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Blizzard hosting live Mists of Pandaria dev chat on October 27th

Jef Reahard — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Events, real-world, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries

Oh, those crazy Blizzard devs! They just can't seem to stay out of the news lately. The latest bit of panda-related madness comes courtesy of tomorrow's dev chat announcement. If you've got questions about the newly revealed Mists of Pandaria expansion pack, you'll want to sign up for a CoverItLive account and prepare to fire away at Blizz's best and brightest.

If you've got complaints, well, it's a moderated dev chat so you're probably out of luck. In any event, the fireworks start at 8:00 p.m. EDT, and you can read all of the details at the official Battle.net website.

Blizzard hosting live Mists of Pandaria dev chat on October 27th originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pitchblack shows off Prime beta footage in latest dev chat

Jef Reahard — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox

If you missed the latest Prime: Battle for Dominus dev chat this past Friday, fear not! Massively has you covered via the video embed after the cut, and it's chock full of juicy sci-fi pseudo-sandbox goodness (as well as a bit of gameplay footage). The whole presentation runs just upwards of 50 minutes, and the in-game footage features video captures from the current beta build.

Ranged and melee combat is evident, as are several different environments. The devs call attention to the game's three-faction PvP elements, and though the brief clips show relatively small groups of combatants, that will eventually change in favor of large-scale engagements.

Pitchblack also says that it's getting ready to release a few official combat videos, so stay tuned to Massively for the latest and greatest Prime: BFD news and views.

[Thanks to Bartillo for the tip!]

Continue reading Pitchblack shows off Prime beta footage in latest dev chat

Pitchblack shows off Prime beta footage in latest dev chat originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PlanetSide 2 devs answer questions via Twitter

Jef Reahard — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2

MMO Crunch has the details on Sony Online Entertainment's PlanetSide 2 Twitter question-and-answer session that went down on September 16th. The chat covered a lot of ground and answered quite a few of the PlanetSide nation's most burning questions.

What kinds of questions?

Well, there are bits about customizable armor, bunny hopping, strafing, sun glare as it affects pilots, online vs. offline skill training, and dozens more where those came from. PlanetSide 2 fans will also be happy to know that each of the game's continents will support over 2000 simultaneous players, and said continents will feature varied environments including snow-covered terrain, glaciers, and forests. Check out an abbreviated list of discussion points after the break.

Continue reading PlanetSide 2 devs answer questions via Twitter

PlanetSide 2 devs answer questions via Twitter originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE gearing up for PlanetSide 2 dev chats

Jef Reahard — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, PlanetSide, MMO industry, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2

PlanetSide 2 is in the news again this week, but to be honest we don't know all the details as of yet. Sony Online Entertainment has sent out a press blurb stating that it will be "brief[ing] the troops on anything and everything related to the art of PlanetSide 2." This includes a chat with senior art director Tramell Isaac (whom die-hard fans will recognize as the art director on the original PlanetSide) scheduled for Tuesday, September 27th.

Tramell will be discussing "the original PlanetSide's legacy and influence on PlanetSide 2's art style, and how SOE's powerful ForgeLight engine will carry this vision forward."

Thursday brings a PlanetSide 2 webcast (also with a focus on art direction). After that, fans can look forward to a Twitter chat on Friday, and the dev team will be fielding multiple questions relating to the upcoming sci-fi MMOFPS.

SOE gearing up for PlanetSide 2 dev chats originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friends, Romans, noobs, lend me your ear: Gods & Heroes devs answer community questions

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Video, Community Q&A

Sometimes it makes a world of difference to put a name to a face, especially when it comes to the often-mythologized field of MMO development. The Gods & Heroes team recently sat down in front of a camera to not only answer community questions but give you a sense of who the team members are, how they function together, and what they look like.

Topics on hand for the discussion included Heatwave Interactive's favorite memories from Gamescom, fixing problems with the latest patch, the combat range changes, the ongoing production blog that one of the devs is writing, promotions for Steam and other distributors of the game, a "targeted marketing campaign" that's going to launch in the next couple of weeks, and a future update tenatively scheduled for mid-October.

You can watch the full USTREAM recording of the dev chat after the jump!

Continue reading Friends, Romans, noobs, lend me your ear: Gods & Heroes devs answer community questions

Friends, Romans, noobs, lend me your ear: Gods & Heroes devs answer community questions originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA devs talk guild housing and more in Twitter chat

Jef Reahard — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, TERA

In case you missed it, En Masse is hosting a TERA production chat via Twitter on the third Friday of every month. The transcript of last Friday's session is now live on the official TERA website, and there were a few noteworthy nuggets dropped by producer Brian Knox and community manager Evan Berman during the course of the event.

Among the interesting blurbs on display are the fact that guild housing is back on the dev team's radar, and the feature may yet make it into the game's spring 2012 launch. Also of note are a couple of general numbers relating to the size of the dev team (70 at En Masse and over 200 at Korea's Bluehole Studio, where the game is originating). Finally, there was a bit of a teaser for a big TERA-related announcement at next week's PAX community event, so keep your eyes and ears peeled!

