Massively

Champions Online kicks off its new weekly comic series

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Champions Online

Are you ready to get a little bit more Champions Online action in now that the future of the game is more secure? Then you're in luck, as the game has just kicked off the first in its series of weekly comic issues. But these aren't just something for players to read -- no, these are comic issues for players to play through for themselves, watching a story unfold while blasting through new challenges.

Similar in format to the featured episodes of Star Trek Online, the first series is titled Aftershocks and kicks off with an UNTIL base going dark. The first installment should take about half an hour to play through, with further installments coming in subsequent weeks to finish out the story. Champions Online players can start enjoying this ongoing arc with any character over level 11 and are encouraged to visit the official page for more information on the new format.

Champions Online kicks off its new weekly comic series originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

UnDead Online coming for your braaaaaaaains

Krystalle Voecks — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, New titles, News items, MMOFPS

When it comes to zombies and gun-toting fun with friends, most people would probably immediately think of Left 4 Dead or perhaps Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare DLC. When it comes to MMOs, though, you've got limited choices for horror -- and many of them aren't even out yet! Today you have one more title to add to your listing of horror MMO games that are shambling toward you at some point in the future: UnDead Online.

This brain-splattered game is being developed by indie studio JumpCore Productions. The studio was formed in 2007 by Cameron Petty, who was part of the founding team behind Cryptic Studios. According to JumpCore, UnDead Online will be an episodic MMOFPS hybrid that will have its first showing at the upcoming Games Developer Conference in March. A statement released by Petty explains further; "Each episode of the FPS game series will tell the story of a character that exemplifies one of the character classes in the MMO game. The player will experience that character's journey from his or her previous existence into the post-Apocalyptic world brought to life in the UnDead Online MMO, while exploring the unique game play aspects of that character's class along the way."

Ultimately, we're glad to see another horror title planned for the MMO genre, and we will certainly be expectantly waiting to chew on the developers' brains about what we can look forward to in their game. In the meantime, the UnDead Online site and forums are awaiting the presence of any interested zombie hunters.

UnDead Online coming for your braaaaaaaains originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Newest Ask Cryptic focuses on Star Trek Online's weekly episodes

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, News items, Star Trek Online

The Breen might be backstabbing frozen monsters, but they've been a part of something wonderful in Star Trek Online. Not in the sense that they've stopped being backstabbing frozen monsters, but in the sense that you'd be hard-pressed to find a player unhappy with the new featured episodes. And with the ongoing plan to add a new episode every week, there's going to be a lot more content to enjoy in short order. The most recent Ask Cryptic feature, unsurprisingly, has focused on this new aspect of the game, with Dan Stahl fielding player questions on the weekly feature.

Perhaps most interesting for players will be the fact that Stahl talks about using the prototype version of user-generated content tools to develop some of the patrol missions seen in-game, reminding players that the option to make your own episodes is coming with time. There's also re-affirmation of the episodes becoming permanent features of the game and scaling to all levels, allowing players to take off the rails of the previous leveling structure and chart their own course. View the full article for a deeper look inside the newest part of Star Trek Online, and really, don't turn your back on a Breen.

Newest Ask Cryptic focuses on Star Trek Online's weekly episodes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Massively visits Stargate Worlds: The interview, part 2

Samuel Axon — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, New titles, Stargate Worlds

Our part two of our interview with Cheyenne Mountain's studio head Dan Elggren, creative director Chris Klug, art director Howard Lyon, VP of technology Demetrius Comes, and senior marketing manager Kevin Balentine, we talk about the team's plans to reach out to Stargate fans with little gaming experience and we learn about the classic Stargate characters and lore we'll see in the game.

Continue reading Massively visits Stargate Worlds: The interview, part 2

Massively visits Stargate Worlds: The interview, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

ION 08: MMOs and the television content model (SGW)

Barb Dybwad — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Stargate Worlds, Massively Event Coverage

Joseph Ybarra, SVP of strategic operations at Firesky, the publishing subsidiary of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, presented a session today at ION 08 about the Stargate Worlds production model that borrows heavily from Hollywood and TV models. The goal for SGW is to approach content updates for the game more like a production cycle for television, in which an episode takes a predictable amount of time to complete (14-16 weeks in the case of Stargate Atlantis).

After some background on Firesky and CME, Ybarra showed the Stargate Worlds trailer and launched into a discussion of the strategy with SGW. The idea is to adopt a movie model for the development phase and a TV model for the post-launch "live" phase. They chose to use the BigWorld middleware platform and Unreal Engine technologies in an effort to use proven tools: "don't reinvent the wheel." This allows them to both minimize risk and focus on the content.

Continue reading ION 08: MMOs and the television content model (SGW)

ION 08: MMOs and the television content model (SGW) originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 May 2008 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments