Polls

Following BioWare's promise that the studio's made substantial changes to its Cartel Market in Star Wars: The Old Republic, fan site Darth Hater polled over 2500 players about how they use the item shop (if at all).

The results are quite fascinating. Most of those polled (89%) are still subscribed and have made purchases from the Cartel Market (87%). Only half of those polled spent real money on store currency, but of that sample, most had spent over $20 and 26% had spent over $100.

The most popular purchases on the Cartel Market from this survey were random Cartel packs (80%), legacy unlocks (61%), armor (33%), and XP boosts (20%). 22% of those surveyed said that they were disappointed with the market, while 40% were satisfied with it.

Each week in The Guild Counsel column, I try to take a common issue or newsworthy topic that's related to online communities and look at it in depth. Often, the reader discussion that follows has led to some very valuable insight into guild leadership and has even spawned new topics for columns.

This week, I'd like to look at three noteworthy topics that have often popped up among reader comments: nostalgia in MMOs, the clash between "the brotherhood" and "the game," and why guild leadership often feels like a thankless task. Let's look at a few reader responses to these topics and consider the larger issues with MMOs and guild leadership today.

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While the holidays have put a bit of a halt to most of my playing time in Star Wars: The Old Republic this week, I did manage to achieve level 16 on my Imperial Agent. He's now living it up on Dromund Kaas, getting ready to storm a castle. But some conflicting info from within the Empire's leadership has our pal Xel'es looking to possibly take orders from a new commander.

After this week's in-character story behind the cut, you can vote to choose my next move with Xel'es. Last week, you chose for him to become an Operative with Slicing, Underworld Trading, and Cybertech as his crew skills. I decided to make this week's poll something that wouldn't stop me from playing before the poll results came in, which killed a lot of potential playing time last week.

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I don't know about you, but I am pretty glad the world didn't end, either by a butterfly flapping its wings or by World of Warcraft shutting down (your top two votes!). Despite all the troubles in it, I'm still pretty fond of this place. After all, this is where the MMOs are! And Massively TV. Of course, there are many other reasons, not the least of which is this very special time of year.

On that note, The Stream Team wishes you all a wonderful holiday season. May your homes and lives be filled with peace, happiness, and lightning-fast internet! Oh, and also the sound of this week's streams...

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The first week in my chosen game is behind me, and I must say I'm really enjoying myself in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Last week, you voted for me to make a brand-new male Chiss Imperial Agent on The Ebon Hawk server, so I built one heck of dark-sided, flirtatious character for us to play with for the next month or so.

Xel'es is an opportunist. His career as an agent for the Empire has proven rewarding, but a relocation assignment on Hutta is where he plans to shine for his superiors and prove himself as more than just a simple field agent.

I've reached level 11 on Xel'es, and I'm ready to start choosing his advanced class and crafting profession (if you decide he craft). Read on past the jump to read his story and help choose where he goes from here. And be warned, there are plenty of spoilers for the Imperial Agent storyline if that's a thing that bothers you.

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It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine! Why? Because we've got The Stream Team to keep us company in the final week! So even if the world ends on December 21st, there are plenty of wacky Massively antics to keep us entertained. What's on the schedule this time around? Plenty -- see for yourself.

But wait, if the world is ending, why bother extending the schedule past the fateful date of destruction? Well, it just looked too unbalanced when chopped in half! And besides, if the world ends with a zombie apocalypse, who's to say that we won't enjoy some shows even when we become zombies? Speaking of endings, what is your prediction for the final finale?

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If you are just now crawling out of bed to check on your favorite MMO news, chances are you attended a midnight showing of the newly released The Hobbit movie (I know I did!). And if so, then you might remember a slightly surprising trailer mixed among all the other movie previews: an MMORPG! However, it isn't the Tolkein tie-in you might expect (i.e., Lord of the Rings Online); instead, moviegoers packing the theaters to immerse themselves in more Middle-earth will see a massive advertisement for none other than Guild Wars 2 splashed across the screen. Talk about reaching a wide audience!

While some Massively staff noted that the trailer was not available before their non-3-D version of the film, others (including yours truly) can confirm it was definitely shown. Could the trailer be region-based, or is it perhaps only shown in 3-D? All you Hobbit watchers out there, let us know if you saw the trailer in the poll below. And for those who didn't have the chance to see it, you can catch it after the break![Updated with official theatrical trailer]

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So it seems that Star Wars: The Old Republic has won the vote in last week's Choose my Adventure game poll. Despite the fact that I had my own favorite that I was rooting for along the way (I think it's safe to say that all Massively writers do that during these polls), this is the beauty of Choose my Adventure. Of course, I wouldn't have put it on the list if I didn't think it would be a game in which I'd enjoy developing a story, but I'm particularly curious to see SWTOR since I haven't played for probably five or six months. Since then, it's gone free-to-play and added quite a bit of new content, including the newly launched Game Update 1.6. The question is, what part of the game do you want to see as we approach the first anniversary of its launch?

I'm patched up, I've awakened my existing characters from their carbonite slumber, and I'm ready to rock this game. I've shelled out for a subscription because anyone can play the game for free, and there's not much adventure in that. Plus, I don't want to restrict our options. We've done enough impressions on this game and its business model, but this series of articles will focus on my character's story.

Click past the break to decide whether I'll play an existing character or start a new one. And if I do start a new one, what should I make?

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So you're in the market for a fantasy themepark, but you're angry at Aion, leery of Lord of the Rings Online, and weary of World of Warcraft. RIFT and EverQuest II seem pretty interesting, then, but they also seem pretty similar.

Both feature high fantasy settings, celebrated housing mechanics, ridiculously deep character development options, and more PvE content than you could consume in two lifetimes. The similarities don't stop there, as the two titles also share composers, producers, and a lengthy list of devs who include both games on their resumes.

One major difference is the respective business model. RIFT is firmly in the subscription camp (if you discount its free trial up to level 20), while EverQuest II is fully free-to-play, though you don't have to look very hard to find folks who think it's not free enough. Visuals are also a difference-maker; EQII is eight years old and showing its age, while RIFT is still basking in the equivalent of MMORPG adolescence. So after all of that, how about it? RIFT or EverQuest II? Vote after the break!

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The lull is over, and now the hustle and bustle of the winter holiday season begins! Regardless of which holiday you celebrate, mid-December is a time to prepare for and enjoy the festivities. For some folks, that means lots of cooking, lots of eating, and lots of family and friends. And for many of us, we add game time in our favorite MMOs on top of all that. We are even masterful at combining any variation of all of the above! That's where Massively TV comes in handy.

Join your friends (and possibly family?) on The Stream Team in-game and in chat as you watch and even participate in various adventures across the MMO spectrum. Sandboxes and themeparks, PvP and PvE -- they are all represented. And we have a new streamer joining the ranks! So take a look at what games catch your fancy this week, welcome our new guinea pig... er streamer, and then tell us what your favorite in-game holiday festivals are.

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Oh, Choose my Adventure, it's been a long time; I've missed you!

Several years have passed since I started this little column up, and I've had a blast reading each writer's version of how to play through games chosen by you. Now I'm ready to jump back in and get my feet wet in another round of reader-guided adventures, starting this week!

For those who read my articles in the column's early days, you may remember that I like to make a bit of an RP story for my character's journey. I'll be doing that again this time by forging the narrative around a lone-wolf main character. So I've chosen seven games that I think would do well in that scenario, all games that haven't been done in a recent CMA. This week, you'll choose the game, but from there, you'll choose more about how I play and which direction the story's plot will turn.

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When it comes to picking out holiday gifts for younger family members, it's amazing how quickly it can escalate to the equivalent of organizing Operation Overlord. As I wandered around Toys "R" Us yesterday, I watched two mothers trying to make sense of Skylanders and figure out how to coordinate and buy the right packages. (At one point, one was having trouble understanding that the "Giants" weren't really that giant.) Picking out a gift for a kid might sound simple, but to the adults who aren't up to speed on the latest craze, it's not only complicated -- it's a potential nightmare.

Virtual presents and currency cards are two gift ideas that are growing in popularity. Young gamers are comfortable with the notion of in-game goods, but while the in-game MMO community has begun to accept it, it's not quite accepted by the mainstream as a valid gift option. I think there's good reason that it should be, though. In this week's MMO Family, let's take a look at why virtual presents still aren't seen as valid gifts and examine why that's worth reconsidering.

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Ahh, the big dinner is over... but not the leftovers. And even better, not the pies! MMmm pie. From the results of the poll, pie is the big winner for favorite Turkey Day food. Oh sure, it appears to have tied with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and -- my personal favorite -- the day-after sandwich, but once you take into account all the pie choices, the round confectionery delight definitely wins.

And pie is just like Massively TV! No, really -- think about it. One of the greatest things about Thanksgiving pies is that there are so many different ones to choose from. If you don't really fancy one kind (I am not a fan of traditional pumpkin), you can have something else. You can also try little bits of multiple pies to see what you like, or you can simply indulge in all the varieties! And The Stream Team offers a variety of games to sample vicariously, regardless your personal taste. Some streams even come with a dollop of dev commentary on top. You can choose to sample one or two here and there, or you can dive right in and gorge on all of them. So check out what's on this week's menu...

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It's Thanksgiving week in the United States, which means that a lot of the Massively staff members will be hanging up their hats for a day. It's an entire day when almost everyone in the country doesn't have to work, and that means an entire day free to game... or an entire day free from gaming.

Let's face it, you can get a whole lot taken care of in game when you've got a whole day to devote to leveling or farming or even just crafting. But you can also recharge your batteries away from the daily routine of logging in, and you can appreciate the game a little bit more after a day of fun with friends and family. Besides, you can only clear daily quests in Star Wars: The Old Republic or daily achievements in Guild Wars 2 the one time.

So with the holiday looming, which do you think is the better option? Using a holiday specifically to spend a full day in the game? Or using a holiday specifically to spend a full day away from it?

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Thankfulness. We all know that it isn't just for one day a year, but that doesn't diminish the significance of the holiday! Not to mention, it's a day off to game all we want while indulging in great food! So let's take a break from our busy lives and really reflect on all those reasons we have to be thankful: sandboxes, focus on emergent gaming, more sandboxes, livestreaming... did I mention more sandboxes?

Honestly, I am more thankful for family, friends, and a totally awesome job, but I am not ashamed to admit that I am also grateful for this pastime of ours, the community it has introduced me to, and the close relationships I have built because of it. I am thankful for a variety of games to fit many individual tastes, a surge of indie developers willing to push the envelope and try new things, the increasingly amazing graphics, and the chance to livestream it all for you on Massively TV!

Yes, folks -- I am grateful for the The Stream Team and all the amusing antics that happen live, right before your very eyes. And this week has plenty of shenanigans on the schedule, including two games in beta, so be sure to tune in! In between the live versions, you can take a peek at past streams. And feel free to share what you are thankful for in the comments past the break as well as cast your vote for the best holiday food.

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