TERA devs talk guild housing and more in Twitter chat originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Prime: Battle for Dominus releases new game info, dev chat coming tomorrow

Jef Reahard — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Livestream

Yay, sci-fi MMO news! If that doesn't twirl your beanie, how about this: Three-faction sci-fi MMO news! Yes, Pitchblack Games has sent out a new press release, and we're here to tell you that it features some pretty spiffy stuff.

First up is a bunch of website updates for Prime: Battle for Dominus, including backstory and info on the game's 11 explorable worlds. Pitchblack has also put together a combat update, and juicy details include info on the game's death penalty, looting, targeting, and more.

Last but not least is the first official Prime dev chat, and the shindig is scheduled for this Friday, July 15th, at 3:00 p.m. EST. The chat will be available via live stream and will feature co-designers Warren Weems and John Kennison. Head to the official Prime website for more.

Prime: Battle for Dominus releases new game info, dev chat coming tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let's get physical, physical: Brian Knox fields dozens of TERA questions

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, PvP, Community Q&A, TERA

With that newfangled Twitter that's all the rage these days, TERA proves that developer chats can be even more accessible -- and within a 140-character limit! Recently, Senior Producer Brian Knox fielded a grab bag of questions about this upcoming action MMO, although he put a kibosh on queries related to the release date and events.

PvP, obviously, was a huge topic of discussion, with questions ranging from death penalties (same as PvE) to open world conflict (starts at level 12 and requires the purchase of special items) to guild vs. guild battles (still in the works).

TERA's famed political system was another subject for inquiry -- would it be in the game at the start or will we have to wait for it? "Day 1. It is up and working now and will be available at launch," Knox assured fans.

Raids are something else that future players has been asking for, and apparently the TERA team is at least exploring the possibility of implementing them: "We know how badly the community wants raids! We are looking very hard at this and is one of the reasons we have focused on five-man content."

You can read the full dev diary over at TERA's official site.

Let's get physical, physical: Brian Knox fields dozens of TERA questions originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gods & Heroes dev chat video details next beta patch, estate system, and more

Matt Daniel — Tue, 10 May 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, News items

The newest Gods and Heroes dev chat video is now available for your viewing pleasure. The devs gather 'round a table with beer and pizza -- which is frankly how any dev chat should be done -- and answer their internet audience's questions, which span a great variety of topics. They discuss the upcoming beta patch, which is said to be the biggest patch so far and includes the new quest guide, a full pass on the Mystic class, tweaks on the first 10 levels for each class, and some server-side changes to improve performance.

In addition, the team discusses the mechanics of the fast travel system and the quest guide, which functions similarly to many quest-helper mods for other MMOs. An interesting twist, however, is the fact that if you choose to do the quest without asking for the quest guide's help, you receive a bonus. What this bonus will be hasn't been decided yet, but experience and money were both suggestions tossed around.

The team also goes into detail about the game's estate system, which allows you to take a razed villa and rebuild it from the ground up, populating it with minions and customizing it to your liking.

For the full details on all of this as well as answers to questions such as what the team most regrets not being able to implement at launch, whether the devs play their own games, and whether the game will support addons at launch, visit Ustream to view the recorded chat.

Gods & Heroes dev chat video details next beta patch, estate system, and more originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 May 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Catch the latest Gods & Heroes development team live chat today

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Interviews

Friends, Romans, gamers, lend me your USTREAM! In response to your questions, the Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising dev team has plenty of answers to satiate your curiosity.

If you've been following the resurrected Gods & Heroes project, then you'll definitely want to get in on the latest dev chat that's taking place today from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT. Simply sign in to USTREAM and head to the Gods & Heroes channel to see what the devs have to say about the latest and greatest developments as the game plows through beta.

Questions for the chat may be submitted via Gods & Heroes' Facebook page, Twitter account or the official forums.

Catch the latest Gods & Heroes development team live chat today originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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City of Heroes first ever livestream developer chat

Larry Everett — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, real-world, News items, Livestream

When speaking to this reporter outside the City of Heroes panel at PAX East, producer Nate Birkholz could not emphasize the importance of the community enough. In fact, according to a post back in January, the whole team has upped developer communication to the fans. The players of CoH really help steer this mighty superhero MMO, and the development team wishes to have as many opportunities to speak to its committed community members as possible. Next Thursday, John "Protean" Hegner and Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney of the development team and Andy "Zwillinger" Belford and André "Beastyle" Carlos of Paragon's community team will be on UStream to help promote the upcoming Issue 20 and answer viewer questions.

For the first time ever, Paragon Studios is opening its doors to video livestream. As an intrepid fan, you will have to watch every minute on the edge of your desk chair. On March 31st from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EDT, tune in to the official City of Heroes UStream channel to catch all the latest news from Paragon City.

