Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[ArcheAge explores the possibilities of an open world in a new video]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/28/archeage-explores-the-possibilities-of-an-open-world-in-a-new-vi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/28/archeage-explores-the-possibilities-of-an-open-world-in-a-new-vi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/28/archeage-explores-the-possibilities-of-an-open-world-in-a-new-vi/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

ArcheAge
Who would have thought that something as mundane as tractors could get us so excited? And yet ArcheAge does exactly that, as a new video from the closed beta shows off the latest model of drivable tractors, useful in both field irrigation and cargo hauling. Players are shown spraying down fields with a forward-facing nozzle, resulting in the quick growth of plants.

In addition to the zen and art of tractor pulling, this video briefly highlights several other aspects of this gorgeous game. It illuminates the creation and use of a trebuchet in castle sieges, underwater exploration, housing decorations, and painstakingly animated dragon-lion mounts.

While the video may not be in English, it's still a drop of cool water in the mouths of fans thirsty for this upcoming MMO. You can check out all of the lush goodness after the break.

[Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]

Continue reading ArcheAge explores the possibilities of an open world in a new video

MassivelyArcheAge explores the possibilities of an open world in a new video originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>archeagecastle-siegecbtchinese-mountsclosed-betaclosed-beta-testfarminghousinglion-dragon-mountssandboxsiegetractortractor-pullingtrebuchetunderwaterunderwater-combatunderwater-explorationvideoxlgamesTue, 28 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Resolutions, Baggins and Took-style]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/07/the-road-to-mordor-resolutions-baggins-and-took-style/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/07/the-road-to-mordor-resolutions-baggins-and-took-style/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/07/the-road-to-mordor-resolutions-baggins-and-took-style/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The Road to Mordor
Mmm... smell that? It's the smell of a fresh new year, that is! Rolled right off the factory floor with no dings, the warranty still intact, and a tank full of gas and dreams. Makes one want to abandon the routine and head out onto the open road, does it not?

I'm one of those old fuddy-duddys who actually does New Year's resolutions, whether or not I'm actually capable of keeping them. I think it's important to try to better oneself and keep reaching for higher goals and standards, and if a new year is a convenient excuse to get my butt in gear, then I'm not complaining.

So right now I'm staring at a field of endless potential for Lord of the Rings Online in 2012. I've actually been giving it a lot of thought -- what do I want out of this year? As LotRO heads toward its fifth anniversary, is there really anything new left that I haven't experienced? And what the heck am I going to write about for 52 more weeks?

Never fear because the more I pondered, the more I realized that there's plenty of content yet to plunder (plus, of course, whatever Turbine has up its sleeves for the year). So for today's column, I sat down and drew up a list of resolutions in two parts: "Bagginsish" resolutions that are all about fluff and creature comforts and "Tookish" resolutions that are more concerned with high adventure.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Resolutions, Baggins and Took-style

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Resolutions, Baggins and Took-style originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bagginsfarmingfeaturedhousinginstance-finderlord-of-the-ringslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotronew-year-resolutionnew-year-resolutionsnew-years-resolutionsplayer-housingresolutionsrise-of-isengardthe-hobbitthe-road-to-mordortookturbineturbine-entertainmentwardenSat, 07 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Aeria releases new Lime Odyssey video, screenshots]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/03/aeria-releases-new-lime-odyssey-video-screenshots/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/03/aeria-releases-new-lime-odyssey-video-screenshots/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/03/aeria-releases-new-lime-odyssey-video-screenshots/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Lime Odyssey - group shot
Aeria Games is starting to ramp up the publicity for its Lime Odyssey free-to-play MMO. The team behind the upcoming fantasy title recently released a new website, trailer, and a gaggle of screenshots, and have followed suit today with another trailer and still more screenshots.

The clip is taken directly from the game, and serves as an introduction for human characters. There's a bit of backstory relating to the history of the world and the pursuit of lime, as well as lots of idyllic long-shots featuring the game's beautiful scenery.

The new screens show a variety of activities including cooking and farming as well as a group of adventurers in full armor and some player housing. Check them out below and don't forget the video clip after the cut.

Gallery: Lime Odyssey Core Gallery

Continue reading Aeria releases new Lime Odyssey video, screenshots

MassivelyAeria releases new Lime Odyssey video, screenshots originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aeriaaeria-gamescinematiccookingf2pfantasyfarmingfree-to-playgalleryhuman-introhuman-intro-cinematiclime-odysseynon-combat-gameplayplayer-housingscreenshotstrailervideoThu, 03 Nov 2011 20:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Mark Jacobs: 'I've never been against F2P']]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/11/mark-jacobs-ive-never-been-against-f2p/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/11/mark-jacobs-ive-never-been-against-f2p/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/11/mark-jacobs-ive-never-been-against-f2p/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Warhammer Online screenshot
In a brief interview today with MMORPG.com, Mark Jacobs, now president and creative director of City State Entertainment, discussed his thoughts on the F2P model and real-money trading.

Jacobs is best known to gamers for his previous roles with Mythic Entertainment and Electronic Arts on such games as Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online, and his opinions on the subject of gold-farming are infamous, possibly even extreme. We can't be the only ones who remember the early days of WAR when a crusading, irony-immune Jacobs spammed players' screens with popups whenever gold-spammers were banned. But in this interview, Jacobs aimed to set the record straight: He's against gold-farming specifically and how gold-farming hurts legitimate players, not the free-to-play model.
I've never been against F2P. What I was and still remain strongly opposed to is gold farming in games, especially MMOs that weren't designed from the beginning to handle those kind of transactions, and also to the groups that seek to profit from such transactions. What I really dislike isn't so much the gold farming/selling itself, but certain behaviors that occur in games where this happens.
He goes on to suggest that the F2P model has surged to prominence due to the weak economy and "a lack of really interesting MMOs," noting that we're due for a shift in the market but that the success of Star Wars: The Old Republic (and its "license to print money" IP) will determine the viability of the subscription model in the future.

Jacobs has plenty more to say in the full interview over at MMORPG.com.

