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[New Pathfinder dev blog talks contract, questing mechanics]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/new-pathfinder-dev-blog-talks-contract-questing-mechanics/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/new-pathfinder-dev-blog-talks-contract-questing-mechanics/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/23/new-pathfinder-dev-blog-talks-contract-questing-mechanics/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Pathfinder Online - This guy broke his contract
The latest Pathfinder Online dev blog is all about contracts. It's also about 20,000 pages long, so reading it starts to feel like reading a real contract after about the 10,000 page mark. OK, it's not all that bad. Heck it's actually pretty interesting stuff, since most MMOs these days go out of their way to segregate players from each other and from decisions that have lasting gameplay implications.

Not so in Pathfinder, thanks to its contract mechanics, which Ryan Dancey says are like "a questing system hidden in plain sight." While some of what you'll read in this particular blog is theoretical (and as such, it carries the standard subject-to-change disclaimers), the system as it stands right now is broken down into four in-game tools: escrow, reputation, alignment, and the law.

Contracts themselves are sub-divided into assassination, auction, bounty, guard, loan, purchase, sale, and transportation flavors. It sounds somewhat complex, but there's definitely a method to Goblinworks' madness. "Ideally, most of the commercial, diplomatic, and adventuring activities in the game will develop through player-to-player contracting," Dancey writes. "If somebody offers you a reward for bringing them 10 rat tails, it will be because another player needs 10 rat tails for some reason, not just because an NPC has an exclamation point bobbing over his head."

MassivelyNew Pathfinder dev blog talks contract, questing mechanics originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 May 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>contractsfantasygoblinworkspathfinderpathfinder-contractspathfinder-onlinepnpquestingryan-danceysandboxsandparkWed, 23 May 2012 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Five scams to avoid]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/04/eve-evolved-five-scams-to-avoid/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/04/eve-evolved-five-scams-to-avoid/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/04/eve-evolved-five-scams-to-avoid/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

EVE Evolved title image
Anyone who's familiar with EVE Online will have heard stories of the game's criminal underworld, from devastating corporate infiltration to the daily grafting of common con artists. Most players will never perpetrate a scam, but those who do are constantly coming up with new tricks to part you from your hard-earned ISK. For every genuine smooth-talking con-artist who comes up with new schemes and socially engineers his way to a fortune, you'll find dozens of copycats who flood popular chat channels with scams they've seen perpetrated in the past.

On an average day, over 90% of the chat in Jita's local channel is people posting copycat scams, with legitimate offers completely drowned out. There may not even be anyone at the helm with these scams, as a script could easily paste the scam message every few minutes for an entire day. Not confined to Jita, these scams are often replicated across all of the game's main trade hubs and popular mission-running systems. Knowing how these scams work is the first step to protecting yourself from making an expensive and extremely embarrassing mistake.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I explain the trick behind five of EVE's most common copycat scams and how to protect yourself from them.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Five scams to avoid

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Five scams to avoid originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-gamescontractseconomicseconomyeveeve-evolvedeve-onlinefeaturedguidemarketopinionsandboxscamscamssci-fiSun, 04 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Improvements on the way for EVE Online's contract system]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/improvements-on-the-way-for-eve-onlines-contract-system/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/improvements-on-the-way-for-eve-onlines-contract-system/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/improvements-on-the-way-for-eve-onlines-contract-system/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

There are many professions open to players in EVE Online, but it's the trading that often draws players to the game. Due to the number of players buying and selling on EVE's single server and the fact that items are destroyed on death, a savvy player can find countless opportunities for profit. To avoid overloading the market window with thousands of items most players will never need to buy, CCP limits rare and unusual items to being sold on the contract system. Items can be listed as auctions or direct sales, and players can search for items by name.

The system has been working amicably for years, but recently several back-end performance issues were identified in it. As part of CCP's on-going war on lag, major back-end optimisations were made. Due to this restructuring of how contracts are handled on the EVE server, several new features have suddenly become possible. In a new devblog, CCP Atlas explains the back-end improvements and what they mean for the average player. Several features players have asked for over the years are on the way, such as the ability to put damaged items into contracts.

Ammo in the guns of a ship being contracted will now be moved into the ship's cargo hold rather than the item hangar, and ship insurance will no longer be voided when a ship is contracted. A whole host of improvements are also on the way to make the terms of courier missions more obvious. Players will be informed of the dangers of a contract before they accept it, including dangerous systems en-route and whether the destination station might refuse them docking rights. The upgrades are already live on the EVE test server and will be hitting the live server as part of the Incursion expansion's third phase in January.