City of Heroes first ever livestream developer chat originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIFT podcast features Trion dev roundtable and fansite questions

Jef Reahard — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, News items, RIFT

The RIFT podcast is back with its 31st episode, and the latest show features a panel of distinguished developer guests from Trion Worlds as well as a smattering of questions from various fan website representatives. The guests include producer Scott Hartsman, vice president of development Russ Brown, and design producer Hal Hanlin, and the trio chats about a wide range of topics including botting, pet classes, and balancing game design with player demands.

Also on the docket are tidbits concerning a RIFT random dungeon finder, target autofacing, and Trion's ultimate goals for RIFT (as well as a few thoughts on exceeding them). Head over to The Rift for all the audio antics.

RIFT podcast features Trion dev roundtable and fansite questions originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gods & Heroes lead designer and art team hosting live community chat

Jef Reahard — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Livestream, Miscellaneous

Normally, pre-release fan communities are overflowing with questions for a game's developers. Whether they're specifics on combat, crafting, or any of the traditional ingredients that make up our favorite genre, queries and concerns abound during the information void that usually accompanies an MMO's beta stages.

Gods & Heroes is looking to rectify this situation with a live Q&A event featuring the game's lead developer and members of the art team. Heatwave Interactive is hosting a USTREAM chat today at 6:00 p.m. CST, and the devs will be fielding live questions from the streaming audience as well as those submitted prior to the broadcast.

Get in on all the action by visiting the Gods & Heroes USTREAM channel, and don't forget to submit your questions ahead of time via the game's forum, Facebook, and Twitter pages to increase your chances of being heard.

Gods & Heroes lead designer and art team hosting live community chat originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gods & Heroes USTREAM: Your chance to chat with the devs! [Updated]

Brianna Royce — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Historical, Events, real-world, Massively Meta, Livestream

Are you curious about the current state of Heatwave's Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising MMO? Are you desperate for a new MMO world devoid of pointy-eared elves and blobby aliens from another dimension? Are you a classical civilizations anthropologist hoping to see your field of study desecrated in a glorious union of hack and slash? Then join Massively tonight from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST as we help host Heatwave's USTREAM chat about the game! We'll be moderating live and forwarding your burning questions to the devs... burning questions like, did Heatwave's Anthony Castoro really shave his head last weekend in response to G&H's stress-test turnout?

Log in to the G&H USTREAM page at 7 p.m. EST tonight to find out! And if you have any last-minute questions, add them right here in the comments so we can pass them along!

[Updated: The live chat is over, but you can still watch the show after the cut!]

Continue reading Gods & Heroes USTREAM: Your chance to chat with the devs! [Updated]

Gods & Heroes USTREAM: Your chance to chat with the devs! [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Glamour shots: Rift's visuals crew rock the IRC

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, RIFT, Community Q&A

Like it or not, a good first impression is often heavily influenced by looks. You could be the most intelligent, gentle, funny person in the world, but no date is going to give you a second chance if you show up to dinner wearing a [NAME OF POP CULTURE ICON YOU LIKE TO RAG ON] t-shirt. Likewise, the dev team at Rift: Planes of Telara is working hard not only to make the game as fun to play as possible, but to make it look fashionably awesome while doing so.

Trion World's Scott White (technical art director) and Russ Cahalan (lead animator) fielded questions about Rift's visuals, animations and style in a recent IRC dev chat. The Q&A is chock-full of useful tidbits, such as info about the existence of a weather system, the wide range of emotes, weapon effects (think glowy and drippy!), particle effects, and stances. The duo also discussed the process of creating the animations and world visuals, including the enormous effort that went into making rifts some of the best eyecandy you'll see in an MMO.

Cahalan cracked open the door to give players a peek into the range of weapon animations in Rift that will be present: "We don't have any animation sets that will have flexible weapons like chain swords, whips, or flails currently. The player animation sets are currently pushing close to 500 each, and those include 10 different sets per race/gender to cover the weapon categories we have in game. Those cover a pretty wide variety of weapons, and give a good amount of visual variety between players of different races. We do, however, have some weapons that contain motion. But those are generally VERY special weapons, and are highly desirable."

You can read the full transcript at Telara Central.

Glamour shots: Rift's visuals crew rock the IRC originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO's radiance to be run over by a train and other future tidbits revealed

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Interviews, Patches, Previews, Free-to-play

"We took Radiance outside, tied it up to some railroad tracks, and...well...I think you saw the end of this in Red Dead Redemption. Look for this in the future -‐ we will be removing Radiance from LotRO." Thus sayeth Turbine's Jen "Jalessa" Gordy, who confirmed that the controversial gear gating system is headed for a messy death.

In the same WarCry developer chat, the team fielded a number of questions about where LotRO is headed after this week's mega-update. Some of the features in the works for Tolkien's digital offspring include a new raid, class changes for monster play, a barter item wallet, PvMP skirmishes, Isengard, additional minigames and -- yes -- vanity pets for all. The devs also admitted to slipping in a few pop culture mentions into the game, such as Firefly and Futurama references.

And will there ever be any other hobbies than fishing in LotRO? Kate Paiz mused: "All of us devs really want to make golf next, but it's a tricky undertaking, so we don't have a timeline yet, but feel free to start practicing your backswings!"

