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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[There's a conspiracy afoot: Funcom and EA co-publishing The Secret World]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/10/theres-a-conspiracy-afoot-funcom-and-ea-co-publishing-the-secr/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/10/theres-a-conspiracy-afoot-funcom-and-ea-co-publishing-the-secr/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/10/theres-a-conspiracy-afoot-funcom-and-ea-co-publishing-the-secr/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/horror/" rel="tag">Horror</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world/" rel="tag">The Secret World</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/legal/" rel="tag">Legal</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.darkdaysarecoming.com/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/01/tsw.jpg" alt="" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.darkdaysarecoming.com/"><em>The Secret World</em></a> went dark a few months ago -- no doubt to hatch nefarious, world-ending plots that involve brain leeches and alien zombies -- so it's good to see <a href="http://www.funcom.com/wsp/funcom/frontend.cgi?func=frontend.show&amp;template=home">Funcom's</a> sinister child poke its head up for some solid news. It turns out that Funcom's been involved in a conspiracy of sorts: <a href="http://www.funcom.com/wsp/funcom/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&amp;func_id=1437&amp;table=CONTENT&amp;item=1004">The company has signed a pact with EA Partners</a> to co-publish <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world/"><em>The Secret World</em></a>. EA Partners is a division of <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/ea/">Electronic Arts</a> that co-publishes third-party games such as <a href="http://www.ea.com/games/crysis"><em>Crysis </em></a>and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/all-points-bulletin/"><em>APB's</em></a> first incarnation.<br />
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Funcom CEO<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/trond-arne-aas/"> Trond Arne Aas</a> sees this as a way to propel the company's MMO to world domination: "<em>We are tremendously excited to be working with what is undoubtedly the world-leading games publisher for the past decade, and it is also a great testament to the fantastic work of our development team. The experience and the knowledge that Electronic Arts brings to the table will be instrumental in allowing us to realize the full potential of </em>The Secret World<em>."</em><br />
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<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/17/funcom-publishes-sharp-revenue-drop-for-q3/">Funcom's had a rocky few years with its finances</a>, which is why some doubted if <em>The Secret World</em> would ever make it to launch. Fortunately, this co-publishing deal seems to ensure that <em>TSW </em>will go the distance with two companies supporting it. We still have no word on the beta or release date, but this is at least a step toward the MMO seeing the light of day -- or the gloom of the night.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/10/theres-a-conspiracy-afoot-funcom-and-ea-co-publishing-the-secr/">There's a conspiracy afoot: Funcom and EA co-publishing The Secret World</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/10/theres-a-conspiracy-afoot-funcom-and-ea-co-publishing-the-secr/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19794280/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/10/theres-a-conspiracy-afoot-funcom-and-ea-co-publishing-the-secr/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>all-points-bulletin</category><category>apb</category><category>brain-leeches</category><category>breaking</category><category>co-publish</category><category>co-publishing</category><category>crysis</category><category>deal</category><category>ea</category><category>ea-partners</category><category>electronic-arts</category><category>funcom</category><category>legal</category><category>the-secret-world</category><category>trond-arne-aas</category><category>tsw</category><category>zombies</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Daily Grind: How often do you upgrade your gaming PC?]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/07/the-daily-grind-how-often-do-you-upgrade-your-gaming-pc/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/07/the-daily-grind-how-often-do-you-upgrade-your-gaming-pc/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/07/the-daily-grind-how-often-do-you-upgrade-your-gaming-pc/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/age-of-conan/" rel="tag">Age of Conan</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-daily-grind/" rel="tag">The Daily Grind</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-daily-grind"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/08/sillylookinggamingpc.jpg" /></a></div>
Well, it's that time of decade again, the cycle that comes around every three or four years when I'm forced to put an aging PC out to pasture. <a href="http://www.ageofconan.com"><em>Age of Conan's</em></a> new Khitai zones have brought my four-year-old gaming rig to its knees and, rather than run around looking at circa-1998 environment textures (and six minute load times), I recently took the upgrade plunge.<br />
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Luckily, most MMORPGs don't have the stringent hardware requirements that a lot of single-player games feature, and you can generally get away with relying on outdated hardware in our particular subset of gaming. For example, aside from a video card upgrade (driven by the silly desire to play <a href="http://www.ea.com/games/crysis"><em>Crysis</em></a> a couple years ago), I've been playing dozens of MMOs on a PC that hasn't been state-of-the-art since early 2006.<br />