MassivelyMark Jacobs: 'I've never been against F2P' originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowarecity-state-entertainmentdaocdark-age-of-cameloteaElectronic-Artsf2pfarmingfree-to-playgold-farminggold-spamminginterviewinterviewsmark-jacobsmythicMythic-Entertainmentreal-money-tradingrmtstar-wars-the-old-republicswtorthe-old-republictorwarwarhammerWarhammer-OnlineTue, 11 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[TERA integrates technology to combat gold farming for North American launch]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/10/tera-integrates-technology-to-combat-gold-farming-for-north-amer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/10/tera-integrates-technology-to-combat-gold-farming-for-north-amer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/10/tera-integrates-technology-to-combat-gold-farming-for-north-amer/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

When Scott Hartsman made his comments regarding gold selling, it's unlikely he planned it to become such a focal point for so many other companies and games. But it's certainly become a focal point for players, and TERA's development staff has decided to take the war on gold selling a step further. It was announced today that the game's launch will see the integration of the Crisp Platform, an automated service set to monitor in-game behaviors to try and detect cheating, gold farming, and botting before a player has even noticed these things taking place.

According to the official release, the platform is based around a steady analysis of player behavior, looking for erratic patterns and unusual behaviors to flag potential abuses. In theory, this will allow En Masse Entertainment's support staff access to easy data at a glance, allowing any attempts at gold farming to be detected and stopped before the point that the money gets put up for sale. How successful that will be is going to depend on the implementation, something we won't know about until the game's launch in spring of next year.

MassivelyTERA integrates technology to combat gold farming for North American launch originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anti-farmingbluehole-studioscrisp-platformcrisp-thinkingeconomyen-masseen-masse-entertainmentfarminggold-farminggold-sellingmmo-economynewsWed, 10 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Free Realms producer letter talks new farming content]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/26/free-realms-producer-letter-talks-new-farming-content/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/26/free-realms-producer-letter-talks-new-farming-content/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/26/free-realms-producer-letter-talks-new-farming-content/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Free Realms has a new producer, and Sony Online Entertainment's Harvey "Flametalon" Burgess recently dropped by the game's official website to pen a brief letter to fans. SOE has updated the game's farming system, and in addition to a new locale (Briarwood Farm), players will find new seeds to grow, a boom box "to make your plants dance," new farming items, and new quests and recipes specific to Briarwood.

Burgess also drops a hint about future Free Realms updates (including ranching), and promises a quick turnaround on June, July, and August membership packs.

The producer assignment marks Burgess' second go-round with Free Realms, as he also served as a designer on the title at an earlier point in his 10-year SOE career.

MassivelyFree Realms producer letter talks new farming content originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>briarwoodbriarwood-farmf2pfamilyfantasyfarmingflametalonfree-realmsfree-to-playharvey-burgesskidsproducerproducers-lettersoeSony-Online-EntertainmentTue, 26 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[SOE Fan Faire 2011: A look at Free Realms with Sr. Producer Harvey Burgess]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/10/soe-fan-faire-2011-a-look-at-free-realms-with-sr-producer-harv/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/10/soe-fan-faire-2011-a-look-at-free-realms-with-sr-producer-harv/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/10/soe-fan-faire-2011-a-look-at-free-realms-with-sr-producer-harv/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

During this weekend's SOE Fan Faire, Massively had the opportunity to talk with Senior Producer Harvey Burgess about the future of Free Realms. Burgess has been with the team since launch, and has recently taken the helm to bring lots of new content and items to the world of Free Realms.

Read on for all the details, including Ranching, sports jerseys, Sunset Valley, and a new mount!

Continue reading SOE Fan Faire 2011: A look at Free Realms with Sr. Producer Harvey Burgess

MassivelySOE Fan Faire 2011: A look at Free Realms with Sr. Producer Harvey Burgess originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>fan-faire-11fan-faire-2011farmingFree-realmsharvey-burgessranchingsunset-valleySun, 10 Jul 2011 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[E3 2011: Checking in with Free Realms]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/07/e3-2011-checking-in-with-free-realms/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/07/e3-2011-checking-in-with-free-realms/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/07/e3-2011-checking-in-with-free-realms/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Representing Massively, WoW Insider's own Dan O'Halloran met up with the folks at Sony Online Entertainment at E3 today to talk about the newest features coming to the popular free-to-play MMO Free Realms. Apprentice Designer Eric Smith walked Dan through the time-honored art of Farming as presented in Free Realms, though the in-game version is much less tedious than its real-world counterpart.

Players are given a plot of land, which they must clear of rocks and trees through a series of introductory quests. After that, all that's left is to lay down some topsoil, plant some seeds (bought with Station Cash or found from plants throughout the game world), water them, and wait for them to grow. Crops can take anywhere between 15 minutes and a whole day to come to bloom, which gives players extra incentive to log in daily and harvest the fruits of their labor. Eric was quick to note that it's absolutely possible to get the most out of your farming experience without dropping a dime in the Station Store, though fertilizer (which makes your crops grow faster) and miracle-grow (which brings withered crops back from the dead) are both available for those who want to enhance their farming prowess. The crops can be used either to initiate a Farmer's Market minigame or for Ranching.

Farming is just the first stage of a planned three-stage process, the second of which will be Ranching, and the third of which is yet to be announced. Ranching will allow players to collect their own menagerie of wild animals, which they can feed the hard-grown crops from their farm. Your farm levels up with you, and as players reach higher Farming levels, they unlock the ability to grow more varied crops, which they can in turn feed to the animals on their ranches. There is currently no release date for the Ranching addition or the third to-be-announced stage of the process, but be sure to keep an eye on the official Free Realms site for future updates.

Massively's on the ground in Los Angeles during the week of June 6-9, bringing you all the best news from E3 2011. Whether you're dying to know more about Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!

MassivelyE3 2011: Checking in with Free Realms originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>browserconsolee3e3-2011eric-smithfarmingfrfree-realmskidsPlayStationPlaystation3previewsps3ranchingsoesony-online-entertainmentTue, 07 Jun 2011 21:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Chinese prisoners forced to farm MMOs for cash]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/26/chinese-prisoners-forced-to-farm-mmos-for-cash/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/26/chinese-prisoners-forced-to-farm-mmos-for-cash/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/26/chinese-prisoners-forced-to-farm-mmos-for-cash/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Doing hard time in China may result in more than just back-breaking labor -- you may be called upon to join the country's growing legion of gold farmers as well.