You can read the full transcript at A Casual Stroll to Mordor.

LotRO's radiance to be run over by a train and other future tidbits revealed originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Join us in the Massively.com IRC chat room for our live Q&A session with gPotato!

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Interviews, Free-to-play, Allods Online, Community Q&A

Interested in asking gPotato some questions on Allods Online? Want to ask the team questions on the latest patch, the Revelations of Gipat? Want to chat with your fellow Allods players? Well then, look no further than the Massively.com chat tonight!

Join us by pointing your chat client to irc.quakenet.org, #massively, or use the web client located at http://webchat.quakenet.org, and put in #massively as your chat room. The Q&A session will start sharply at 7 PM ET (4 PM PT) and will last for approximately an hour and 30 minutes.

The chat room will be moderated for the duration of the chat, so you won't be able to talk, but you will be able to send the questions you want to ask the dev team to the chat room moderator, Sephare. Just type /msg Sephare once you're in the chat room, and follow up the command with your question. If your question is chosen, it will be sent to the gPotato team to answer live!

Can't make the event? No worries, as we'll have a transcript available on Monday! If you wish to ask the team a question, leave it here in the comments, and our moderators will choose the best ones to send to the team!

Join us in the Massively.com IRC chat room for our live Q&A session with gPotato! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Your Battle of the Immortals questions answered: Our developer chat with Clifton Chu

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Interviews, Free-to-play, Community Q&A, Battle of the Immortals

Didn't get to come to our developer chat last night with Clifton "Kantorek" Chu from Battle of the Immortals? Don't worry, as we've got you covered with this transcript of last night's question and answer session!

Clifton fielded many, many questions in one hour and 30 minutes, covering everything from BoI's player-killing system to future updates and new skills. We even got a behind-the-scenes sneak peak at the game's Westernization, covering some of the many changes Perfect World Entertainment made to the game in order to make it "fit" better for Western audiences.

So, without anymore time wasted, let's take a time warp back to last night, and see what questions you had to ask Clifton!

Continue reading Your Battle of the Immortals questions answered: Our developer chat with Clifton Chu

Your Battle of the Immortals questions answered: Our developer chat with Clifton Chu originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: They do look like ants from here

Krystalle Voecks — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, Fallen Earth, One Shots, Post-Apocalyptic

As if you couldn't tell, we love to get out and into the community in different MMOs. Thus far, we've invaded Guild Wars, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Global Agenda, and (as you probably guessed from the above screenshot) Fallen Earth. While today's One Shots doesn't offer much in the way of scenery, it does highlight one of the moments we had a lot of fun with -- our first-ever in-game developer chat and dance party! Apparently we weren't the only ones who had a ton of fun that night, as Nickelpat recently found this old screenshot of that event, taken from atop a giant storm drain nearby. He writes in:

"It's not from the latest Fallen Earth/Massively bash (which I also attended and came out 6 items richer) but it is the first Fallen Earth/Massively/Post Apoc Radio bash. It was a Halloween Dancy Party and it was great fun. I hope to see more of this in the future. -- Your clone friend, Torey Scott"

From big to small, we love all MMOs. If you'd like to send in a screenshot of your favorite place to spend time, we want to hear from you. All you have to do is email your image to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it on the site and give you credit. Couldn't be easier!

Gallery: One Shots: Gallery II

One Shots: They do look like ants from here originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 May 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global Agenda to hold another developer chat

Rubi Bayer — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Global Agenda

It's been about a month since Global Agenda launched, and overall player feedback is pretty positive. Hi-Rez wants to continue the open communication between the developer side and the player side, however, so they'll be holding another developer chat thanks to Vivox Voice chat for Facebook.

The chat is scheduled for this Wednesday, March 3, at 9pm US Eastern, 6pm US Pacific (02:00 GMT on Thursday, March 4), and Hi-Rez has a few tips for fans to get the most out of the event. First of all, there are 100 seats available, so if you decide to wander in five minutes after it starts to see what's going on, it's probably not going to happen for you. This isn't an invitation to go all Black Friday and start camping the room right this minute, but you do want to get there a bit early. If the room does fill up and you can't get in, never fear. The session will be recorded and posted as a podcast.

If you've got a question you want addressed, submit it in advance. To prevent general chaos and confusion, only the Global Agenda team will have access to the microphone during the event, so to speak. They'll only be answering questions submitted ahead of time.

Check out all the details on the event here, and enjoy the chat!

Global Agenda to hold another developer chat originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global Agenda to feature Vivox voice integration

James Egan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, MMOFPS, Global Agenda

Massively has been following the growing prevalence of MMOFPS games poised to enter the market in the coming months and years, with the most notable of these being Global Agenda. The game's developer Hi-Rez Studios got in touch with us today to let us know about their partnership with Vivox, who will provide voice features for Global Agenda. Vivox will enable push-to-talk voice chat and in-game news broadcasts "that describe key victories and events associated with Global Agenda's persistent territory control gameplay," states Hi-Rez Studios. An additional (subscriber-only) feature will be out-of-game voice chat that will keep agency members in touch when they're not fragging their rivals. According to Hi-Rez, "Players can use a variety of access methods including the Vivox Web Voice within the toolbar controls, Vivox Voice on Facebook, or calling into a specified chat channel from their phone."

