Massively Speaking

Massively's top 5 original features for 2009

Seraphina Brennan — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Digital Continuum, Massively highlights, Virtual worlds, Anti-Aliased, EVE Evolved, Choose My Adventure

Not only are we here at Massively passionate about covering the news, but we also deliver on unique and original content. We're out in the trenches interviewing developers, talking about our favorite games, getting inside our games and meeting the community, and giving you our perspectives on the MMO industry. Sometimes you agree with us, sometimes you don't, but we'll keep writing as long as you guys lend us your support and keep reading.

This year was a real breakout year for our original content as we had a bunch of our features rock the traffic charts higher than our news. So, in the spirit of a banner year, it's time to run down the list and name our top five features for 2009.

Once again, we're presenting the article in gallery-vision (TM), so be sure to jump on in by clicking the link below or clicking the first image in the gallery below that. If you wish to comment, drop back by this post (not the gallery) and leave your comment in the white comment box below.

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Gallery: Massively's top 5 original features for 2009

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	The hidden art of Star Trek Online There is much buzz in the MMOG universe this morning about the upcoming title Star Trek Online. Being absolute fanboys and fangirls of Star Trek ourselves (much like our friends at STO Zone who had the same idea) we wanted to show you a couple of nuggets of interesting art that we've extracted.
	Age of Conan rep talks Kingship, new zones, and more The folks at Ten Ton Hammer met with Funcom Product Manager Erling Ellingsen at Comic Con over the weekend. Ellingsen described many of the planned updates to Age of Conan.
	Official Asheron's Call blog is nostalgic Asheron's Call's 100th update is imminent, and to celebrate, Turbine has started a "Nostalgia Blog" in which old designers of the game reminisce about their experiences of elation and tribulation.
	Microsoft's Shane Kim on Xbox 360's MMO failures EDGE spoke with Microsoft Game Studios corporate VP Shane Kim about the MMO genre's failure to come to fruition on the Xbox 360 game console. Two MMOs that were planned for the platform -- Marvel Universe Online (an in-house project) and ...
	Comic-Con 08: Hands-on with Warhammer Online Last week at Comic-Con in San Diego, I sat down with Warhammer Online producer Jeff Skalski and got my hands on the beta for the first time. I could go in-depth on all the new features and functions of the game, but ...

	EVE Online patch day time-lapse video makes us laugh Have you ever wondered what sort of craziness goes on inside a developer's offices during a major patch day? We've always had a sneaking suspicion that certain hi-jinks occur, but ...
	Cryptic Studios is hiring ... for Star Trek Online! There's still a little over 24 hours left on the countdown clock located at Cryptic Studios' official website as of this writing. Unfortunately, staffing needs seems to have ruined the surprise a bit.
	Rumor: Warhammer Online set to release on September 23rd We have a date! Not that kind of date, not the awkward first kind. This is a better date, one where Warhammer Online will be released unto the masses.
	Funcom suffering a loss of investor confidence Funcom, makers of Age of Conan, are dealing with some serious financial flux. Since the launch of AoC, their stock has tumbled from $54 to $24 a share on the Oslo Stock Exchange ...
	E308: Walking through The Agency's trailer While at E3 2008, we had a great deal of time to talk to Matt Wilson, Executive Director of Development for SOE Seattle, the studio in charge of making the new MMOFPS title, The Agency.

	Testing out Age of Conan's new PvP system As we mentioned earlier, the new PvP system (or at least a large part of it) for Age of Conan is currently on the Testlive server, and undergoing rigorous testing. We're particularly impressed by tester Ydiss ...
	Making/Money: Hurry Up and Wait It took a few weeks, but I finally made it to level 20 in Age of Conan. It was an intense time getting through quest after quest, killing random mobs, and starting to mark my map with waypoints in anticipation.
	Big Download taps into Champions Online We give em' two big thumbs-up, and we hope you don't think super-hero and villain MMOs are overplayed. One very cool thing ...
	Brief glimpse of City of Heroes Issue 13 IGN have been talking to NCSoft at ComicCon, and have come away with a few pieces of intel about City of Heroes Issue 13. Most surprising is how it's described as the last free Issue for 2008. There's only been one issue so far this year, which was Issue 12: Midnight Hour ...
	RMT company Live Gamer to work with virtual economist Live Gamer, the legit Real Money Trading (RMT) company that handles all legal transactions for EverQuest II and other games, has brought on "noted virtual econonomist" Vili Lehdonvirta. Lehdonvirta is a former game designer ...