MassivelyImprovements on the way for EVE Online's contract system originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-eveccp-gamescontractcontractscourierdevblogeveeve-ccpeve-mmorpgeve-onlineimprovementsincursionprofessionstradetradingTue, 28 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Trading: Advanced trading, part 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/22/eve-evolved-trading-advanced-trading-part-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/22/eve-evolved-trading-advanced-trading-part-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/22/eve-evolved-trading-advanced-trading-part-2/#commentsContinue reading EVE Evolved: Trading: Advanced trading, part 2

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Trading: Advanced trading, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>buyingccpccp-gamescontractsDominioneveeve-evolvedeve-onlineexpansionfeaturedguidehaulingiskmanipulationmarginmarketprofessionsprofitpvepvpsellingspeculationtipstips-and-trickstradingSun, 22 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Trading: Advanced trading]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/22/eve-evolved-trading-advanced-trading/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/22/eve-evolved-trading-advanced-trading/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/22/eve-evolved-trading-advanced-trading/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the first part of this guide I covered the basics of trading in EVE Online and some of the jobs best suited to newer players. There's a lot more to trading than buying low and selling high and in this week's installment, I'll cover some of the more advanced trading and marketeering tactics that have proven themselves effective in EVE. From margin trading on the market to making a living off the contracts page, anyone with enough dedication can learn to rake in hundreds of millions of ISK per day without even leaving the station. For the gamblers and risk-takers among you, market speculation and price manipulation can produce incredible short-term profit but with significant risks attached.

In this second part of my concise guide on trading, I look at margin trading on the market, playing the contract pages, market speculation around patches and the dirty art of market manipulation.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Trading: Advanced trading

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Trading: Advanced trading originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>buyingccpccp-gamescontractsDominioneveeve-evolvedeve-onlineexpansionfeaturedguidehaulingiskmanipulationmarginmarketprofessionsprofitpvepvpsellingspeculationtipstips-and-trickstradingSun, 22 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Trading: The basics, page 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/15/eve-evolved-trading-the-basics-page-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/15/eve-evolved-trading-the-basics-page-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/15/eve-evolved-trading-the-basics-page-2/#commentsContinue reading EVE Evolved: Trading: The basics, page 2

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Trading: The basics, page 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>buyingccpccp-gamescontractscouriereveeve-evolvedeve-onlinefeaturedguidehaulingiskmarketprofessionsprofitpverefiningsellingtipstips-and-trickstradingSun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Trading: The basics]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/15/eve-evolved-trading-the-basics/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/15/eve-evolved-trading-the-basics/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/15/eve-evolved-trading-the-basics/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Of all the moneymaking endeavours you can take in EVE Online, trading is perhaps the one with the highest potential for profit. While mission-running profit tops out at a few tens of millions per hour and the profit margin from production isn't that big, trading is limited only by the amount of effort you're willing to put in and is much improved by inherent business talent. At the low end of the trading spectrum, beginners can make a healthy income ferrying items from A to B. At the other extreme, a market-savvy individual can pull billions per week out of the players in EVE's great conglomerated marketplaces.

In this first guide in a short series on trading, I look at the different types of trading options available to newer EVE players.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Trading: The basics

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Trading: The basics originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>buyingccpccp-gamescontractscouriereveeve-evolvedeve-onlinefeaturedguidehaulingiskmarketprofessionsprofitpverefiningsellingtipstips-and-trickstradingSun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Online extended Thursday downtime to bring numerous fixes to game]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/13/eve-online-extended-thursday-downtime-to-bring-numerous-fixes-to/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/13/eve-online-extended-thursday-downtime-to-bring-numerous-fixes-to/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/13/eve-online-extended-thursday-downtime-to-bring-numerous-fixes-to/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


CCP Games has announced that EVE Online will be patched to Apocrypha 1.2 on Thursday, May 14, and will require extended server downtime. Downtime is expected to last from 05:00 GMT to 12:00 GMT. The game's official forums will be unavailable for at least part of the downtime, CCP states.

The sheer number of changes being made to EVE Online with this patch -- some minor, others major -- is beyond the scope of this post. However, there are a few significant aspects of Apocrypha 1.2 we'd like to point out for our readers:

Continue reading EVE Online extended Thursday downtime to bring numerous fixes to game

MassivelyEVE Online extended Thursday downtime to bring numerous fixes to game originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 13 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>apocryphaccp-gamescloakcloakingcontractsdreadnaughtdreadnaughtseveeve-onlineforumsgame-mechanicsnaglfarnerfpatchpatch-notespatchesscamssci-fiserver-downtimeWed, 13 May 2009 15:00:00 EST