Hi-Rez also announced they will hold a dev chat via Facebook on Wednesday, November 18th, from 10-11pm (Eastern), which will require participants to download the Vivox Voice app for Facebook. A Facebook group announcement from Hi-Rez today states that the dev chat will be limited to 75 people who will pose questions to the Global Agenda devs.

Global Agenda to feature Vivox voice integration originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively Exclusive: Fallen Earth dev event transcript (and another party!)

Krystalle Voecks — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fallen Earth, Events, in-game, Interviews, New titles, Massively Meta, Massively Interviews

This weekend we had the chance to hang out with a bunch of rough-and-tumble types in the wastelands of Fallen Earth. No, we weren't just doing our typical weekend gaming! We were lucky enough to get to spend some time in-game, hanging out with Marie "Arosei" Croall, Content Team Lead for Fallen Earth. During the evening, we asked her some of the great player submitted questions we solicited last week. She also tossed out a couple of interesting asides to the huge crowd that amassed to take part in the event - and to get some of the free goodies we were handing out!

For those of you who may not have been able to make it - or would just like to check it out without all the cross-chatter - we've transcribed the interview (and some interesting asides) behind the break. Also, remember that we have another Massively Fallen Earth event happening this Wednesday night at the Embry Satellite, starting at 9:00 PM Eastern. This time our very own Shawn Schuster will be dropping by to hold a Massively Reader Meet-up, with - you guessed it - more free stuff, and a special Halloween-themed show on Post Apoc Radio.

Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Fallen Earth dev event transcript (and another party!)

Massively Exclusive: Fallen Earth dev event transcript (and another party!) originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cryptic talks Blood Moon in dev chat

Rubi Bayer — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, News items, Champions Online

Last week's Champions Online dev chat was all about Blood Moon, and Cryptic had a great team on hand to answer questions. Community Rep David "Daeke" Bass, Executive Producer Bill Roper, Lead Designer Randy "Arkayne" Mosiondz, Systems Designer Brian "Balseraph" Urbanek, and Rewards System Designer Cormac "AntiProton" Russell made up the group and ensured that someone would be able to answer pretty much any questions players could throw at them.

Player interest covered a wide range, from game mechanics and balance to some fun "what if" questions (all-Foxbat April Fool's event, anyone?). The dev team got a chance to discuss some skills and balance issues that have been on everyone's mind. Overall, players apparently like what they see, because there were several requests for more of the same: fans wanted to know if the Blood Moon event would be repeated next year, if Blood Moon content and characters would continue to be available after Halloween, and if more events were in the works.

The dev chat team did a great job answering questions and having fun with CO players -- check out the full transcript here.

Cryptic talks Blood Moon in dev chat originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cryptic's Steve Nix explains character progression in Star Trek Online

James Egan — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, New titles, Star Trek Online

The next Cryptic Studios MMO Star Trek Online should be an interesting mix of avatar 'away mission' gameplay with the ship-based combat that existing sci-fi titles like EVE Online offer, as well as what's on the way with Jumpgate Evolution and Black Prophecy. We'd mentioned that the STO devs would be answering questions from Star Trek fans for their dev chat yesterday. If you missed it, however, you can still read the transcript on the official Star Trek Online forums.

Cryptic Systems Designer Steve Nix (aka "Snix") was on hand to field questions from the fans about player progression in Star Trek Online. Snix discussed a number of aspects of how players will interact and progress, from race selection/Species Traits that allow for character customization beyond aesthetics to STO's take on a sidekick system, which will allow for grouping of players at different levels. He also mentioned some of the tactics involved with avatar ground combat as well. If you're following the development of Star Trek Online, be sure to check out what Cryptic's Steve Nix revealed about the upcoming title in the latest dev chat transcript.

Cryptic's Steve Nix explains character progression in Star Trek Online originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online: Ask Cryptic continues with player progression theme

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Star Trek Online

Today's dev chat in Star Trek Online was all about player progression, but the STO team seems to be getting a jump on things, since yesterday's Ask Cryptic was all about...yep, player progression. (This is actually part two, with previous questions on the same subject being answered in last month's Ask Cryptic.)

This round of questions covered several topics including a brief overview of endgame material, and repeating missions to help other players. A discussion of Bridge Officers gave a bit more information on how their skills, traits, and abilities will work together to bring a potentially wide variety of talent to your ship. Yes, your ship -- an aspect of the game that's sparked a great amount of interest and questions. One question addressed the advantages and disadvantages of different tiers, leading to some explanation of the ship categories and the progression through them.

This month's Ask Cryptic served as a great lead-in to the dev chat, and is well worth the read. It can be viewed on the official site.

