DC Universe Online

I'm not going to lie to you, gentle readers -- I did not have high hopes for DC Universe Online when I signed in.

Why not? Lots of reasons. For starters, Champions Online turned out to be very good, and I'm not in the habit of expecting good luck twice in a row. My last outing with a licensed superhero game left me pretty cold. I already knew the game broke from a lot of accepted superhero conventions, and it sure didn't seem like a game that would encourage the same sort of roleplaying atmosphere I love. Last but certainly not least, it's always dicey playing a game designed for both consoles and computers, since frequently one or the other gets the better interface.

Despite all of this, I am happy to say that these fears were unfounded. Or at least unfounded enough for it not to matter, which is close enough to the same thing. DC Universe Online is certainly not a successor to City of Heroes, but it's a lot better than I would have guessed, and it's certainly an interesting game thus far in its own right.

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If you're a fan of superheroes, player housing, or superhero player housing, you're going to want to take a look at the latest livestream vid on the official DC Universe Online TwitchTV channel. On Friday, SOE's Jens Andersen and Andrew Bushman played around with the game's new housing system in a 19-minute excursion that you can watch after the break.

The duo explained a bit about obtaining and accessing DCUO's new superhero lairs, and they also pointed out that you don't have to be a paying customer to get some personal space. Free players will get a small apartment to call their own, while Legendary members will have more options and more available swank.

The housing mechanics will debut with DCUO's latest DLC offering, Home Turf, which is scheduled to release in early 2013.

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There's a new producer's letter up on DC Universe Online's official website. SOE's Larry Liberty checks in to update us on the status of the game's next DLC pack as well as look at what's planned for 2013. Home Turf is still scheduled for "very early in the year," and it will bring with it player bases, lair battles, endgame solo content, and more.

After that, SOE is eyeing several more DLC packs that will bring league bases to the game as well as new raids, alerts, and power revamps focusing on fire and ice. Liberty says PvP and performance issues are on the agenda as well, so click the link below to get all the details.

Would you believe that 70% of DC Universe Online's revenue comes from the PlayStation 3 version of the game? According to the UK version of the official PlayStation magazine, the superhero title and Sony Online Entertainment's Free Realms could possibly be joined on the PS3 by PlanetSide 2 in the future.

When asked directly about the possibility of the new sci-fi MMOFPS showing up on a console, SOE president John Smedley offered an artful deflection. "What I'd say is -- SOE has proven that we can bring our games to the PS3, and it's fair to say that we've got some other stuff out there cooking. I can't tell you what platforms it's for, but we're really excited about it."

[Update: We have corrected the 70% figure quoted directly from PlayStation magazine. According to SOE, Smedley intended to say that the percentage refers to DCUO's revenue, not SOE's revenue as a whole.]

SOE has an early Christmas present for those of you who've been thinking about a return to DC Universe Online. Well, technically, it's for those of you who've been thinking about a return and are former subscribers, but still.

If you've been away for a while, you've missed a lot of stuff, as 2012 featured three DLC releases and 14 game updates.

For most players, "the offer is available to former Legendary Members (subscribers) who were active and paid for at least one billing cycle" between January, 2011 and December, 2012. We say most players because there are differences in the dates depending on whether you're a PC customer or a PlayStation 3 customer from North American or Europe. Check the post on the SOE forums for full details.

John Smedley's MMO revival tour continues, with the latest stop being an interview at Polygon. The SOE CEO lends some context to impressive numbers recently released by the firm touting the success of its new business model intiative, and he also evangelized about the future of the company and EverQuest Next.

Since switching to F2P across its extensive MMO portfolio, SOE has seen DC Universe's daily revenue increase by 700%, EverQuest II's registration numbers triple, and EverQuest's registration numbers tick up by 350%. Oh, and PlanetSide 2? It's seen 1.6 million players registered thus far, 250,000 of whom log in daily. "Free-to-play is just too good of an idea," Smedley says. "The idea is just so simple. It democratizes and capitalizes, makes true capitalism out of the MMO gaming space."

He goes on to say that the MMO industry is stuck in a rut that SOE helped create via design choices made in the original EQ. "We need to change the way we do this," Smedley says. "We're building a sandbox and giving players the tools to help shape the world that they're in. That's the direction we're going in with EverQuest Next; trying to make a world that players create while being in a living, breathing world around them. It's not just a prop for them to walk around in, which is really what all of today's MMOs are. Their worlds are nothing more than a movie set."

Heroism in MMOs is a tricky thing. Most games cast us as some sort of cosmic fulcrum, but then most games also ask us to take a time out from saving the world in order to collect a few thousand rat tails or kill a boss who has already been defeated by a thousand other players.

Action combat MMOs can sometimes turn these trivial tasks into quasi-heroic moments, at least for me. Just the other day I was running yet another daily instance in DC Universe Online, but the game's nifty combos and niftier animations elevated what's normally a by-the-numbers armor grind into something reasonably exciting.

What about you, Massively readers? When's the last time an MMO made you feel heroic, and what were you doing?

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!

Batman.

He's why I initially played DC Universe Online. He's why I bought the collector's edition pre-launch, and he's generally why I got worked up into a sweaty lather of fanboy expectation that couldn't possibly be met by an MMO with a finite budget.

