Massively

The SOPAbox: Defeating online piracy by destroying the internet

Brendan Drain — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Legal, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

Unless you've been living under a rock, chances are you've heard of SOPA and PIPA. The Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act are two radical pieces of copyright legislation currently being pushed through the US government. Although the stated intent of the new legislation is to provide companies with additional tools with which to combat piracy, the bill's loose wording has raised some serious alarm bells. Opponents to the proposed law say it would give corporations the ability to shut down any almost any website under the guise of protecting copyright infringement.

Gamers will be affected worst of all, as the loose wording of the law makes any website with user-submitted content potentially vulnerable to a shut down order. That could include YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, any blog with a comment section, or even any online game with a chat system. Perhaps the scariest part is that you'll be affected even if you're not in the US, as one of the new law's enforcement mechanisms is to remove a site from the DNS records, a move that assumes the US has jurisdiction over the global Domain Name System. AOL is among many huge companies strongly opposing SOPA, and so naturally Massively opposes it too.

In this week's massive two-page Soapbox, I make the case for why you should be worried about SOPA, and I suggest what can be done to tackle piracy in the games industry. Comments can be left on page two.

Continue reading The SOPAbox: Defeating online piracy by destroying the internet

The SOPAbox: Defeating online piracy by destroying the internet originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of League of Legends

Brendan Drain — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Trailers, Video, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Casual, Not So Massively

Of all the games in the newly emerged MOBA genre, League of Legends is by far the biggest and most successful. The original Defense of the Ancients mod for WarCraft 3 propelled that game to become one of the most played games of the past decade, and standalone remakes have come to challenge that position. LoL recently passed the 15 million registered player mark, with much of that success being due to the game's free-to-play business model and casual gameplay.

The recently launched Dominion game mode added capture-point gameplay in shorter and more casual matches, and we were keen to try it out. Last week Massively staffers Patrick Mackey, Matt Daniel and I were joined by Tina Lauro and friends from GamerGaia for a few games of League of Legends as part of our Not So Massively livestream. While we were all vaguely familiar with MOBA gameplay, most of us had never played League of Legends. After the stream, Patrick and I played several more games of Dominion to get a feel for LoL's newest game mode.

If you've ever been tempted to take the plunge into LoL, skip past the cut for our first impressions of both normal League of Legends games and Dominion matches.

Continue reading Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of League of Legends

Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of League of Legends originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Path of Exile

Brendan Drain — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Video, Game mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Livestream, Not So Massively

Path of Exile is an upcoming online action RPG by relatively new developer Grinding Gear Games. The game boasts a dark and gritty game world with randomly generated levels and dozens of different skills, all the things that old-school fans of the Diablo series loved. The game is currently in the closed beta stages, but the developers say it will be free-to-play when released and will feature an online world able to support hundreds of thousands of players. The game servers will use the Guild Wars model of communal town districts leading to instanced combat areas, making the game potentially more MMO than online action RPG.

Grinding Gear Games was kind enough to give Massively a few beta keys and permission to livestream the game in its current beta state. The livestream was a huge success, with over 200 people tuning in to check out the game and have a chance of winning a beta key. In this article, Massively's Patrick Mackey and I deliver our first impressions of the Path of Exile beta based on last week's livestream and further play time.

Skip past the cut for Massively's first impressions of the Path of Exile beta.

Continue reading Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Path of Exile

Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Path of Exile originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 22 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Bloodline Champions

Brendan Drain — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Not So Massively

Of all the MOBAs on the market today, Bloodline Champions is probably the most action-oriented. Traditional MOBA gameplay with lanes, towers, and creeps is thrown out the window in favour of fast-paced action and skill-based aiming. Produced by indie developer Stunlock Studios, Bloodline Champions won the Best XNA Game award at 2009's Swedish Game Awards and went on to officially launch at the start of this year.

Since the game's release, Stunlock and publisher Funcom have worked together to introduce Bloodline Champions to the e-sports and competitive gaming arenas, sponsoring several competitive tournaments with cash prizes. Massively staffers Patrick Mackey, Matt Daniel and I recently spent a night of frantically smashing internet people to pieces in this high-action MOBA to see what all the fuss was about.

In this collaborative hands-on impressions piece, the three of us give our first impressions of Bloodline Champions.

Continue reading Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Bloodline Champions

Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of Bloodline Champions originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: [Insert intimidating music here]

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Screenshots, EVE Online, One Shots

One Shots Massively staff pick week continues, and Brendan Drain -- our resident EVE Online fanatic -- is up to bat:

This isn't just a nicely composed picture looking down an Archon class carrier; there's actually a fantastic story behind this screenshot. It was recovered from a stranded nomadic wormhole fleet that wandered into our hidden home system. I wrote up the cutthroat tale of how we "recovered" the ship for an edition of my EVE Evolved column back in 2009. I don't want to spoil the story, but to give you an idea of how things kicked off, I can say we named the plan "Operation Bastard."