Star Trek Online: Ask Cryptic continues with player progression theme originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champions Online devchat Thursday: Blood Moon

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Events, real-world, News items, Champions Online

There is a lot of excitement about the upcoming Blood Moon event in Champions Online, and we've seen enough information this month to make us very anxious for the 27th. We're about to get more, and this time it's all about what you want to know. This Thursday's Champions Online devchat will be all about Blood Moon: zombies and brains, werewolves and hunters.

The majority of the questions will be pulled from the devchat question thread in the forums, so if you've got one, that's the place to ask it. (As one forum poster pointed out, it wouldn't be the worst idea to check out the Blood Moon wiki first and see what's already been answered.) If your forum question doesn't get answered during the chat, you'll have a second chance when they open it up to questions from the audience at the end.

The devchat will be this Thursday (the 22nd) in their IRC chatroom at 4:30 PM PDT. Enjoy!

Champions Online devchat Thursday: Blood Moon originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online player progression dev chat October 20th

Kyle Horner — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

If you've got any additional questions on player progression in Star Trek Online, Cryptic will be holding a 30 minute dev chat next Tuesday, October 20, at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time. The topic's been covered previously -- particularly in the ongoing Ask Cryptic feature -- but as always the developer is more than happy to open itself to follow-up questions from the community.

There's a Java client you can access from the web right here, just make sure to type "/join #STO" in the text input field. If you've got IRC, simply point it at #STO on coldfront.net and you're in business. Also, anyone who'd like their question answered but can't make it should post it in this official thread on the Star Trek Online forums. Cryptic will be selecting questions from there as well.

We hope you guys have questions, because we're kinda stumped on anything but Klingon specific stuff, which we're sure they're not going to answer right now.

Star Trek Online player progression dev chat October 20th originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More details on STO progression and Quarks bar

Kyle Horner — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Ship tiers and player progression were the topics of this week's dev chat for Star Trek Online and it yielded some pretty good results. Most of the new information clarifies some of the areas we were fuzzy on up until now. The piece of news we were super happy to see was the confirmation of DS9 and Quarks bar being in the game. Mmm, space gambling.

Getting to progression -- and away from gold pressed latinum -- the rate at which a player gains Bridge Officers should ensure that they always have enough to outfit any ship they're using. We also know that BOs get their own pool of skill points as you complete missions. Additionally, anyone worrying about 'nerfing' themselves as they level shouldn't have to, because the BOs a player brings on a ship will help balance out any missing essential skills for a ship type.

That being said, a science captain will always excel the most on a science vessel -- the system merely ensures that anyone can sufficiently fill a role if need be. There's plenty more in the transcript itself and we recommend anyone interested in Star Trek Online give it a look.

More details on STO progression and Quarks bar originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Upcoming Champions Online dev chat to focus on the Hero Games

William Dobson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, Opinion, Champions Online

We do a lot of talking on this site (readers included) about things that could be changed or improved in the games we play, and Champions Online has been the subject of these discussions perhaps more than any other title in recent times. While some of our collective feedback must get back to the Cryptic Studios developers, one of the best ways to get through to them is by participating in their dev chats. There is one coming up at 4PM PDT this Thursday, October 8th, and the topic du jour will be the "Hero Games" PvP arenas.

The main way that the devs will be taking questions is through this forum thread. They plan to go through as many of the questions posted there as they can, but the audience will get a chance to ask some follow-ups or extra questions at the end too. The IRC channel is #championsonline at irc.coldfront.net, or if you don't want to use an IRC client, there is a Java chat client available as well.

So, if you think the Hero Games in Champions Online could be improved somehow, get a few questions ready (remember, the questions thread on the forums gives the highest chance of them being answered) and let your voice be heard this Thursday.

Upcoming Champions Online dev chat to focus on the Hero Games originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skill and ship progression covered in new STO dev chat

Kyle Horner — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

The latest Star Trek Online dev chat was expectedly focused on the skill-based progression system revealed in last week's Ask Cryptic. A particularly interesting answer revealed that although it's possible to eventually earn all the space skills in the game, your ship equipment and bridge officer selection will be a determining factor. Since ground combat is focused around your skill kit, which is based off your career choice, it's restricted by class.

We also learned that advancing in rank earns players the right to newer, larger ships. When hitting a new rank, Starfleet will grant one free vessel, but the acquisition of other vessels within that new type will require merit. Knowing that puts us at ease, because we're sure that once Starfleet gets a load of our captaining abilities, they'll have no choice but to give us a trillion merit on the spot.

Skill and ship progression covered in new STO dev chat originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online developers discuss Away Team game mechanics

James Egan — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, Star Trek Online

Cryptic's upcoming Star Trek Online is boldly going where numerous Star Trek PC games have failed before. Only now, for the first time, the Star Trek IP meets massively multiplayer online games, and we're hoping that Cryptic Studios will release a solid sci-fi title that balances Trekkie canon bliss with gameplay that keeps MMO fans happy. A number of Star Trek fans following along with STO's development clearly have high hopes for the game, and so do we at Massively. What's also unique about Star Trek Online is that it's one of the few sci-fi MMOs that has both starship combat and terrestrial gameplay.