A report at Guardian.co.uk exposed an unusual side of Chinese prisons, painting a picture of gaming inmates who had to meet farming quotas in MMOs or be beaten. One prisoner said that this practice was more lucrative for the prisons than other products of forced labor:
"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour. There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off. If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things."
However, prison officials denied that such activities took place. One official commented, "We do not allow our prisoners to have any contact with the outside world. If they were playing these online games they could easily communicate with other people. We would never allow that."

Billions in revenue have resulted from China's virtual gold trade, which is largely unregulated. Guardian.co.uk estimates that the country holds 80% of the world's gold farming population.

MassivelyChinese prisoners forced to farm MMOs for cash originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 May 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chinachina-hard-labor-campchinese-prisonsfarmingforced-laborgold-farminggold-sellinggold-tradingguardian.co.ukGuardian.co.uk.comprisonprisoner-abuseprisonersprisonsrmttelegraph.co.ukworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 26 May 2011 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Ask Massively: When in doubt, post some giant robots edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/19/ask-massively-when-in-doubt-post-some-giant-robots-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/19/ask-massively-when-in-doubt-post-some-giant-robots-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/19/ask-massively-when-in-doubt-post-some-giant-robots-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Weep not for the sad tale that appears to have been woven of the MechWarrior reboot, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, it promised to be "not your father's MechWarrior," but the fact of the matter is that my father did not have a MechWarrior, and I mostly did because of my fascination with the core setting and tabletop game. On the plus side, it gives me an excuse to post a picture of the Atlas, which is one of those machines that looks either incredibly dorky or really dangerous depending on angle.

Moving on from my dubious walking tank prelude, this week's questions have nothing to do with giant robots. In fact, they concern farming and homesteading in MMOs and getting your significant other to play alongside you. If you'd like to have your question featured in a future edition of Ask Massively, leave it in the comment field or send it along to ask@massively.com.

Continue reading Ask Massively: When in doubt, post some giant robots edition

MassivelyAsk Massively: When in doubt, post some giant robots edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 May 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ask-massivelybest-friendscolumnscraftingculturefarmingfeaturedhousingmmo-partnersopinionpartnersplayer-housingsandboxThu, 19 May 2011 19:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Massively Exclusive: Free Realms' Referee Ruby goes farming]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/17/massively-exclusive-free-realms-referee-ruby-goes-farming/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/17/massively-exclusive-free-realms-referee-ruby-goes-farming/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/17/massively-exclusive-free-realms-referee-ruby-goes-farming/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

"This is my farm. It's not so great yet," Referee Ruby says wistfully. "Someday..."

In the first of this exclusive video series, Free Realms' infamous in-game support character comes alive to show us the joys of the farming system. If you've ever liked FarmVille -- or even hoped there would be a better version of it out there -- then you're going to love working the soil here to bear the fruits of your efforts. And zucchinis. And eggplants.

As in real life, Free Realms' farming takes an attentive hand and some hard work. Weeds must be pulled and boulders blown up to make room for tilling, and plants have to be watched so that you can harvest them when the time is ripe. The payoff is worth it, however; crops can be sold to the market for a fair bit of cash.

Farms can be leveled up over time, opening access to more plants and tools so that you can shape the land to your whims. One of the best ways to do this is to talk to Farmer Chug, who has a few quests to speed you on your way.

Bask in the full glory of Referee Ruby as she goes Green Acres on us in the video after the jump, and make sure to check out the new farming for yourself as the game is back up and running!

Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Free Realms' Referee Ruby goes farming

MassivelyMassively Exclusive: Free Realms' Referee Ruby goes farming originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 May 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>crazy-eyesdynamiteeggplantfarmfarmer-chugfarmingfarmsfarmvillefrfree-realmsgreen-acresgreen-acres-is-the-place-to-bereferee-rubysoesony-online-entertainmentzucchiniTue, 17 May 2011 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New ArcheAge fly-through video released, planting system profiled]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/10/new-archeage-fly-through-video-released-planting-system-profile/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/10/new-archeage-fly-through-video-released-planting-system-profile/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/10/new-archeage-fly-through-video-released-planting-system-profile/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Yesterday we learned a bit more about the labor system in XL Games' ArcheAge as well as some juicy tidbits on ship and housing construction. Today, AAportal.net has some more non-combat discussion to whet our sandbox appetites, and this time the subject is plants.

While plants are an unlikely MMORPG topic (unless you're talking about a gathering quest), they play a unique role in ArcheAge thanks to the game's gardening and harvesting systems. Whether your interest lies in cultivating grapes or in seeding a grove of apple trees and (eventually) selling the harvest to expand your farm, it's all doable. Trees are also a source of timber, which is required for the aforementioned ship-building as well as house and furniture construction.

In other ArcheAge news, a brief fly-through video has surfaced on YouTube. While the clip clocks in at a paltry 43 seconds, it offers a number of external looks at player housing as well as the game's gorgeous scenery. Check it out after the cut, then head to AAportal for more.

Continue reading New ArcheAge fly-through video released, planting system profiled

MassivelyNew ArcheAge fly-through video released, planting system profiled originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 May 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>arche-agearcheagecraftingfarmingfly-through-videoharvestinghousingnon-combat-gameplayplantingplanting-systemplantssandboxtimbertrailertrailersvideovideosxlxl-gamesTue, 10 May 2011 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Defy the stars: Mabinogi stages Romeo & Juliet]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/09/defy-the-stars-mabinogi-stages-romeo-and-juliet/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/09/defy-the-stars-mabinogi-stages-romeo-and-juliet/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/09/defy-the-stars-mabinogi-stages-romeo-and-juliet/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

What's in a name? That which we call a free update by any other name would smell as sweet! Or so a little birdie told us when we got word that Mabinogi is bringing another Shakespearean classic to Nexon's quirky title: Romeo and Juliet.

Mabinogi players now have a chance to engage with this romantic tragedy and its two star-crossed lovers. The action takes place at Rath Castle, where players will join the masquerade ball and witness the epic love story that bridged the chasm between two warring families. The addition of Romeo and Juliet to the game's landscape follows the Hamlet update earlier this year.

If you're not in the mood for love and fashionable costumes, Mabinogi's latest update invites you to grab a new weapon -- the lance -- and joust with your friends and enemies. You'll look even cooler doing this from a fire horse, a flaming steed that's been added to the game. Or if a life of peace is one you crave, then settle down in one of Mabinogi's Homesteads to grow crops, customize your ranch, and trade with others.

You can check out the screenies of the Romeo and Juliet update below, go read the full patch notes on the official site, and watch the trailer after the jump!