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What about you, Massively readers? How often do you upgrade your gaming PCs, and has an MMORPG ever driven you to do so?<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/07/the-daily-grind-how-often-do-you-upgrade-your-gaming-pc/">The Daily Grind: How often do you upgrade your gaming PC?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/07/the-daily-grind-how-often-do-you-upgrade-your-gaming-pc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19579417/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/08/07/the-daily-grind-how-often-do-you-upgrade-your-gaming-pc/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>age-of-conan</category><category>aoc</category><category>crysis</category><category>funcom</category><category>gaming-machines</category><category>gaming-pc</category><category>hardware-requirements</category><category>khitai</category><category>opinion</category><category>pc-upgrade</category><category>rise-of-the-godslayer</category><category>system-builds</category><category>the-daily-grind</category><category>video-cards</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jef Reahard]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 07 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Rumor: Crytek Hiring for MMO Project]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/02/rumor-crytek-hiring-for-mmo-project/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/02/rumor-crytek-hiring-for-mmo-project/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/02/rumor-crytek-hiring-for-mmo-project/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/rumors/" rel="tag">Rumors</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58077"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/06/crytek.jpg" /></a></div>
We here at Massively like to keep our ear to the ground when it comes to potential new MMOs, and one of the indications that a company is moving in that direction comes from job wanted ads, believe it or not. <a href="http://www.crytek.com/">Crytek</a>, the makers of <em>Far Cry</em> and the <em>Crysis</em> series, recently put up a job posting for a Senior IT Manager that suggests they are looking into online gaming.<br />
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ShackNews <a href="http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/64065">reported on this ad</a>, noting that the company is looking for someone who would help in "designing, testing, and implementing as part of the development team, the systems infrastructure for an MMO online game." Ding ding ding, them are the magic words, so start the speculation. Of course, this may just be Crytek testing the waters and not a serious commitment on their behalf, especially considering that the mention of an MMO in this ad is only a small part of the responsibilities mentioned.<br />
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ShackNews also noted that Crytek <a href="http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58077">filed for three trademarks</a> over a year ago: Gface, Carvatar, and Kingdoms. Whether or not these have anything to do with a possible MMO project is anyone's guess, but it is a tantalizing possibility. We'll be sure to keep a close eye on Crytek to see if they make any more moves toward an online title. One thing is for sure: if they did create a MMO, you can bet the letters "cry" will be part of the title.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/02/rumor-crytek-hiring-for-mmo-project/">Rumor: Crytek Hiring for MMO Project</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/64065>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/02/rumor-crytek-hiring-for-mmo-project/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19500070/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/02/rumor-crytek-hiring-for-mmo-project/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>carvatar</category><category>crysis</category><category>crytek</category><category>farcry</category><category>gface</category><category>job-posting</category><category>kingdoms</category><category>rumor</category><category>senior-it-manager</category><category>shacknews</category><category>speculation</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Crytek's CryEngine in UK classrooms]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/12/cryteks-cryengine-in-uk-classrooms/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/12/cryteks-cryengine-in-uk-classrooms/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/12/cryteks-cryengine-in-uk-classrooms/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/aion/" rel="tag">Aion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/consoles/" rel="tag">Consoles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/academic/" rel="tag">Academic</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.crytek.com/technology/cryengine-3/screenshots/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/09/crytek.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></div>
Students of video game design in the United Kingdom should be doing back flips after hearing that <a href="http://massively.com/tag/crytek">Crytek</a> is donating their CryEngine free of charge <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/crytek-to-make-cryengine-free-to-uk-universities">to all universities in the country</a>. CryEngine is most famously known as the graphics engine behind visually stunning titles such as <a href="http://games.ea.com/crysis/"><em>Crysis</em></a> and <a href="http://aiononline.com"><em>Aion</em></a>.<br /><br />This is really big news because only the priciest universities tend to license high quality software for their students to learn on. They're the only ones that can afford it. It's also great for students to dream up pie in the sky concepts for games, but knowing what's practical in the real world is essential. <em>"Universities are looking to foster creativity and send people out into the industry who have lots of ideas, but it's also about that practical hands-on training so that they know what the limitations are,"</em> says Managing Director of <a href="http://crytek.com">Crytek</a> UK <a href="http://massively.com/tag/karl-hilton">Karl Hilton</a>. <em>"It's very easy for students to come out of the academic world and not have a grasp on the realities of making a video game."</em><br /><br />We hope more MMOs are released with CryEngine due to its stellar performance and scalability and it would be great if other graphics engine companies followed suit to increase the options in our genre.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/12/cryteks-cryengine-in-uk-classrooms/">Crytek's CryEngine in UK classrooms</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/crytek-to-make-cryengine-free-to-uk-universities>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/12/cryteks-cryengine-in-uk-classrooms/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19158694/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/12/cryteks-cryengine-in-uk-classrooms/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>aion</category><category>cryengine</category><category>cryengine-3</category><category>crysis</category><category>crytek</category><category>game-design</category><category>karl-hilton</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>university</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brooke Pilley]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Planet Calypso, formerly Entropia Universe, converts to CryEngine 2]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/15/planet-calypso-formerly-entropia-universe-converts-to-cryengin/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/15/planet-calypso-formerly-entropia-universe-converts-to-cryengin/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/15/planet-calypso-formerly-entropia-universe-converts-to-cryengin/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/entropia-universe/" rel="tag">Entropia Universe</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Economy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-in-game/" rel="tag">Events, in-game</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/launches/" rel="tag">Launches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/server-downtime/" rel="tag">Server downtime</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/virtual-worlds/" rel="tag">Virtual worlds</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.planetcalypso.com/news/pages/2009/08/10/9594/index.xml"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/08/calypsocryengine580.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></div>