Of course, there are many questions that remain about Star Trek Online, particularly when it comes to beaming down to the surface of planets. Have you ever wondered about when you beam down with your Away Team, if you'll visit the planets that are prominent in Star Trek canon, or will these be new worlds? For that matter, will your starship be left defenseless without you there on the bridge? And if you do Away Missions only with other player characters, will your Bridge Officers still level up with you?

Continue reading Star Trek Online developers discuss Away Team game mechanics

Star Trek Online developers discuss Away Team game mechanics originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online IRC dev chat tomorrow, August 12th

Kyle Horner — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Star Trek Online

Tomorrow marks another Star Trek Online IRC dev chat, which is scheduled to being at 11:30am Pacific Standard Time and will last 30 minutes. The chat will focus on the recent Ask Cryptic, which was all about ground combat, firing your lasers and guys in big rubber monster suits.

Okay, so maybe we made that last part up, but it felt right. Anyhow, if you've still got some burning questions after reading that recent Ask Cryptic, feel free to head over to #STO on coldfront.net or access the chat via the web-based java client -- just make sure to type "/join #STO" in the text field.

Thankfully, Cryptic realizes that not everyone will be able to make it to the chat. So if you can't, just head over to this ongoing thread and toss your question into the pile. It's a sure bet there'll be a transcript shortly after the chat ends.

Star Trek Online IRC dev chat tomorrow, August 12th originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champions Online dev chat answers questions from the fans

James Egan — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, New titles, Champions Online

The superhero MMO Champions Online is slated for a launch very soon, right around the corner in September. Cryptic Studios has continued to hold dev chats leading up to the game's release, which can be a good source of info about Champions Online, particularly if you haven't had a chance to check out the game's beta tests. The latest dev chat let the Champions fan base pose questions to the developers, including Lead Designer Randy Mosiondz and Reward Systems Designer Cormac Russell, among other devs working on the game.

The dev chat addressed a range of questions and concerns, such as what Champions Online will bring to MMORPGs and the superhero game genre that we don't already have. The title's creators also explained the extent of Champions Online's crafting system, including how players will be able to craft Techniques, essentially items that impart abilities. There's also plenty more about unlockable costumes and how the game is designed to prevent players from creating (overly) godlike custom Power Frameworks. You can check out what the Cryptic devs have to say about Champions Online over on the game's official forums.

Champions Online dev chat answers questions from the fans originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Trek Online dev chat explains ship classes and configurations

James Egan — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, PvP, PvE, Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online is a game that's being built upon one of the most popular sci-fi IPs of all time. As such, gamers have certain expectations of the title, particularly when it comes to the ships they'll be flying. As with the Star Trek films and shows, the game will stick to certain ship classes and configurations, but the developers at Cryptic Studios also need to allow for customization within that system -- everyone wants to fly something that's unique in some way. Something that's their own. This customization was the theme of a recent Star Trek Online dev chat with executive producer Craig Zinkievich.

Ships in Star Trek Online will have defined purposes, with Escort (cannons, heavy attack rating), Cruiser (general purpose, large crew), and Science vessels (emphasis on deflector dish 'powers') to be in the game at launch. Of course, you'll be able to modify them in various ways. The producer explains that the customization options won't allow players to drastically alter the look or silhouette of any of the ship classes from Star Trek canon, but you'll definitely have options within your chosen configuration.

Continue reading Star Trek Online dev chat explains ship classes and configurations

Star Trek Online dev chat explains ship classes and configurations originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallen Earth dev chat answers barrage of player questions

James Egan — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP

We don't know about you, but we can feel the era of post-apocalyptic and sci-fi MMOs fast approaching. Definitely on our 'ones to watch' list is Fallen Earth, currently in development at Fallen Earth LLC (formerly known as Icarus Studios). We mentioned the other day that the Fallen Earth devs would participate in a live Stratics 'House of Commons' dev chat, and among the five Fallen Earth team members on-hand was lead game designer Lee Hammock.

The Fallen Earth devs responded to a blitz of questions from the game's future players in the Stratics dev chat, ranging from the benefits of capturing 'conflict towns' in PvP to mounted combat on horses and vehicles. In addition, Lee Hammock stated that game play videos should be released at some point in the next few weeks, and more info about the game will be coming out in tandem with this month's Game Developers Conference.

Be sure to check out the Stratics House of Commons chat transcript for more on the kind of game Fallen Earth is shaping up to be.

Fallen Earth dev chat answers barrage of player questions originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Transcript of the LotRO March 11 dev chat mentions In Harm's Way nerf

Joe Blancato — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Interviews

The folks over at LotRO Follower have posted the transcript from the March 11 Lord of the Rings Online dev chat at Stratics. Floon, LotRO's Art Director; Amlug, an instance designer; Sapience, a Community Manager at Turbine; Jalessa, a Turbine regular; and Rowan, LoTRO's Live Producer, were all in attendance.

