Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Avatar breaks out the banhammer for Perpetuum cheaters]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/avatar-breaks-out-the-banhammer-for-perpetuum-cheaters/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/avatar-breaks-out-the-banhammer-for-perpetuum-cheaters/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/avatar-breaks-out-the-banhammer-for-perpetuum-cheaters/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Rut roh! It's banhammer time in Perpetuum, the sci-fi indie sandbox from Avatar Creations. The latest Avatar dev blog has the (sparse) details courtesy of Dev Calvin. Apparently some players availed themselves of a game exploit that allowed for significant gains in robots, equipment, and other commodities. It's not as innocent as it sounds, though, as the dev blog makes clear.

"The method that was used can by no means [be] interpreted as intended gameplay. A lot of technical preparation and effort went into the experimentation and execution," Calvin writes.

The ill-gotten gains have of course been removed, and Avatar has also permabanned the offending accounts, which sends a clear message as to the type of zero-tolerance policy toward cheating on display in the world of Nia. Check out the official Perpetuum website for more reading material.

MassivelyAvatar breaks out the banhammer for Perpetuum cheaters originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>avataravatar-creationsban-hammer-not-jan-hammerbanningscheaterscheatingdev-blogdev-calvindev-diaryexploitsgame-mechanicsniapermabanpermabannedperpetuumsandboxsci-fiFri, 03 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Exploring Eberron: The race discussion has been banned]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/exploring-eberron-the-race-discussion-has-been-banned/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/exploring-eberron-the-race-discussion-has-been-banned/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/exploring-eberron-the-race-discussion-has-been-banned/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Don't worry, it's just a one-week ban. Once again, it was an interesting week for Dungeons and Dragons Online fans. Tuesday night's banhammer took everyone by surprise, and the reactions on both sides were pretty interesting.

I was really excited to discuss DDO races this week, but this week's problems left me thinking long and hard about the dynamics of player/developer interaction in this game. Check out that handy comments section at the end too, because I'd really love to hear what you have to say on the banning issue.

Follow along after the break, then weigh in!

Continue reading Exploring Eberron: The race discussion has been banned

MassivelyExploring Eberron: The race discussion has been banned originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banbanningbanningscommunicationddodungeons-and-dragons-onlineexploitsexploring-eberronf2pfeaturedforumsfree-to-playftpturbineFri, 12 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[[UPDATE #2] DDO: Endless night or endless bannings?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/10/ddo-endless-night-or-endless-bannings/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/10/ddo-endless-night-or-endless-bannings/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/10/ddo-endless-night-or-endless-bannings/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

What began as a fun Halloween event in Dungeons and Dragons Online has turned into a sour experience for several players. Last night, three-day bans were handed out by Turbine GMs who determined that DDO players were reportedly taking advantage of an exploit during the Mabar, The Endless Night Festival. However, many hit by the bans were unaware of the exploit, and were disgruntled when they were hit with the ban right as customer support left for the evening.

According to the notices sent out, Turbine feels justified for these actions: "Recently we conducted an investigation into an exploit that was being utilized in Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, involving our recent Mabar, The Endless Night Festival. As a result of that investigation, your account has been identified in utilizing this exploit. Please be advised that use of an exploit is strictly prohibited by our Code of Conduct."

One thread concerning the bannings was deleted, although another persists. Players express disbelief over what they see as punishment for rules they didn't know existed. One player, Madmonkey2, summed up the collective disbelief: "If the player has no idea what is going on, how can they be guilty of abusing an exploit? I personally did not gain one single benefit from that event, yet I am accused to doing something (unknown) repeatedly to benefit somehow?"

As you may recall, the Endless Night Festival was plagued with issues in the preview, although the event appeared to proceed more smoothly on the live servers.

[Update: The forum thread we mentioned has since been deleted]

[Update: It looks like those bannings happened by mistake. According to Turbine, less than 1% of the player base was affected, but those players can expect the error to be rectified and to receive compensation as soon as possible. Turbine's Tolero has posted a statement on the DDO forums.]

Massively[UPDATE #2] DDO: Endless night or endless bannings? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banbanningsddodont-get-the-monkey-maddungeons-and-dragons-onlineendless-nightendless-night-festivalexploitgmhalloweenhalloween-2010in-game-eventmabarturbineTurbine-EntertainmentWed, 10 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: The customers aren't always right, but they should be supported]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/27/anti-aliased-the-customers-arent-always-right-but-they-should/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/27/anti-aliased-the-customers-arent-always-right-but-they-should/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/27/anti-aliased-the-customers-arent-always-right-but-they-should/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The customer isn't always right. Trust me, I know, I use to work at GameStop. *shivers at the thought of pushing reserves* Sometimes, the customer is wrong -- dead wrong -- but that doesn't mean the customer shouldn't be supported and appreciated.

