

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The eighth anniversary of the launch of Guild Wars is coming at the end of this month, and ArenaNet has announced the planned celebrations to run from April 22 through April 29.

Those fans who have been with the game for several years might recognize the familiar Shing Jea Boardwalk and Roller Beetle racing festivities, but don't forget to test out your dodgeball skills in the Dragon Arena and talk to Ceira over at Embark Beach for some goodies.

Those characters celebrating eight or more years in the game will be honored with a special in-game gift card that allows them to grab their choice of birthday gift boxes from years past.

Of course there's much more to the event than this, and you can read all about it at the official announcement page and look for our own anniversary article celebrating 8 years of Guild Wars coming soon.

Today marks the second anniversary of World of Tanks in the US, and Wargaming is inviting players to join the festivities. To celebrate, the studio is hosting a 12-hour livestreaming marathon from 10:00 a.m. EDT through 10:00 p.m. EDT today, April 12th. Throughout the livestream, various prizes will be awarded to viewers, from WoT apparel to GUNNER eye-wear to assorted Logitech, NVIDIA, and Mad Catz gaming paraphernalia. Check out the official stream schedule for a look at what's happening which hour.

The birthday bash also includes an extravaganza of special deals. Throughout the weekend, players will enjoy 50% discounts, five times the XP earned on every first victory of the day in each vehicle, and various credit increases. But those who want to take advantage of these anniversary deals will need to be quick -- they end at 7:00 a.m. EDT on April 15th.

[Source: Wargaming press release]

Lord of the Rings Online is celebrating its sixth birthday this month, and to honor the occasion, the game is holding an anniversary festival from April 16th to April 30th. To say thank you to its loyal fans, Turbine is giving away special gifts based on each player's account status. These gifts will range from a set of fireworks for everyone to more exclusive items for VIP players, depending on how long they've maintained VIP status.

Be sure to log in to the game during the festival to claim your prize, and check out the official FAQ to learn more about each gift.

[Source: Turbine press release]

Good news! (Well, at least for my police record.) As it turns out, I didn't have to resort to kidnapping to convince someone from NCsoft to talk to me about Aion at this year's GDC. I swear, Sean Orlikowski, the game's associate producer, came willingly.

It does, however, appear that in the fine print of the meeting proposal, I agreed to be outfitted with a special electronic device that would send massive jolts of electricity through my system if I tried to speak about something I shouldn't. So let's see how much I can share with you before this apparatus leaves me unconscious.

Can I tell you that Aion has a special celebration planned for the first anniversary of the Truly Free conversion? So far, so good, folks. Hmm... can I add that the next big expansion has a North American launch date planned without going unconscious... oh, appears so! OK, let's push this a little further: How about if I happened to mention that 4.0 will hit servers in June 2013 -- would I be zapped? Nope! So there you have it, folks: 4.0 is indeed going live in just two short months!

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