	Feared censorship once more fails to appear in Age of Conan Just what does it take to kill a rumor, anyway? Not so long ago, we investigated rumors that the mature content in Age of Conan was being 'scaled back', and came away unconvinced that any such thing was happening. More recently, the anatomical changes to the succubus model suggested that rather than taking mature content out ...
	Zero Punctuation reviews Age of Conan Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw is the naughty charismatic pontificating stallion behind Zero Punctuation, the hilarious weekly videogame review web program. It's not often Croshaw will review an MMORPG ...
	EVE Online currency sellers rip off players (shocker) Well, here we are again... certain people among EVE Online's player base who buy their isk from shady sites are the focus of another dev announcement. GM Grimmi just posted the following:
	World of Warcraft 60-70 leveling to get faster in Lich King Alongside the obvious insta-leveling of Death Knight characters, a post to the World of Warcraft forums by lead designer Jeff Kaplan has confirmed that leveling between levels 60 and 70 will get faster after Wrath of the Lich King is released.
	Ten things every new player should know about EVE Online There are some valuable lessons learned as you progress in EVE Online, lessons which get pounded into you when making mistakes. There are so many things you wish someone had told you ...

	Research: Subscription model unappealing to vast majority of users A survey performed by researchers Parks Associates titled "Electronic Gaming in the Digital Home II" concluded that there is very little room for market expansion for subscription-based MMOs.
	EA CEO Riccitiello doesn't think investors care about quality When you're playing your favorite MMO, how much thought do you put into the finances of the game? Do you wonder if the game had initial investors, or if they were banking on a big-name publisher?
	Notes for AoC's 23rd of July patch: extra-short edition We've had a long run of meaty patches for Age of Conan, and whether or not they addressed the most important issues on players' minds, the patch notes were always long and full of fixes.
	Hellgate: London saved by Namco-Bandai Didn't really think we'd be talking about this game ever again, but it's nice to be wrong. Tipster Matt let us know that a Senior Director for Business development has posted to the official Hellgate:London forums letting everyone know that 'word' is coming soon.
	Buddy Keys finally implemented in Age of Conan Buddy Keys have been a long time coming, but they're finally part of Age of Conan. Funcom assured us last week that they'd be going live this week, and they've made good on that.

	Patch report for Age of Conan's July 17th update Yes, it's time again for another edition of undocumented Age of Conan patch notes. We briefly mentioned them in the invisible hotfix edition that took place shortly after the latest Age of Conan patch.
	The Daily Grind: What MMOG would you kill off? Yesterday we asked what deceased MMOG do you miss the most. Let's flip that question around and make it somewhat evil. It could be before the MMOG ever launched essentially erasing it and making it unknown or sometime after it launched. Any MMOG is fair game.
	Massively takes on EVE Online's learning curve EVE Online is a complex game. There's no doubt about that. That complexity is a large part of the draw, but that doesn't mean learning about the game has to be a daunting experience.
	E308: Exploring an improved Inevitable City in Warhammer Online Our discussion of Warhammer Online as seen at last week's E3 event continues, with a look at an improved Inevitable City. During our huge Massively goes to WAR feature spread earlier this year ...
	Succubi get perky in Age of Conan Rejoice, O ye demonologists. No matter what else might be wrong with Age of Conan, a grievance that has been endured since Beta is now no longer to plague you.

