Massively

Ask Massively: No idea what's coming edition

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous

I don't know what's going to happen next in the MMO industry. I have my guesses, sure, but unless I'm fairly certain, I just don't feel right putting them up here. I certainly would not have ever imagined a world where APB: Reloaded was successful, or one where Lineage II goes free-to-play, and until it was announced, I wouldn't dare dream of WildStar. Heck, half the time I'm not sure I understand what's going on at any given moment, much less several months down the line.

This week's Ask Massively received several questions that require me to be more confident about my predictions than I actually am, but it does contain a question about the future of Aion and a question on the past, present, and future of cheating. If you've got a question you'd like to see answered in a future installment of the column, leave it in the comments below or send it along to ask@massively.com. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity.

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Ask Massively: No idea what's coming edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EverQuest to hackers: You've been served

Matt Daniel — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Culture, News items

In a suitably ominous speech on the EverQuest forums, Sony Online Entertainment's Piestro delivered a word of warning to the cheaters, hackers, and exploiters of Norrath: "Stop now." Piestro goes on to reveal that the team has been quietly performing some clandestine work that helps "[detect] cheaters quickly and accurately."

This should be good news for fans of the old-school title who enjoy playing the game on a level field. Hackers, however, should back down at once, because -- as Piestro warns -- "there will be no second chances." Also, because cheating makes you a jerk.

EverQuest to hackers: You've been served originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are alts and mules a form of cheating?

Brianna Royce — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

In response to Beau's recent Free For All column on the topic of botters and cheaters, reader Keith wrote in to suggest that there's another form of cheating much more common and pervasive: the use of alternate characters. In games like EVE Online or Star Wars Galaxies, which limit the number of characters players can create, extra accounts are manipulated to allow a single player access to more skills through alts ("skill mules"), more storage space ("bank mules" and "auction mules"), or more avenues for safe PvP scouting. But the problem occurs in alt-friendly games too, like World of Warcraft, where it's not uncommon to see someone five-boxing an entire team of Shamans, or Ultima Online, where it's standard practice for every player to have a "craft mule" who loads up on tradeskills (to the detriment of the player economy).

What do you think? Are alts and mules just another form of cheating, one that allows players with excess character slots or extra accounts unfair advantages? Or are "slave" characters just a natural and necessary part of online gaming?

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!

The Daily Grind: Are alts and mules a form of cheating? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you feel companies do enough to fight bots?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

They lurk in the dark corners of every MMO, sometimes farming gold, sometimes just taking care of tasks that actual players feel are too tedious to bother with. Bots have been a part of the MMO sphere for years now, and while games like RuneScape have recently brought them back to the foreground of attention, nothing has ever managed to push them completely out of the limelight. If you play an MMO, you have to work around them.

Development teams, of course, regard bots as fundamental problems, and usually a great deal of time is devoted to trying to quash bots for farming or repetitive tasks. But do you feel enough is done to try and stop them? Do you believe they're a result of game systems that are designed for too much grind and not enough fun? Or do you think they're just another face of cheating and deserve no special attention?

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!

The Daily Grind: Do you feel companies do enough to fight bots? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All Points Bulletin Reloaded blog post focuses on the "home stretch" to launch

Matt Daniel — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Bugs, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime

Enforcers and criminals better listen up, because it's time for another All Points Bulletin Reloaded blog post. This one focuses on the open beta "home stretch," as the post's title refers to it. With the game's patch 1.5.3 hot off the press, the team is gearing up for patches 1.5.4 through 1.5.7, which are the last planned patches prior to the game's official launch.

So what kind of issues have been spotted throughout the span of open beta, and what does the team hope to accomplish prior to the game's official release? Well, sit down and get comfy, because the team has put together quite a list, included after the jump.

Continue reading All Points Bulletin Reloaded blog post focuses on the "home stretch" to launch

All Points Bulletin Reloaded blog post focuses on the "home stretch" to launch originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Avatar breaks out the banhammer for Perpetuum cheaters

Jef Reahard — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Perpetuum, Dev Diaries

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.

Avatar 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.

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The Road to Mordor: Frozen in time

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor

My goat snorted as it cleared the final rise, and I pulled its reins to bring it to a halt. Raising a hand to shield my eyes from the sun, I gazed at the decrepit ruins before me.

A chill ran up my spine as I imagined the horrors that awaited me within the crumbling structure. For many days I had traveled the countryside looking for just this place, yet now that I'd found it, I was unsure whether I wanted to be here at all. My guides had long since fled in terror, abandoning gear and food in their haste to flee what they called "evil territory."

I curled my fist and summoned all of the powers of determination that remained within me. It had to be done. I had come too far and shed too much blood to turn my back on the ruins' ancient secrets right as I was on the verge of discovery. Sure, it was the beginning of every scary play ever, but I knew completely that my destiny would be made or broken in the next few minutes.

I kicked my mount into action, and we solemnly entered the deep shadows of the ruins' domain. It was do or die time.

"FREEZE TAG!" I shouted. "GAME ON!"