In just two days, <a href="http://www.planetcalypso.com"><span style="font-style: italic;">Planet Calypso</span></a>, formerly <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/08/new-mmo-announced-from-the-entropia-universe-platform-planet-ca/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Project Entropia</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Entropia Universe</span></a>, will be shutting down for a major patch of epic proportions. The game will be undergoing a graphical refit, moving from their old graphics engine to the new <a href="http://www.cryengine2.com/">CryEngine 2</a> -- the same engine that powers <a href="http://games.ea.com/crysis/" style="font-style: italic;">Crysis</a> and upcoming virtual world <a href="http://www.bluemarsonline.com/"><em>Blue Mars</em></a>. <a href="http://www.file-extensions.org/imgs/app-picture/2919/entropia-universez.jpg">Old and busted</a>, meet the new hotness.<br /><br />The new version of the client, version 10, is <a href="http://www.planetcalypso.com/news/pages/2009/08/14/9313/index.xml">now available for download</a> before this whole conversion process takes place. The servers will be shut down on Sunday night/Monday morning at midnight UTC as version 10 is deployed to the servers. The servers will be unavailable for a few days, as the <a href="http://www.mindark.com/company/first-planet-company-ab/">First Planet Company</a> does a full diagnostic on the servers to make sure everything is good to go.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/15/planet-calypso-formerly-entropia-universe-converts-to-cryengin/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Planet Calypso, formerly Entropia Universe, converts to CryEngine 2</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/15/planet-calypso-formerly-entropia-universe-converts-to-cryengin/">Planet Calypso, formerly Entropia Universe, converts to CryEngine 2</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.planetcalypso.com/news/pages/2009/08/10/9594/index.xml>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/15/planet-calypso-formerly-entropia-universe-converts-to-cryengin/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19130123/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/15/planet-calypso-formerly-entropia-universe-converts-to-cryengin/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>breaking</category><category>cryengine</category><category>cryengine-2</category><category>crysis</category><category>crytek</category><category>entropia-universe</category><category>event</category><category>first-planet-company</category><category>patch</category><category>planet-calypso</category><category>project-entropia</category><category>server-downtime</category><category>update</category><category>version-10</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Seraphina Brennan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Blue Mars beta and launch dates disclosed]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/blue-mars-beta-and-launch-dates-disclosed/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/blue-mars-beta-and-launch-dates-disclosed/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/blue-mars-beta-and-launch-dates-disclosed/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/betas/" rel="tag">Betas</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/launches/" rel="tag">Launches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/blue-mars/" rel="tag">Blue Mars</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/virtual-worlds/" rel="tag">Virtual worlds</a></p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/blue-mars"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/11/bluemarsmaglevimageat425.jpg" /></a><br />When it comes to virtual worlds, Massively's main focus to date has clearly been on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/second-life"><em>Second Life</em></a>, but we're also interested in <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/02/blue-mars-sneak-preview/ ">some of the other choices</a> that are becoming available to residents in virtual spaces. <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/blue-mars"><em>Blue Mars</em></a> from <a href="http://www.avatar-reality.com/">Avatar Reality</a> is one that's caught our eye -- it's a sci-fi themed virtual world, set on a terraformed Mars in the year 2177 AD. The potential is there to have some stunning visuals, as <em>Blue Mars</em> is built on <a href="http://www.crytek.com/technology/cryengine-2/specifications/ ">CryEngine2</a>, best known for giving <a href="http://www.ea.com/crysis/"><em>Crysis</em></a> its look. <br /><br />The official Avatar Reality site lists a beta release for the end of 2008, but they've told <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net">Eurogamer</a> that <span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Mars</span> enters beta in January 2009.<span style="font-style: italic;"> "The first-time developer expects this to last for around three months, before the full game launches in April,"</span> Eurogamer's Rob Purchese reports.