Gallery: Mabinogi

Continue reading Defy the stars: Mabinogi stages Romeo & Juliet

MassivelyDefy the stars: Mabinogi stages Romeo & Juliet originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 May 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>f2pfarmingfire-horsefree-to-playhamlethomesteadhomestead-systemjoustlancemabinogimasquerade-ballnexonranchrath-castleromeo-and-julietshakespearestar-crossed-loversMon, 09 May 2011 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Xsyon devs talk farming, crafting and PvE vs. PvP]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/27/xsyon-devs-talk-farming-crafting-and-pve-vs-pvp/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/27/xsyon-devs-talk-farming-crafting-and-pve-vs-pvp/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/27/xsyon-devs-talk-farming-crafting-and-pve-vs-pvp/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

If sandbox MMORPGs are more ambitious than their themepark counterparts, it follows that the former are also more susceptible to bugs, performance problems, and general player discontent. Xsyon is no exception, and the post-apocalyptic world-building title from Notorious Games has traveled a rough yet familiar road since its March release.

According to a couple of recent posts on the Xsyon boards, better times are in the offing. Notorious is in fact expanding its dev roster, and new game designer/programmer Danathur throws the community a few bones in his introduction post. Aside from providing a bit of detail on his new duties, he also addresses the ongoing war of words between PvE and PvP supporters vying for the future of Xsyon. "We do not want to create a massively multiplayer first person shooter. On the other hand, conflicts and managing them (not only by violence) [are] the real challenge and where the most fun will come from in the long term," he explains.

Danathur goes on to say that both crafting and combat will become more expensive in short order due to the enabling of item stats and decay. His sentiments echo those of lead designer Jordi Grau-Davis, who posted earlier this week to announce the new dev hires and to give the community a feel for Xsyon's development roadmap. "We are going to evolve Xsyon to include farming, contested expansion totems and revamped combat. The goal is to provide more daily activities to tend to and something to fight over," he wrote.

MassivelyXsyon devs talk farming, crafting and PvE vs. PvP originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>craftingdanathurdevelopersfarmingjordi-grau-davisnew-devsnotoriousnotorious-gamespost-apocalypticpvepvpsandboxsci-fisurvivalxsyonWed, 27 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Free Realms buys the farm, offers it to players]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/free-realms-buys-the-farm-offers-it-to-players/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/free-realms-buys-the-farm-offers-it-to-players/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/11/free-realms-buys-the-farm-offers-it-to-players/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Farming is kind of a hot-button issue for a lot of gamers these days, bringing forth mumblings about Facebook and clicking on cows. Fortunately for players who like farming in a colorful environment but don't feel like supporting aggressive non-gameplay, Free Realms has just introduced the option to work on your very own farm, clickable cows not included. All players will receive their own Wilds Farm to start cultivating, decorating, and harvesting as they see fit.

As is par for the course for the game, the new farming system introduces a number of minigames for farmers to convert crops into coins. Farming will also provide a surfeit of new items available to expert harvesters. If you're particularly taken by the farming mechanics, you can also purchase additional spots of land and items for planting for Station Cash. Free Realms players on the Mac and PC can begin enjoying the little joys of working on a farm, albeit without the backbreaking labor that accompanies a real farm.

Gallery: Free Realms

Player Housing - ExteriorPlayer Housing - InteriorPet PonyPet Spiked Dragon

MassivelyFree Realms buys the farm, offers it to players originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>farmingfarmsfrfree-2-playfree-mmorpgfree-realmsfree-realms-soefree-realms-sonyfree-to-playgallerygrowingharvestingminigamessoesony-onlinesony-online-entertainmentMon, 11 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[BBC suggests gold farming may bolster poorer economies]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/08/bbc-suggests-gold-farming-may-bolster-poorer-economies/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/08/bbc-suggests-gold-farming-may-bolster-poorer-economies/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/08/bbc-suggests-gold-farming-may-bolster-poorer-economies/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Who says gold farmers are devilspawn and deserving of a fate worse than death? Well, a lot of MMO gamers say that, but a news blurb on the BBC's website suggests that some virtual currency farmers may have a higher purpose after all.

Citing a report at InfoDev.org, the BBC posits that gold farmers are simply filling a role in the global supply and demand economy. "Western players who have limited time for gaming are buying game cash, gear and high level characters from people in China and Vietnam that are paid to play as a job," the article states.

The BBC also notes that the most recent global virtual sales estimates put the total market worth in the neighborhood of $3 billion. Approximately 30% of that is generated by legit players, 50% comes from bot farms, and the remaining 20% is pilfered from compromised accounts. Whether or not you tremble in anger at the thought of MMO gold farming or dismiss it as a modern-day reality, it seems as if it's here to stay, and according to the BBC, it might even provide economic aid to poor nations. "The virtual economy can have a significant impact on local economies despite its modest size," according to the article.

MassivelyBBC suggests gold farming may bolster poorer economies originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bbcbot-farmingbotsbusinessbusiness-modelsdeveloping-nationseconomyfarmersfarminggold-farmersgold-farmingmmo-industryvirtual-currencyvirtual-economyFri, 08 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[PAX East 2011: Free Realms coming to the PS3 on March 29th]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/11/free-realms-coming-to-the-ps3-on-march-29th/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/11/free-realms-coming-to-the-ps3-on-march-29th/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/11/free-realms-coming-to-the-ps3-on-march-29th/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

Apparently 17 million registered PC and Mac users are the tip of the iceberg for Sony Online Entertainment. The company's family-friendly Free Realms MMORPG is heading to the Playstation 3 on March 29th in an attempt to bring massively multiplayer enlightenment to the unwashed console masses (and reel in a few million new users in the process).

Free Realms originally took a bow in 2009 on Windows PCs and has since seen its pirates, ninjas, pets, and genre-bending gameplay appear on Apple's OS X operating system as well. The title is initially free-to-play, with premium account options available to gamers who want to access an additional 400 quests and level all their jobs up to 20. Free Realms also features a cash shop that will be available via the Playstation Store.

"Free Realms continues to break new ground in the gaming industry -- it will be the first free-to-play MMO to hit any console, the first family-friendly MMO to hit any console, and the second MMO, after our recent release of DC Universe Online, to hit the PlayStation3 to date," says SOE president John Smedley. Head past the break for an exclusive interview with Free Realms lead designer Stephen Bokkes and producer Nick Parkinson.