Keep your eyes on One Shots all week to see what the Massively staff loves playing and showing off. Next week's theme is all about gear. It'll be your chance to show off your most epic armor and weapons and tell us all about how you acquired them! The week after that is pet week, and we can't wait to see your awesome pet companions and hear all about them. Just send a screenshot to oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a paragraph or two telling us about what we're seeing!

One Shots: [Insert intimidating music here] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Massively's top news stories of 2009>>

Gallery: Massively's top 5 original features for 2009

Massively's top 5 original features for 2009 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online's official magazine E-ON releases latest quarterly issue

James Egan — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online

E-ON is the official magazine of EVE Online, released quarterly and one of the most focused sources of EVE content out there. We've spoken with E-ON in the past and a few of us on the Massively staff are regular readers -- our EVE columnist Brendan Drain has been an E-ON contributor himself. The Spring issue of E-ON is now shipping and although it doesn't have the instant gratification of clicking on a hyperlink, there's some excellent content there that we really want to mention to our readers and in general point out that E-ON has a lot to offer EVE Online players.

This issue's cover story is "The End of New Eden" by Jim Rossignol and is an inquiry into the dreaded question of when the game will finally run out of steam. Sad as it is, all MMOs end eventually. Or do they have to?

The E-ON cover story looks at how different EVE is from the other MMOs running. Since EVE is really all about what happens in New Eden, an open sprawling galaxy where players do what they choose, the game isn't necessarily tied into expansion zones, new classes, certain quests or raid bosses. In other words, EVE doesn't suffer from the pitfall many MMOs do in that players quickly progress through the new content and then have nowhere else to go. EVE is unique in that it's a setting -- sometimes a harsh setting -- where PvP and PvE exist side-by-side and players determine their own path. Perhaps it's that freedom that's been a draw for many players so far and "The End of New Eden" looks at the prospects for this attraction continuing in future years. As there will be no EVE Online 2, it's all about one continually evolving setting and the possibilities this brings, and Rossignol's article is well worth a read.

Continue reading EVE Online's official magazine E-ON releases latest quarterly issue

EVE Online's official magazine E-ON releases latest quarterly issue originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Angel at war

Krystalle Voecks — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, EVE Online, One Shots

The ships in EVE Online may be varied in look, size, and function - but all of them are extremely well modeled and lovely to look at. As many only get a chance to see other ships in battle, we're glad to present this ship today as part of One Shots. This particular screenshot comes to us from our very own Brendan "Nyphur" Drain, who writes the entertainingly informative column for us, EVE Evolved. Brendan tells us a bit about this ship today: This is an NPC Angel battleship. The Guardian Angels are a pirate faction that use primarily Minmatar weaponry such as auto-cannons and artillery. The ship seen here is called a Machariel and a version of it is available for players, with limited run blueprints dropped as rare loot at the end of hard-to-find complexes (dungeons).

If you've got screenshots, we need them! One Shots is best when it has community input, so we're reaching out to you. We're looking for any and all screenshots that you think are cool. Have something to show off that you're proud of? Want to tell everyone how cool your group of MMO friends are? Or maybe you just found some area, npc, or the like that you think is pretty awesome and should be shown off. Whatever your reasons, we want to hear from you. Grab a screenshot (or a bunch) and send them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, game and any other information you'd like to add. We'll post your screen and share your tale with all the Massively readers worldwide!

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Angel at war originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet the Team: Brendan Drain

Brendan Drain — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Massively Meta, Meet the Team

Once a week our writers will give you a glimpse into their lives, to let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more Meet the Team.

What do you do for Massively.com?
I'm an EVE Online columnist here at Massively. Rather than writing short blog posts, I write the EVE Evolved column every Sunday and cover EVE topics ranging from guides and game mechanic commentaries to PvP and economics. I'm also the resident EVE Online expert and occasionally people call on me with questions.

Sometimes I'll write a featured article about another game that I'm enjoying such as when I looked at free running and urban exploration in MMOs and when I took a tour of Age of Conan's player cities.

Gallery: Meet the Team

Continue reading Meet the Team: Brendan Drain

Meet the Team: Brendan Drain originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Medic!

Krystalle Voecks — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Screenshots, EVE Online, One Shots

There's always something going on in New Eden. From the basics like mining and mission running to huge PvP wars, Tranquility is abuzz with activity. Today's One Shots comes from Massively's very own EVE Online columnist, Brendan Drain, who is also known in the EVE community as Nyphur. Brendan's weekly column, EVE Evolved, keeps players in-the-know on this highly interesting sandbox MMO - and the note he sent along with today's One Shots is no exception to his normal insight. Brendan tells us a bit about this interesting ship: This is an Oneiros, the Gallente logistics cruiser. Its role is basically the healer class out of other MMOs. With a massive bonus to remote armor repairer range and capacitor use, these ships are perfect for assisting with difficult level 5 missions and are very useful in organised PVP gangs.

Are there any insights, tips, or tricks you'd like to give others in regards to your favorite game? Perhaps you'd like to show off your favorite ship, as our other EVE Online writer James Egan did, or you have great screens of PvP. If you've got screenshots from your favorite MMO, we want them! Just send them in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and a brief description. Yours could be the next one featured here!

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Medic! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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