	Mythos beta is shutting down tonight The woes continue at Flagship Studios. It was just announced that the Mythos beta will shutdown tonight. The official time slotted for its cease of operations is at July 18th, 2008 at 11:59 CST.
	E308: Champions Online gameplay video It's late in E3 week but we've still got plenty of goodness coming. We've got a fun tidbit from the folks at 2K games (Champions' new publisher), a brand new gameplay video for Champions Online.
	Hellgate: London subscriptions suspended Exploring and fighting in post-apocalyptic London used to require a subscription but not anymore. Flagship Studios has announced that active Hellgate: London subscribers will not be billed nor will any new subscriptions be accepted.
	Double XP starts today in City of Heroes As promised, today is the day the City of Heroes is filled with the sounds of heroes and villains levelling up, as well as the ka-CHING of doubled Influence and Prestige rewards landing in their... actually, what do they keep that intangible stuff in?
	E308: 'Open Party' system to encourage grouping in Warhammer Online Our epic-level talk with Josh Drescher and Adam Gershowitz delved into a number of interesting topics. Warhammer Online is essentially feature complete, they said, and will offer players a level of UI customization ...

	E308: Warhammer Online is pretty much done We had a chance to chat today with Josh Drescher and Adam Gershowitz, two of the leading lights behind EA Mythic's Warhammer Online. Even just two months after our huge Massively goes to WAR series
	Society system planned in 100th Asheron's Call content update Early Asheron's Call adopters are quite accustomed to the epic storylines that unfolded in the world. Some endless sojourns taken through Asheron's Call are still legendary among players.
	Behind the Curtain: Gone for good? I've been thinking recently about loss. Having been incredibly lucky with my own brush with the possibility of losing my World of Warcraft characters, I got to thinking.
	Not-in-the-notes for AoC's 17th July patch: invisible hotfix edition Yesterday's Age of Conan patch was one of the better ones we've seen in recent times, but it did bring back an old tradition: a longish list of changes that were not mentioned in the official patch notes.
	Aeria adds Diablo-like Cronous to its library MMO portal Aeria Games has acquired a new game called Cronous, which was originally developed by Lizard Interactive. Cronous' gameplay is similar to that of Diablo, Mythos, or Dungeon Runners.

	KOTOR MMO confirmed by Electronic Arts We've had plenty of speculation -- lots and lots of it -- but now we've got confirmation from Electronic Arts chief executive John Riccitiello that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is indeed getting a massively multiplayer online iteration.
	E308: DC Universe Online roundup Sony Entertainment Online revealed a metric ton of new information on their upcoming superhero MMO DC Universe Online at E3 this week, and Massively was on hand to pick the spicy brainmeats of Creative Director Chris Cao, SOE-Austin VP of development John Blakely, and famed DC artist and Executive Creative Director for the project, Jim Lee. Check out the roundup of all the DCUO coverage from E3 including interviews, screenshots, a full breakdown of the trailer and analysis of DCUO's role on the console.
	Massively Speaking Podcast Episode 14 Massively Speaking Episode 14 is a another special episode! Two in a row! This week we're in Los Angeles for E3, and the minds behind the site's direction sat down for some jawwing about what we've seen. Alongside Leads Krystalle Voecks and Michael Zenke, Joystiq Producer Barb Dybwad and Joystiq Senior Editor Elizabeth Harper sat in for all the MMO news from the biggest games event this week.
	The serious growth of Jagex Earlier this week, we've been giving you a ton of news related to Jagex's Runescape and the newly-announced Mechscape. In a recent blog post by Relmstein, he gives us his impressions of this news, and why he takes them seriously.
	E308: The DC Universe Online trailer explained We aren't going to be able to provide you with the video itself for some time, but the voice content of the video is well worth reading up on.

	Age of Conan may be facing a horse price crash If you've been planning to buy your first horse in Age of Conan, you might want to sit on that hard-earned gold for a few more days. An update to the patch currently on the Testlive Server has slashed the price of regular mounts ...
	E308: First footage of DC Universe Online Did you hear? Jim Lee showed up at the E3 2008 Sony press conference and not only talked about DC Universe Online, but showed it too! Our initial thoughts on the video? While purportedly still pretty early on ...
	Scheduled AoC patch postponed by a day again Age of Conan players will be feeling a bit of deja vu today. As was the case last week, today's scheduled patch is not in a suitable state to go live. A fix relating to "Bind on Equip" items in fact made certain items totally un-equippable ...
	E308: John Smedley on Star Wars Galaxies, reconnecting with players Our lengthy discussion with John Smedley yesterday focused primarily on Free Realms and the possibilities in SOE's future. We also chatted briefly about the newest surprise from the company ...
	38 Studios to use NaturalMotion's Morpheme engine 38 Studios, the star-studded development studio working on a mysterious MMO codenamed Copernicus, has announced that it will use an animation engine called Morpheme.