Gallery: Free Realms PS3 Gallery

Continue reading PAX East 2011: Free Realms coming to the PS3 on March 29th

MassivelyPAX East 2011: Free Realms coming to the PS3 on March 29th originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cash-shopconsolesf2pfamily-friendlyfarmingfarming-systemfeaturedfree-realmsfree-to-playgalleriesgalleryitem-shopjohn-smedleynick-parkinsonpaxpax-2011pax-east-2011pet-trainerplaystation-3ps3soeSony-Online-Entertainmentstephen-bokkesFri, 11 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: The RMT problem]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/19/eve-evolved-the-rmt-problem/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/19/eve-evolved-the-rmt-problem/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/19/eve-evolved-the-rmt-problem/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Of all the problems that plague MMOs, RMT (real money trading) is perhaps the most disruptive to normal gameplay. By design, almost every MMO has some form of tradable currency that can be collected through normal gameplay. The time it takes to collect that currency has an inherent value, which varies from player to player as not every player values his free time at the same level. It's inevitable that cash-rich players who value their time highly will often want to shortcut normal gameplay by buying the currency directly for cash.

The negative impact of RMT and its associated problems is felt in every popular MMO, and EVE Online is no exception. The direct balance issues inherent in allowing players to buy ISK with cash are just the tip of a very unpleasant iceberg. Players who buy ISK from shady websites and services are the reason that the rest of us have to put up with spam-bots in popular chat channels, rampant account hacking, and macros taking up a disproportionately large cut of EVE's in-game resources and server load.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look into the problems caused by RMT, why macro-farming operations have become so wide-spread, and what CCP has done to combat this growing problem.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: The RMT problem

MassivelyEVE Evolved: The RMT problem originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-eveccp-gameseveeve-ccpeve-evolvedeve-mmorpgeve-onlinefarmingfeaturedhackHackedhacked-accounthackingiskmacromacrosplexreal-money-tradingrmtspamspammerssweatshopsweatshopsSun, 19 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Turbine revamps LotRO crafting window, simplifies Farmer recipes]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/09/turbine-revamps-lotro-crafting-window-simplifies-farmer-recipes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/09/turbine-revamps-lotro-crafting-window-simplifies-farmer-recipes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/09/turbine-revamps-lotro-crafting-window-simplifies-farmer-recipes/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Fancy yourself a Lord of the Rings Online crafter, or perhaps a purveyor of pipe-weed? Well, put down that Longbottom leaf and take a look at the latest LotRO dev diary, as it contains quite a bit of information on the forthcoming tweaks to the game's tradeskill system.

For starters, you'll be greeted with a revamped crafting window that's leaner, meaner, and considerably larger, allowing for a bigger recipe list on the left and more recipe information on the right. In addition to layout changes, you can now click the "Increase Craft XP" button and go directly to the LotRO store, where you'll find new crafting acceleration scrolls available for purchase. These scrolls will boost your output by 25 to 50 percent depending on which you select, and you can also pick up new ingredient packs to replace your normal crafting consumables.

Finally, the Farmer profession has undergone a few changes, chief among them a simplification of seed ingredients (for example, the recipes for Cauliflower Field and Green Onion Field now call for the Expert Crop Seed sub-component rather than separate ingredients). Turbine has also tweaked Field Recipes, first by reducing the number of seeds for all recipes from five to one, and second by changing the output of all recipes to only produce good crops.

For a full list of the changes and additions, visit the official site.

MassivelyTurbine revamps LotRO crafting window, simplifies Farmer recipes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>craftingcrafting-revampcrafting-windowdev-diaryf2pfarmerfarmingfree-to-playlord-of-the-ringslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotropverecipesturbineTurbine-EntertainmentTue, 09 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Horton hears a patch]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/29/the-road-to-mordor-horton-hears-a-patch/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/29/the-road-to-mordor-horton-hears-a-patch/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/29/the-road-to-mordor-horton-hears-a-patch/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Few things get me more excited than the promise of a big steak dinner and a big, beefy patch. Both get the mouth watering, the senses tingling, and the anticipation racing. However, the former comes and goes within minutes, while the latter is here to stay. I love devouring a good set of patch notes, chewing every morsel of information as my mind tries to picture it in action.

Mental note -- I should not be writing columns when I'm hungry.

I trust you were as pleased as I was when you woke up to the Lord of the Rings Online November update patch notes this past week (Standard Disclaimer: These are for the test server and are subject to change, void in Nevada). We knew that Turbine had a few substantial projects in the works for November, but this is far beyond what I'd speculated. It's one of those "There's something for everyone -- well, almost everyone" updates that has a little of everything, a buffet of sumptuous delights. Sure, it's not going to please folks looking for new dungeons, the promised LI and housing revamps, or the continuation of the epic storyline. That said, Turbine's first post-F2P patch is considerably bigger than anticipated, and if this is any indication of the course the company is setting with releases, I'm happy to be on board.

Let's break down this LotRO update after the jump, and see just who this patch is for and what it has to offer, shall we?

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Horton hears a patch

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Horton hears a patch originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cosmetic-outfitcraftingddodungeons-and-dragons-onlinedyeepic-storylineered-luinevendimf2pfarmingfeaturedfree-playersfree-to-playlegendary-itemsleveling-sigillord-of-the-rings-onlinelore-masterlotrolotro-weeklymathomnovember-updatepatchreprep-grindreputationroll-one-hundredskirmishessteaktask-systemturbineturbine-pointsupdatevaultvipwardenwardrobeworldwowFri, 29 Oct 2010 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: How I mine for craft]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/30/anti-aliased-how-i-mine-for-craft/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/30/anti-aliased-how-i-mine-for-craft/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/30/anti-aliased-how-i-mine-for-craft/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This column was bound to come sometime. We've had legions of people asking us, "Why don't you cover Minecraft? It's totally an MMO!" The email barrage was so constant that I had nightmarish fits in my sleep, where I was drowning in oddly block-shaped emails pouring out of my ceiling.

Now, after I've finally played Minecraft, my nightmarish fits have turned into scenes in which I'm being attacked by giant block-shaped spiders, but that's neither here nor there.