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Frozen in time

The Road to Mordor: Frozen in time originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB Reloaded open beta coming May 18th

Jef Reahard — Tue, 03 May 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Real life, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Dev Diaries

Mark your calendars, APB fans. May 18th is a big day in the history of the resurrected title since it marks the official start of open beta. Bjorn Book-Larsson broke the good news yesterday on the APB Reloaded blog, and he had a few other interesting nuggets to discuss as well.

GamersFirst's character restoration service should make its first appearance today around 4:00 p.m. PDT, and APB veterans from the Realtime Worlds days will be able to reclaim their old avatars and customizations. If you're unsure if you qualify, check your inbox as GamersFirst will be sending out email notices to everyone with an available reclaim.

Book-Larsson also talks briefly about some of the company's plans for dealing with cheaters. No details are given, of course, but GamersFirst is apparently very aware of all the attempted aimbotting going on thus far in the beta. Finally, there's a blurb concerning new item rollouts in the coming days, as well as some info relating to the game's payment interface. Head to the official APB Reloaded blog for more.

APB Reloaded open beta coming May 18th originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 May 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New APB Reloaded dev blog outlines aimbot policies

Jef Reahard — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Dev Diaries

This week's APB Reloaded dev blog is live, and GamersFirst CEO Bjorn Book-Larsson gives way to Aphadon, a former AI engineer on the Realtime Worlds version of APB who is currently overseeing the anti-cheat systems for the new incarnation of the game. Aphadon details the original implementation of PunkBuster in APB (and the performance and connection-related disasters that it caused for players in the beta), and states that it eventually was able to detect "every single commercially available aimbot." Due to the financial problems at Realtime Worlds, the APB team was never able to ban the thousands of cheaters that were identified in the original game.

For chapter two, Aphadon states that the problems with PunkBuster have been ironed out, and anti-cheat measures will be enabled from the start of APB Reloaded's closed beta. GamersFirst is also planning a hard line approach when it comes to dealing with aimbotters. Aphadon says that first-time offenders will be immediately kicked and their accounts (and PCs) banned temporarily. A second offense will result in a permanent account and PC ban.

New APB Reloaded dev blog outlines aimbot policies originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB Reloaded blog talks hackers and cheaters

Jef Reahard — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Dev Diaries

Bjorn Book-Larsson has a lot to say about APB Reloaded, the forthcoming reanimation of APB's corpse, courtesy of free-to-play publisher GamersFirst. Book-Larsson, the company's COO/CTO, has been blogging about the resurgent title for a few weeks now, and veteran players and prospective newbs alike will want to take a gander at his latest entry.

The blog focuses on APB's anti-cheat protections and, while it doesn't go into great detail for obvious reasons, Book-Larsson does make a decent case for APB Reloaded's level playing field. First off, he points out that the server-driven game is "more resilient to cheaters than most other F2P MMOs" due to the fact that F2P titles generally don't spend the same kind of money on infrastructure in comparison to your average P2P title. "In APB we are going to run a giant experiment to basically determine if hardware costs/specs have progressed far enough to make F2P server-driven games financially viable," he says.

Book-Larsson goes on to discuss the aim-bot problem, as well as various denial-of-service attacks that GamersFirst has dealt with over the past few years. It's an interesting read for anyone curious about APB Reloaded or MMO security, and also offers a humorous bit of insight relating to the over-reporting of cheaters.

APB Reloaded blog talks hackers and cheaters originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The lesser of two evils is still evil

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Exploits, MMO industry, Opinion

There are a lot of choices we face where we don't so much pick a good option as we pick the option that's least negative. Most people would argue that going to work is a better choice than faking illness and calling out, but not really a choice they like. Kill Ten Rats recently posed an interesting question along the same lines: would you rather your game have gold farmers or cheaters?

As the full piece argues, gold farmers are the greater evil to the companies running the game -- they aren't paying customers and they're disrupting the playerbase. But the average player is more likely to run into cheaters than gold farmers, and they're more likely to have a direct negative effect upon the experience of the game. Yet teams tend to be more active in pursuing gold farmers (witness Aion's theatrical destruction of them) because cheaters, to the company, are a slightly lesser problem.

Obviously, it's not a binary equation, and some games (such as Final Fantasy XI) place both at an equally high target priority. The fundamental question, however, is an excellent one -- cheating jerks, or RMT bots? There's no good option.

The lesser of two evils is still evil originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaders have questions, and Darkfall's Tasos Flambouras has answers

Seraphina Brennan — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Game mechanics, Guilds, Interviews, PvP

Darkfall blogger extraordinaire Paragus recently sat down with some of the biggest alliance leaders of Agon, collecting questions to take back to Aventurine's very own Tasos Flambouras for answering.

While not all of the questions are actually questions (we see those declarative statements, you can't hide them from our prying eyes), Tasos attempts to provide answers to some of Darkfall's biggest problems. Crashing during battles, game mechanics overthrowing battle strategies, six hour sieges, political options in the interface, inability to purchase the game, and the burning question of what Aventurine is doing to deal with cheaters are all covered in this lengthy two page interview.

The entire interview has been posted to MMORPG.com. If you're looking for a peek inside of the mind of Aventurine, or the mind of Tasos, in the very least, don't hesitate to jump on over and catch his answers to some burning questions.

Leaders have questions, and Darkfall's Tasos Flambouras has answers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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