The group covered a lot of ground, but one question that kept popping up was about the In Harm's Way nerf. In Harm's Way is a Captain skill that until last month redirected all damage the Captains group took to the Captain; it now only redirects 50 percent of any damage the group takes. The change forced most raiding guilds to rethink their strategy and has bred a lot of discord on the LotRO official forums.

Jalessa tackled the issue first, and said, "There were cases where the In Harms Way skill was being used with other skills that trivialized or completely negated content in the game. Our content team did not have any reasonable way to address this - doing so on their end would have meant a severe reduction in the amount of content they could produce over time, due to having to compensate for every 'scenario' that would occur. ... We do not believe there is a place in the game for a 100% fellowship wide damage bubble at this time, so we changed the skill. "

Check out the rest of the LotRO dev chat transcript at LotRO Follower.

Transcript of the LotRO March 11 dev chat mentions In Harm's Way nerf originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Upcoming chat with the Fallen Earth devs

Krystalle Voecks — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Events, real-world, New titles, News items

There's one thing you really can't deny - the MMO genre has sorely needed some shiny new post-apocalyptic titles for some time now. Thankfully it looks like Fallen Earth's development is proceeding at a solid pace. With any luck we'll be able to jump in and get our post-apocalyptic warfare on before too long.

As a way of working with the community to ensure that Fallen Earth is as solid they can possibly make it, the developers from Icarus Studios have been scheduling play-dates with the beta testers, followed by an open chat on Stratics for everyone who is curious - tester and non-tester alike. This month's chat, going on tomorrow at 9:00 PM EDT, should prove to be highly interesting, as not only will there be several developers on hand, but there's been talk of some swag (and beta keys) to be handed out as well! You can get all the details over on the Fallen Earth forums if you're interested in checking out more on this upcoming MMO.

[via WarCry]

Upcoming chat with the Fallen Earth devs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you attend developer chats?

Krystalle Voecks — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, Events, in-game, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Developer chats. For some, it's a great way to reach out into the community and see what the pulse of things is at that given moment. For others, it's just a chance to spread the word on what's going on in their games - or with their upcoming game. The question is really, how far do they reach? Are they as broadly appealing as some feel they are?

This morning, we thought we'd take a representative sampling of gamers by asking you - do you attend developer chats - either online or in person? Will you only attend them if, say, you're already attending a convention like BlizzCon? Are you a hardcore developer chat junkie, and can tell people what's coming up on Stratics well into the future? Are you kind of middle of the road - you'll catch them here and there, but only when it's your absolute favorite game, and again, only when it's at a convenient time for you? Or are you wondering what the heck we're going on about, what a 'dev chat' is, and would instead prefer that we get the hell off your lawn?

The Daily Grind: Do you attend developer chats? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Join the Jumpgate Evolution developer chat this Tuesday, February 24th

Kyle Horner — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Jumpgate Evolution, New titles, News items

If you happen to have some Jumpgate Evolution questions burning in your brain, then next Tuesday on February 24th we recommend that you join in a developer chat over on Stratics. The actual chat will be held via IRC, which you can find a handy-dandy guide to right here in case you're not overly familiar with the application. For everyone else, here's a list of equally handy, as well as dandy, servers to join:

irc.glowfish.de EU - Germany 6667 6668
stratics.frws.com USA - Colorado 6667 6668 7000
stratics.afraidyet.net USA - Texas 6667 6668
irc.gamers-irc.org USA - Colorado 6667 6668 7000

We'll be following up on any transcipts that hit the net afterwords, so if for some reason you're unable to make it (or IRC boggles your mind) you can still partake in new Jumpgate Evolution information as you see fit.

Join the Jumpgate Evolution developer chat this Tuesday, February 24th originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huge Lands of the Dead update via WAR/Eurogamer dev chat

Brooke Pilley — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Interviews, Warhammer Online

Eurogamer just hosted a live dev chat with Mythic Entertainment's Warhammer Online staff. Present in this conversation were Executive Producer Jeff Hickman, Senior Creative Director Paul Barnett, Senior Designer (careers) Rob Hinkle, and Live Producer Destin Bales.

Mythic staff elaborated on many parts of their game and business from launching in new countries, to the new Slayer and Choppa careers, and balance. Perhaps the biggest reveal was a plethora of new information about Lands of the Dead. They spilled the beans on a number of interesting details, including a live event leading up to LotD that will essentially be a huge Order vs. Destruction battle for who can gain early and exclusive access to the dungeon (for a limited time). This "RvR-gated ultimate sandbox" zone is expected to change hands nightly and will have content for smaller group sizes up to that of a warband (24 players). Paul Barnett elaborated on some similar mechanics to Darkness Falls from DAOC by saying LotD will have, "tokens, other loot methods, a wide level range, and the thrill of your enemy always breathing down your back."

Do yourself a favour and check out the entire dev chat log because there are so many more details than this!

Huge Lands of the Dead update via WAR/Eurogamer dev chat originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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