I can see why people have fallen in love with this game, and they have every reason to. Minecraft may not be an MMO by our standards, but it is an example of gaming done right. It's the purest form of everything we love about gaming, and it's a game that could teach MMO makers a lot about design, should they care to listen.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: How I mine for craft

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: How I mine for craft originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anti-aliasedcooperativecraftingcreativefarmingfeaturedgame-designminecraftminingmmo-designmmo-game-designmojang-specificationsmultiplayernon-combatnotchsingle-playerThu, 30 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Rise and Shiny recap: Hello Kitty Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/19/rise-and-shiny-recap-hello-kitty-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/19/rise-and-shiny-recap-hello-kitty-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/19/rise-and-shiny-recap-hello-kitty-online/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Each week Rise and Shiny asks you to download and try a different free-to-play game, chosen by me, Beau Hindman. Some of the games will be far out of your gaming comfort zone, and some will pleasantly surprise you. We will meet each Tuesday and Friday night at 8 PM Central time, followed by this column the Saturday after. I welcome any suggestions for games, either in the comments or at beau at massively dot com.

This week I asked my readers to man (or woman) up and download Hello Kitty Online by Sanrio Digital. I'm a firm believer in the old saying "Looks can be deceiving" and have tried to keep that in mind as I look for games. After all, what is the difference between fluffy pink and white bunnies and giant robots that throw hissy fits? In fact, if I were to ask my readers what makes up the difference between a game like Hello Kitty Online and a game like Lord of the Rings Online, they might only shrug and say "C'mon, Beau, you can see the difference."

Remember, though, that we can still pull emotions out of cartoon characters just like we can out of more realistic ones, and it has been shown that many moviegoers actually feel more connected to stylized characters over super-realistic representations. I wonder if Hello Kitty Online can inspire the same strong emotions that a hardcore raider feels?

Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: Hello Kitty Online

MassivelyRise and Shiny recap: Hello Kitty Online originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aeria-gamescartooncartoonycasualfarmingHello-Kittyhello-kitty-onlinehousingkidskids-gamessanriosanrio-digitalsouth-parkSat, 19 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Shirtless gnome action in Gnoob video from Everquest II]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/shirtless-gnome-action-in-gnoob-video-from-everquest-ii/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/shirtless-gnome-action-in-gnoob-video-from-everquest-ii/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/shirtless-gnome-action-in-gnoob-video-from-everquest-ii/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

More often than not, advertising MMOs is a fairly serious business, insofar as you're appealing to the dramatic side of players. After all, if most of us knew we were signing up for one quest to slay a dragon and ninety-nine to slay several rats, we might have opted out. But EverQuest II's recent video gives us a taste of something less in the realm of "serious" and more in the realm of "bizarre."

We'd give a full disclosure, but the video is just 30 seconds long and safe for work (unless your employer looks at you oddly about shirtless gnomes). Though the video is meant to highlight the game's 14-day trial, it also reminds any gamer of a very important lesson when it comes to an MMO -- namely, bad things happen when you stop paying attention. You'll be able to get at least a chuckle out of the video whether or not you play EverQuest II.

MassivelyShirtless gnome action in Gnoob video from Everquest II originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>comedydadaeq2eqiieverquest-2everquest-iifarminggnomegnoobhumornew-playerssoesony-online-entertainmenttrialvideoMon, 14 Jun 2010 23:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Money money money! Money!]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/25/the-daily-grind-money-money-money-money/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/25/the-daily-grind-money-money-money-money/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/25/the-daily-grind-money-money-money-money/#commentsFiled under: ,

Money: it makes the world go 'round. It's also one of those necessary staples to keep your character happy and well-outfitted. Whether used to get that sweet piece of loot on the auction house, fund a mount, pay for skills and repairs, or just to feel (for once) like a billionaire, it doesn't hurt to amass as much money in game as possible.

So what's your trick, your technique for raking in the dough? Are you a minimal earner, vendoring all of your loot and just getting by? Do you farm crafting components to auction off, or are you a crafty crafter who makes high-demand products? Do you complete every quest possible -- not for the XP, but for the cold, hard cash? Have you tip-toed down the dark side of RMT for easy gold?

We'd love to hear your secret for becoming an in-game Scrooge McDuck. So how do you make your money?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Money money money! Money! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 May 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>auctionauction-housecashfarminggoldgold-farminglootmoneyopinionsynonyms-for-moneytdgthe-daily-grindTue, 25 May 2010 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Ratting, part 1: Strategies]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/23/eve-evolved-ratting-part-1-strategies/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/23/eve-evolved-ratting-part-1-strategies/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/23/eve-evolved-ratting-part-1-strategies/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

There are plenty of ways to make ISK in EVE Online, from exploration and mission-running to trading or any number of alternative professions. One of the oldest and most popular ways to make a reliable income in EVE is hunting the pirate NPCs that spawn in asteroid belts, an activity known as "ratting". Ratting is probably the best way to repair the low security status you'll be left with if you engage in piracy or suicide ganks. For those who live in nullsec, it's often the primary way to farm ISK for replacement ships to support PvP activities. Some players who don't have access to nullsec through their corporation or alliance even sneak characters in for the sole purpose of ratting. If done properly, it can make more ISK than level 4 missions and there's always that chance of finding rare faction and officer NPCs with valuable loot.

In the first of this two-part guide, I look at where to find the best NPCs, how to find a good system for ratting and the three most popular ratting strategies.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Ratting, part 1: Strategies

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Ratting, part 1: Strategies originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 23 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-eveccp-gameschainchainingeveeve-ccpeve-evolvedeve-mmorpgeve-onlinefarmingfeaturedisknpcnpcsratsrattingSun, 23 May 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Everybody needs a question answered sometime]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/05/a-mild-mannered-reporter-everybody-needs-a-question-answered-so/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/05/a-mild-mannered-reporter-everybody-needs-a-question-answered-so/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/05/a-mild-mannered-reporter-everybody-needs-a-question-answered-so/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

If you haven't read Jason Vuic's excellent history of the Yugo, you're doing yourself a disservice -- at least, if you have any interest in terrible cars, history, or just the crazy stylings of Malcolm Bricklin. What does that have to do with today's bevvy of City of Heroes questions, hot on the heels of our anniversary? Well, not everyone can afford the Batmobile. There are places where the Paragon Monorail (aka Justice Mass Transit) won't take you. And on those occasions, well, you truly wish that you'd just dropped the ten dollars on the Martial Arts booster or taken the darn travel power. Onward!