	The Digital Continuum: Diet WAR Diet Warhammer Online: same great taste, less content. Is it bad that the recently re-branded Mythic Entertainment just cut out a large portion of our Warhammer Online pie and put it in the deep freeze?
	Flagship Studios: It's worse than that; he's dead, Jim Although our previous coverage of Flagship Studios -- creators of Mythos and Hellgate: London -- mentioned that a large, undisclosed portion of the staff were laid off, it was only today that we discovered the true extent of the damage.
	How to beat game piracy according to David Perry David Perry, best known as the founder of Shiny Entertainment and Earthworm Jim, believes the way to beat game piracy is by distributing games for free. "The next big thing will be free games," said Perry ...
	Neopets creators enter the MMO world with Twin Skies After a bit of a tease a couple of weeks ago, Meteor Games, founded by the creators of the kids Flash game portal Neopets, has announced details of their first-ever MMO. Twin Skies will be a blend of a traditional, 3D MMO with innovative out-of-game elements. For instance, certain web-based mini-games ...
	Fallout and repercussions of the ActiBlizz merger Hail to the King, long may EA reign. But what of the recently completed merger between Activision and Vivendi? In an analysis on the Next Generation site, there's discussion of a possible future where Activision-Blizzard name hangs above Electronic Arts on the big board of game publishers.

	E3: New Warhammer Online screenshots Though Mythic hasn't yet had anything to tell us about Warhammer Online, they have released a handful of new RvR-focused screenshots at E3 today. There are a number of nicely composed moments in there, including...
	HanbitSoft CEO claims ownership rights to Hellgate:London and Mythos We're still reeling over the news that Flagship Studios has met its demise. Seeing any hard working development studio with loads of potential go belly-up isn't easy considering all the real people affected from the fallout.
	New SOE video blog confirms announcement of DC Universe Online at E3 The inaugural video blog of Sony Entertainment Online features CEO John Smedley talking with Courtney Simmons, Media Consultant. Smedley goes on a little bit about Free Realms, Everquest 2, and The Agency ...
	Blizzard victorious in WoW Glider case Legally Blind is reporting that the WoW Glider case has been resolved in Blizzard's favor. The maker of the epic fantasy MMO has long contended that the MDY developers are infringing on the company's copyright. MDY makes the WoW Glider bot software ...
	Mythic offers FAQs for Warhammer's loss of cities, classes The removal of four classes and four capital cities from Warhammer Online last week continues to reverberate through the fan community. In an attempt to answer prospective player questions in a highly visible place, FAQs have been posted to the official website.

	Valve sees MMOs as the future of the medium We've talked previously about the tug-of-war that seems to be happening between the PC-yes and the PC-no crowd. Gabe Newell, head of the well-known Half-Life developer Valve, firmly stood up in the PC-yes column late last month.
	Age of Conan now available for digital download Funcom's Age of Conan is now available as a purely downloadable product. Folks who have been on the fence about buying the game because of the filthy retail box can now rest easy ...
	New Lucasfilm trademarks sound suspiciously KotOR MMO-like Lucasfilm has registered a number of new trademarks, including Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Old Republic, Star Wars Legends, and Star Wars Sagas. This news is interesting as is, but it gets really juicy when you read the type of patent and its description ...
	Mark Jacobs clarifies the loss of Warhammer classes, cities Yesterday's unexpected news of deep cuts into Warhammer Online's at-launch content is still sending shockwaves through the fan community. It seems like it's just been a whirlwind of WAR news of plate, with the announcement of the Guild Beta and the reacquisition of the Mythic Entertainment name close on the heels of the content losses.
	Ask Massively: You make the call For those of you who read Ask Massively but don't pay much attention to the comments, you might want to go back and check out the comments section from last week. I think there might be 3 or 4 columns worth of material there.

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