Customer support is one of those areas of MMO games that often goes overlooked when it goes right, or put under a spotlight when it goes wrong. There is no middle ground with that department, and the many good people who put long hours into making sure your account properly works don't get enough thanks

Well, let's fix that. Today I want to talk about two recent interactions I've had with customer support, but I also want to address a few issues that I have with the system as well.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: The customers aren't always right, but they should be supported

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: The customers aren't always right, but they should be supported originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>account-managementaccount-serviceaccount-servicesbanningsblizzardcsrcustomer-servicecustomer-supportcustomer-support-representativefeaturedgame-mastergmguild-warsgwopinionworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 27 May 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Final Fantasy XI cracks down on cheating]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/26/final-fantasy-xi-cracks-down-on-cheating/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/26/final-fantasy-xi-cracks-down-on-cheating/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/26/final-fantasy-xi-cracks-down-on-cheating/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Square-Enix can get very touchy about certain things with Final Fantasy XI. Revealing the precise numbers and mechanics behind many of the game's elements seems to be one of them that none of the game's fans are terribly pleased with, but they're just as touchy about people cheating in the game, which fans can't help but be happy about. The game's terms of use clearly state that the use of third-party applications interacting with the game is expressly forbidden, and the game has recently dropped the hammer for good on one of the distributors of third-party hacks.

The announcement, which can be found on the official site or mirrored on Allakhazam.com, states that the game's team had been monitoring the sale and distribution of certain undisclosed third-party applications, and they had subsequently shut down both the servers for the programs as well as the sellers. The specific applications are not named, as is normal for Final Fantasy XI -- they don't want to encourage anyone to seek out the cheats, after all. The announcement also includes the usual warnings about bannings and account security when connected with third-party cheats. It's always good news when the less scrupled side of a game's community gets shut down -- now if only we could pass some of this along to NCsoft for their recent woes.

MassivelyFinal Fantasy XI cracks down on cheating originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banningbanningscheatingexploitsffxifinal-fantasy-xihackingsquaresquare-enixthrid-partySat, 26 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Square-Enix cracks down on gardeners, sends out bans]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/08/square-enix-cracks-down-on-gardeners-sends-out-bans/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/08/square-enix-cracks-down-on-gardeners-sends-out-bans/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/08/square-enix-cracks-down-on-gardeners-sends-out-bans/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


If you've got a green thumb, you probably now have a sore thumb thanks to the Square-Enix banhammer. Gardeners across Final Fantasy XI have been complaining on fan forums that they've recently lost their accounts, only now tying the cause of their bans to their gardening activities.

Community site Pet Food Alpha has reported that Square-Enix is specifically targeting players who own more than one character for the explicit reason of gardening. Any level character can garden -- even right from the start of the game -- but no character can have more than 10 flowerpots at a time in their house. This has sparked players to purchase more character slots to simply expand their gardening enterprises, a common practice that has been done by players for over six years.

Players are unclear if these bans have been handed our by individuals on the RMT Task Force, or if they bans were created by one of Square-Enix's new automated tools. We'll keep our eyes on this story and update as new information comes in.

MassivelySquare-Enix cracks down on gardeners, sends out bans originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banbanningsbansbreakingfarmersgardeninggil-sellinggold-sellingrmt-pwnererrmt-task-forcesquare-enixWed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MapleStory joins the wild world of Twitter]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/29/maplestory-joins-the-wild-world-of-twitter/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/29/maplestory-joins-the-wild-world-of-twitter/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/29/maplestory-joins-the-wild-world-of-twitter/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Twitter needs to be classified as an addictive drug, we think. We seem to be using it, and we just can't stop ourselves anymore. We keep telling ourselves that it's just a simple RSS feed where we're limited in what we can type out to others, yet we keep going back to that internet street corner, begging for just one more tweet...

But hey, we've gotten company recently! MapleStory has created their own Twitter page as well, joining the rest of the world in answering the question "what are you doing right now?" If you're interested in the 2D MMO, just drop by their page and sign up for their tweets to stay atop of in-game news. Right now, they seem to be flaunting their recent gold farmer bannings (remind us to never get on MapleStory's badside), as well as talking to some of their fans regarding their MapleStory achievements.

Now, if you could excuse us, we feel we need to tweet again.

MassivelyMapleStory joins the wild world of Twitter originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 May 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2d2d-mmobanningsgold-farmersmaplestorynexontweettwitterFri, 29 May 2009 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: See the griefing, taste the griefing]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/14/anti-aliased-see-the-griefing-taste-the-griefing/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/14/anti-aliased-see-the-griefing-taste-the-griefing/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/14/anti-aliased-see-the-griefing-taste-the-griefing/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


If home is where the heart is, then PlayStation 3 users have some pretty cold, racist, and sexually demeaning hearts. Hearts that make Halo 3 players look like cute puppies in comparison. Now I'm not saying that PlayStation Home is not a great idea -- in theory it's a brilliant idea. Play in a world like Second Life, meet other users, play mini games, launch into full PS3 games, what's not to love about any of that?

Well, it seems Sony forgot about the precedents of other virtual worlds. Second Life, while nice, can have the uncanny ability to resemble slums in certain areas thanks to the scary nature of some of the creators. Xbox Live sports some of the most offensive users (NSFW) around. So how exactly was Home suppose to avoid the travesties that affect other worlds?

Sony has already stated that "user behavior and feedback" will shape where they go with the Home beta. If that's the case, where are they going to go? Totalitarian state, anyone?

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: See the griefing, taste the griefing

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: See the griefing, taste the griefing originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anti-aliasedbanningscensorshipchat-filteringcommunitycontentfeaturedhomejoystiqfeaturesplaystation-homeplaystation3quincyracistsecond-lifesexistvirtual-worldxbox-livexbox360Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:30:00 EST