Dashel asked:
"When will Blasters get more secondaries, original or proliferated?"

Soon! Maybe. I've heard tell that we may well be due for another wave of powerset proliferation with the release of Going Rogue, although that's far from a confirmed fact. So Blasters can expect to get some more love there. But we don't have any idea of exactly when we'll see more secondaries as opposed to more primary sets. The trouble is that as Blasters have been designed, they have the undesirable trait that Masterminds share: they've got a setup for one of their sets that nobody else shares.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Everybody needs a question answered sometime

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Everybody needs a question answered sometime originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>archetypescarscity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxfarminggrindingmission-architectparagonparagon-cohparagon-studioespowerset-proliferationpowersetspraetoriaproliferationsuperheroesterrible-carstraveltravel-powersultra-modeyugoWed, 05 May 2010 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Architectural concerns]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/14/a-mild-mannered-reporter-architectural-concerns/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/14/a-mild-mannered-reporter-architectural-concerns/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/14/a-mild-mannered-reporter-architectural-concerns/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

The big news for City of Heroes over the past week (at least at the time of writing) was the rather borked Mission Architect fix that went live. Well-intentioned, sure, but still borked beyond all comprehension. There's nothing like losing out on experience gained because of rescuing hostages to make players feel like they're welcomed to try out player-created content.

But let's not kid ourselves: this is not exactly a unique occurrence. We've been having problems involving some combination of Mission Architect and farming more or less since it launched, and that was back on Issue 14. A year out, you would kind of expect that they'd fix the basic problem of people trying to get something for nothing... but here we are, and the team is still rocking back and forth on the feature. If you're one of the players who prefer the farming style, nowadays it likely feels like more trouble than it's worth.

So naturally, I decided to take a look at Mission Architect and what it means for City of Heroes today. Specifically, both why it's important that the team does their best to keep it balanced, and why said balancing is pointless and a waste of time. (I love arguing self-defeating premises.)

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Architectural concerns

MassivelyA Mild-Mannered Reporter: Architectural concerns originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>breakingbrokencity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxexploitsfarmingfeaturedissue-14mission-architectparagonparagon-cohparagon-studioespatchesWed, 14 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mabinogi introduces farm land and more]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/09/mabinogi-introduces-farm-land-and-more/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/09/mabinogi-introduces-farm-land-and-more/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/09/mabinogi-introduces-farm-land-and-more/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Itching to grow a virtual garden, live off the land, and cultivate a harvest for yourself or for profit? Check out the latest update to Nexon America's Mabinogi MMORPG, where you can do just that and more.

The free-to-play game has just added several new features including three new Shadow Missions which find players teaming up for death matches, battling Fomor monsters and collecting the ingredients that they protect. Additionally, the game update allows players to acquire two new Alchemy skills: Flame Burst and Sand Burst. The former is used for close range attacks while the latter allows players to temporarily disable opponents by blinding them with sand.

More details are available at the Mabinogi website as well as the game's Facebook page.

MassivelyMabinogi introduces farm land and more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alchemyf2pfarmingfree-to-playmabinoginexonnexon-americashadow-missionsupdateFri, 09 Apr 2010 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Wings Over Atreia: Greed is Good]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/22/wings-over-atreia-greed-is-good/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/22/wings-over-atreia-greed-is-good/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/22/wings-over-atreia-greed-is-good/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


The world of Atreia can be a bit unforgiving to the uninitiated, particularly when it comes to providing for your Daeva's economic well-being. Gear costs kinah, Aion's currency, and new skills cost even more kinah. Attaining level 40 last week set my sorcerer back over 800 thousand smackers. Granted, I got some nifty new death-dealing skills for my trouble, but I also parted with nearly all my net worth.

What's that you say? You want to advance your crafting and gathering skills beyond the newb tier? Yep, you guessed it, get ready to shell out some more kinah. In fact, skilling up a single crafting discipline to the mastery level will cost you between 2 and 2.5 million kinah, not including the cost of the materials needed to craft the work orders. Gathering is similarly expensive, though it doesn't require materials like crafting, only level tier purchases. Finally, there is the Soul Healer, that bank account black hole that has sucked many millions of mah money into the nether regions of NCSoft's server nebula, for, every time I die in PvE, it's off to see the Soul Healer to regain a bit of lost experience. As of level 40, my average trip to this big-hat buffoon costs between 40 and 50 thousand kinah. Last week, after a particularly unfortunate pickup group, I wracked up a 300 thousand kinah Soul Healing bill.

Fly past the cut for some Aion kinah-making strategies.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Greed is Good

MassivelyWings Over Atreia: Greed is Good originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionbalaurcraftingeconomyfarmingfeaturedgatheringkinahncsoftopinionWings-Over-Atreiawings-over-atreia-jef-reahardMon, 22 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Fringe: Farming games]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/22/the-fringe-farming-games/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/22/the-fringe-farming-games/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/22/the-fringe-farming-games/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Welcome to The Fringe, where we totter on the edge of MMOs with a guide for playing Facebook games. If you aren't one of the millions playing games on Facebook and aren't interested in joining the throng, that's ok. We won't judge you. But we'd appreciate you returning the favor.

In before all the "you got Facebook in my Massively again!" complaints: GDC was full of Facebook game announcements and with all the money being made by Zynga and others, we have a long future of Facebook MMOing ahead of us. With massive amounts of people playing and interacting in these online games, it's time to take off the blinders and check out what's going on in your peripheral gaming vision. Or not. That's fine. If you don't want to read about Facebook games, you can skip to all of the other great content here on Massively. But unlike my last column, where I let the haters vent their frustrations in the comments, only constructive criticism will be allowed from now on.

I was going to write up a guide to Country Life next, but it has been going through much development over the past few weeks. So even if illness hadn't delayed my writing about it, the information would have been obsolete soon after. There are many farming games to choose from, varying in features and popularity. So this week I'll be covering how to choose a Facebook farming game by giving an overview of three notable ones.

