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 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Plague epidemic speeds across Azeroth]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/09/15/plague-epidemic-speeds-across-azeroth/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/09/15/plague-epidemic-speeds-across-azeroth/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/09/15/plague-epidemic-speeds-across-azeroth/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

WoW
Gamers aren't known for their steadfast refusal to make use of any bugs or exploits present in a given system. While exploits are normally made to gain material or martial advantage over other players, sometimes it's just because being a scallywag is fun. Seven years ago we saw what was perhaps the most wide-scale example of such an exploit, as Warlocks and Hunters used their pets to spread a Corrupted Blood epidemic through World of Warcraft. Yesterday, a similar opportunity reared its disease-riddled head: A patch allowed Death Knights to use their plague skills on friendly players.

While the Corrupted Blood epidemic is somewhat celebrated in WoW, devs apparently weren't willing to have a repeat. A fix came out in the wee hours of the morning to keep Death Knights from wreaking too much havoc.

[Thanks to alert gamer Collin for the tip!]

MassivelyPlague epidemic speeds across Azeroth originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SWTOR
Star Wars: The Old Republic's moon (that's no moon...) is waxing, not waning, says Daniel Erickson. BioWare's lead designer on the project said that rumors of the game's demise are incredibly premature -- and outright wrong.

Following Update 1.2 and the Rakghoul Outbreak live event, Erickson reports that player activity in the game is increasing. He said that the studio is working hard to keep its customers happy: "The community has generally been excited about the direction the game is going as we finish up our last must-have quality of life features (group finder, etc) and can start concentrating full-time on creative things like the world events."

Erickson said that the live event was kept a surprise to make it "feel organic" and not spoil everything in this age of instant internet sharing. He said that the team took a cue from World of Warcraft's Corrupted Blood plague that swept through the game in 2005; the devs tried to channel players' actions to fun rather than griefing.

He says that the team discovered that SWTOR had a huge PvP community and has since "turned a huge amount of resources" to developing more content for that side of the game. BioWare's also shifted several team members over to creating more endgame content as the players chew through the stories at an increasing rate.

MassivelySWTOR on the rise and planning more PvP, endgame content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionbiowareblizzardblizzard-entertainmentcorrupted-bloodcorrupted-blood-incidentcorrupted-blood-plaguedaniel-ericksoneaelectronic-artsendgamefantasygroup-finderinterviewlive-eventlucasartsoutbreakpvprakghoul-outbreakrakghoul-plaguesci-fistar-warsstar-wars-the-old-republicsubsubscription-feeswtorthe-old-republictorupdate-1.2warcraftworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 02 May 2012 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[WoW a breeding ground for bio-terrorists?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/21/wow-a-breeding-ground-for-bio-terrorists/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/21/wow-a-breeding-ground-for-bio-terrorists/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/21/wow-a-breeding-ground-for-bio-terrorists/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Evidently, there is more to learn from World of Warcraft's infamous "Corrupted Blood" epidemic of 2005 then many had originally surmised. While it was originally thought to merely have limited epidemiological relevance, some are now considering looking at what it might may say about terrorist behavior and the use of biological agents. According to Charles Blair, deputy director for the Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, the deliberate spread of the disease by some players offers a unique perspective that can't really be simulated by computer models, due to the decision-making input of hundreds of independent, free-thinking individuals.

For our part, this all seems like a bit of a stretch on the part of the article's author. While in-game terrorist tactics with biological weapons do reflect their real life counter-parts in many ways (e.g. hitting big population centers, focusing on travel hubs to maximize spread, etc.) , we're not sure what sort of insights this sort of comparison could glean for people who are already experts on the topic. Moreover, when the most prominent group of pan-MMO cyber-terrorists are motivated by "lulz," it becomes evident that there's a profound disconnect with reality that has to be accounted for.

MassivelyWoW a breeding ground for bio-terrorists? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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