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/blue-mars-beta-and-launch-dates-disclosed/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Blue Mars beta and launch dates disclosed</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/blue-mars-beta-and-launch-dates-disclosed/">Blue Mars beta and launch dates disclosed</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=300874>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/blue-mars-beta-and-launch-dates-disclosed/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1373845/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/17/blue-mars-beta-and-launch-dates-disclosed/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>avatar-reality</category><category>betas</category><category>blue-mars</category><category>business-models</category><category>cryengine2</category><category>crysis</category><category>crytek</category><category>eurogamer</category><category>hawaii</category><category>launches</category><category>mars</category><category>minigames</category><category>rob-purchese</category><category>sci-fi</category><category>second-life</category><category>sl</category><category>tateru-nino</category><category>virtual-worlds</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Egan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[New MMO Forged by Chaos to use CryEngine 2]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/new-mmo-forged-by-chaos-to-use-cryengine-2/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/new-mmo-forged-by-chaos-to-use-cryengine-2/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/new-mmo-forged-by-chaos-to-use-cryengine-2/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/galleries/" rel="tag">Galleries</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a></p><center><a href="http://www.forgedbychaos.com"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="top" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/06/forgedbychaos_concart.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></center>Panzar Studio <a href="http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=53330">has announced</a> its development of <em><a href="http://www.forgedbychaos.com/">Forged by Chaos</a></em>, which will use the popular CryEngine 2 engine, which powered the PC game <em>Crysis</em>. From the looks of the character concept art, it needs all that power. CEO Vladimir Valkov says "For such a game as this we were searching for a modern graphics engine that was capable of utilizing DirectX 10 technology ... We were also impressed by their handy Sandbox 2 editor, which was designed to work with very expansive and highly detailed locations, their modern dynamic lighting model, and their character animation systems, including inverse kinematics and dynamics."<br /><br />There is currently no information on actual game mechanics or release date, but there is some lore on the site, as well as some concept art. We'll keep an eye on this title and provide more news as it develops. Doesn't some of this look like the <em><a href="http://www.warhammeronline.com/">Warhammer</a></em> aesthetic? Tons of doodads and gewgaws dangling from every available surface? This is the true definition of fantasy warfare.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/new-mmo-forged-by-chaos-to-use-cryengine-2/">New MMO Forged by Chaos to use CryEngine 2</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=53330>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/new-mmo-forged-by-chaos-to-use-cryengine-2/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1239456/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/29/new-mmo-forged-by-chaos-to-use-cryengine-2/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>cryengine-2</category><category>crysis</category><category>directx10</category><category>forged-by-chaos</category><category>panzar-studio</category><category>warhammer</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Akela Talamasca]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Action MMO powered by Crysis engine? That'll be The Day]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/action-mmo-powered-by-crysis-engine-thatll-be-the-day/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/action-mmo-powered-by-crysis-engine-thatll-be-the-day/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/action-mmo-powered-by-crysis-engine-thatll-be-the-day/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.ea.com/crysis/home.jsp"><img vspace="4" hspace="0" border="1" align="middle" alt="In the parallel world, all this was caused by a butterfly." src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2007/12/11theday.jpg" /></a><br />
<div align="left">Former employees of NCSoft and Phantagram have created a new studio to design a <em>'third-person massively multiplayer online action game'</em>? And it's powered by CryENGINE 2, the same game engine used in <span style="font-style: italic;">Crysis</span>? <a href="http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-korean-online-game-company-reloaded-studios-goes-global-/2007/12/05/3143413.htm">Tell me more.</a><br /></div>
</div>
<div align="left"><br />As it says in the press release: Reloaded Studios are a Seoul-based game company that seem to lack neither experience nor funding. Their first project is entitled <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/the-day"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Day,</span></a> and it aims to have a heavy emphasis on PvP combat plus a unique, immersive storyline involving parallel worlds and the destruction of <em>all humanity</em>. I also aim to solo Illidan Stormrage tomorrow.<br /><br /><em>The Day</em> joins a growing list of MMOs to use the Crysis engine, along with <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/entropia-universe"><span style="font-style: italic;">Entropia Universe</span></a> and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/blue-mars"><span style="font-style: italic;">Blue Mars</span></a>. They're both more virtual world than action MMO, though, and there's a lot of untapped potential in the latter. <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/planetside"><em>Planetside</em></a> never made much of an impact, but games in a similar vein are a market waiting to happen -- <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/25/next-halo-game-fps-mmo/">even if it isn't a <span style="font-style: italic;">Halo</span> MMO.</a></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/action-mmo-powered-by-crysis-engine-thatll-be-the-day/">Action MMO powered by Crysis engine? That'll be The Day</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-korean-online-game-company-reloaded-studios-goes-global-/2007/12/05/3143413.htm>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/action-mmo-powered-by-crysis-engine-thatll-be-the-day/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1059792/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/11/action-mmo-powered-by-crysis-engine-thatll-be-the-day/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>action</category><category>blue-mars</category><category>cryengine2</category><category>crysis</category><category>crytek</category><category>entropia-universe</category><category>halo-mmo</category><category>illidan-stormrage</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>phantagram</category><category>planetside</category><category>reloaded-studios</category><category>the-day</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Louis McLaughlin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:00:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