A couple of years on, I've rediscovered DCUO, and now the reason I play it (a lot) boils down to three letters: SOE.

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Last week was painful, not just for me but for a lot of you was well. I'm touched by the number of comments I received on last week's article, and I can understand why a lot of you thought that this was curtains for the column as well as for the game. It was a sad ending, with a note of hope almost buried by all of the crushing emotion. You and I lost a friend that's been with us for more than eight years; it's hard to be optimistic.

But I'm still here. And I'm still the same person I was a week ago, if somewhat diminished by loss. And now it's time to move along.

I've written the last word there is for me to write on the subject of City of Heroes, but as it turns out, I still have a lot more to say about the genre. This probably doesn't come as much of a surprise to regular readers. I'm a guy who loves superheroes, and losing a home hurts, but it doesn't mean I'm hanging up my cape. It means that I need to find a new home. And I'd be remiss in not asking anyone else along for the ride.

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So I tried to log in for my DC Universe Online fix this morning, only to be greeted with a hanging connect screen and an urge to Hulksmash my keyboard. After my DC fan card was revoked, I remembered that it's patch day, and SOE has said to expect a five-hour down period to pave the way for Game Update 21.

When the game comes back, there should be a new PvP map, though the Inner Sanctum is only playable if you've purchased the Hand of Fate DLC (or if you're a subscriber/Legendary member). The devs are also adding a handy auto-loot feature and a number of tweaks to missions, alerts, challenges, and more. Full details are available via the patch notes.

As I mentioned earlier this week, DC Universe Online is taking up the majority of my MMORPG time lately. I've finally decided on a main character (for now, at least), and I'm closing in on max level despite the fact that I rolled him just over a week ago.

I'm a notoriously slow leveler, and while I've been told that DCUO's grind kicks in after the cap, I'm still amazed at how quickly the one to 30 content goes by. I'm not running out of things to do, either, as there are whole quest arcs that I haven't even started yet, to say nothing of group dungeon content, PvP, and what passes for superhero tradeskilling.

What about you, morning crew? Have you ever blown through a game's level range in record time? How long did it take?

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!

I returned to DC Universe Online a couple of weeks ago, and the game is hitting most of my MMORPG sweet spots. There's a huge world, lots of stuff to do, and even a few non-combat bells and whistles (with more on the way).

There's one thing that sticks in my craw, though, and that's the game's sub-standard quest journal. It's functional, but it lacks the ability to show completed quests. It also doesn't allow for quests to be deleted, and both of these omissions play havoc with my OCD. What about you, Massively readers? Is there one particular gotcha in your favorite game that you'd change if you could?

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!

Closing down a game like Glitch is like beating up the big-eyed orphan from down the street for his last two cents; it just feels wrong to anyone with a soul. Massively's One Shots department did its best to counter the situation by taking an angry protest nap, but nothing doing. The next best solution is to ask all of you with great Glitch screenshots to send them our way.

Reader Jeremy submitted this haunting picture that works on a couple of different levels in light of the recent announcement. "Kids," he warns, "this is a warning of the harmful effects of No-No Powder. One day, you're sitting in your pleasant home street, admiring the view. Next, you're waking up naked in a tundra with nothing but your quickly diminishing dignity."

Let's go on a cold, naked adventure together through the rest of this week's player-submitted pictures!

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By now, everyone has made it home from SOE Live... yes, even that one fellow who kept disappearing, seduced by the one-armed bandit. As my first foray into the annual self-described "family reunion," I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd hoped there would be some news to pass along. If nothing else, a tidbit or two about any title -- be it EverQuest II, PlanetSide 2, or DC universe Online -- would justify my trip out there to me. But what I got wasn't just some news; it was great news!

Although the lights of Vegas are fading from memory, the hope for player-generated content burns brighter than before. From keynote addresses to panels to interviews, Sony Online Entertainment's focus on emergent game play and various sandbox features showed a dedication to gaming beyond just the hack-and-slash treadmill grind. Can we hear a hallelujah?

With so much news coming out of the convention, there wasn't time or space to do much more than just report on the facts. Here, I have the opportunity to sum things up and even add my own impressions of the event! I might even toss in an anecdote or two to illustrate what made this such an incredible experience that I am hooked and will return each year.

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I enjoy the heck out of DC Universe Online. It's a fantastically fun, action-based romp through a wonderfully drawn universe of wacky characters and amazing adventures. Even for someone who never really enjoyed almost anything that DC Comics has released (Superman? Ha!) the game provides tons of linear, quest-based fun when I want it or loose, open-world destruction when I feel like exploring. I have to admit that the game did not seem that complex or deep when I first started playing it but now I see how much has been added and just how much can be done with what seemed like a limited.

This is no perfect relationship, however. I have some issues with the game. Of course I am not a typical player and have not yet climbed my way to the top of the level mountain, so many of the issues I have will more-than-likely not be the same issues most other gamers have. I just don't worry about stuff like lock-out timers or loot drops. That stuff's all part of the math of the game, and that bores me.

No, my gripes stem from customization or making the game your own. So, at the risk of making it seem like I dislike the game in some way, here's my list of five things I want to see either go away or be remedied.

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