Continue reading The Fringe: Farming games

MassivelyThe Fringe: Farming games originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appscountry-lifefacebookfacebook-gamesfarm-gamesfarmingfarmtownfarmvillefeaturedlil-farm-lifetiki-farmMon, 22 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[One month: Aion October community address]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/24/one-month-aion-october-community-address/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/24/one-month-aion-october-community-address/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/24/one-month-aion-october-community-address/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Aion has officially been out for one full month and NCsoft just released an October community address in response. The notice reads less like a giant pat on the back and more like a checklist of major issues they are working on, which is bound to churn up speculation about how well the title is doing. Oh, we're sure Aion is doing quite well even though we haven't heard the official numbers yet, but developers usually use these opportunities to shout about their accomplishments rather than their shortcomings.

The top three issues mentioned in the letter are experience curves, client performance, and spammers/botters. Most players will agree that it can feel like a part-time job to level your character at times. Some players have had performance issues specifically related to "Cryssystem.dll." And finally, everyone has been forced to /ignore the odd spammer... or fifty. NCsoft is using this opportunity to yet again tell players they are aware of these issues and fixes are on the way.

We're curious how this may relate to differences between eastern and western gaming cultures. Aion has been released for nearly a year in Asia and yet only the outcry from European and North American players against experience grinds and gold spamming specifically seems to be sparking a change.

MassivelyOne month: Aion October community address originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionbottingclient-performancecommunity-addressexperience-grindfarmingfirst-monthgold-farminggrindingnc-westncsoftspammingSat, 24 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: The Daze of Darkfall pt. 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/16/anti-aliased-the-daze-of-darkfall-pt-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/16/anti-aliased-the-daze-of-darkfall-pt-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/16/anti-aliased-the-daze-of-darkfall-pt-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Capturing the city

 After running halfway across the main continent, I finally found myself in my new home. Albeit my new home is a broken wasteland of stone and rocks at the moment. My clan was very successful in grinding out the 10,000 gold to capture a city in under six hours, leaving us with a brand new piece of real estate in a suitable location.

This is the part where things in my Darkfall experience began to get dicey. A city does not just fall into one's hands and just magically work. Construction needs to occur and buildings need to be built. Things like keeps and houses allow more clan members to bind their souls to the citystone, our new respawn point. But to get those, we need stone, and wood to start constructing. And to get stone and wood, you need resource harvesters. Or as I like to call us -- peons.

No, honestly, I'm not tripping out and recalling a game of Warcraft or any other real-time strategy game. This is all still very much Darkfall. My job for a few play sessions was going out with a pick axe or wood axe and working to harvest resources for construction. You wouldn't believe how ungodly boring hitting a rock is. Or, well, maybe you could.

And, commenters, I know what you're saying. You're saying that I should be out getting some PvP l33tsauce right now. Well, guess what, PvP l33tsauce does not build a city. Sure, I could go shoot and kill other people harvesting. But stone and harvest materials weigh you down and people to kill aren't exactly close to where I am. No, you can just go right outside the darn walls and start hitting trees/rocks. It's faster, it's more productive, you can move resources quickly, and it's not PvP. Sorry.

Clan's current plans are to do some more harvesting and production as a group, then we're going to begin "training for PvP." Right now, training consists of beating the crap out of one another to raise defenses and attack skill. Not exactly what I think Aventurine had in mind to raise combat skills, but I don't see them stepping in to stop my entire clan. Beyond that though, I really am looking forward to raiding and doing some real combat. The thought of raiding another city is exciting, although it will take some time.

End of part one

Well, those are my experiences so far. More of my Darkfall experiences are coming next week, during week two of this month long in-depth look.

Personally, Darkfall is a mixed bag right now. The menus still annoy me, the combat still intrigues me, the questing still sucks, the city building feels like a giant real-time strategy game (I enjoy being a commander more than a peon, but I think that's something everyone would agree on), but nothing's really happening. Darkfall's billed as one of the great PvP games, and so far I've seen one instance of PvP in the three days I've been playing. Granted, I could throw myself into PvP, but that just seems like a waste of my money, armor, and weapons at this point. Why PvP when it will cost you more than it will let you gain?

Maybe things will turn around. Tune in next time, dear readers, to find out if they do.

Hey, want to do the time warp? Check out week 2 and week 3 of The Daze of Darkfall!
Colin Seraphina Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who thinks three hours of third-person harvesting is the bomb. When she's not writing here for Massively, she's rambling on her personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message her, send her an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow her on Twitter through Massively, or through her personal feed, @sera_brennan.

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: The Daze of Darkfall pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>darkfalldarkfall-onlinefarmingharvestingimpressionsna1north-americanpeasantpeonpvpraidstonethe-daze-of-darkfallwarcraftThu, 16 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Does your guild have a summer amnesty?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/09/the-daily-grind-does-your-guild-have-a-summer-amnesty/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/09/the-daily-grind-does-your-guild-have-a-summer-amnesty/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/09/the-daily-grind-does-your-guild-have-a-summer-amnesty/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Summer is now in full swing and the lure of the outdoors is strong. School is out, people are going on holiday, to muddy music festivals or just enjoying the fine weather. Suddenly virtual worlds and MMOs are that much quieter as people dip back into real life. Each year, my guild mistress institutes what she calls a 'summer amnesty'. Over the summer things become a little more relaxed, there's no ire if people don't raid as often. Real life takes precedence for once and things just chill out a bit. People come, people go. Even better, rather than monthly farming, we just have to contribute once and it covers the majority of the summer. That gives me the freedom to not feel guilty about lengthy absences so I can sit in my garden and drink cider or go to the pub. It's nice.

So with the heat of summer now upon us, I'm wondering, how does your guild cope with the summer months. Do you have an amnesty? Do you forget about farming and just have fun? Do you just tone raiding time down? What about guild taxes or farming? Do you make an effort to improve guild bonding by maybe even having a real life meet up or BBQ? Do you partake in summer festivals? Tell us in the usual manner.

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Does your guild have a summer amnesty? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bbqfarmingguild-farmingguild-taxesreal-lifesummersummer-amnestythe-daily-grindThu, 09 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Rampant farming forces Paragon Studios to remove City of Heroes badges]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/24/rampant-farming-forces-paragon-studios-to-remove-city-of-heroes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/24/rampant-farming-forces-paragon-studios-to-remove-city-of-heroes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/24/rampant-farming-forces-paragon-studios-to-remove-city-of-heroes/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


When City of Heroes brought us Issue 14, they also brought something rather unique to the MMO space with the Mission Architect -- the ability for players to create their own mission scenarios and share them with other players. Unfortunately, when many games offer achievements of some sort, there are people who figure out ways to cheat the system and farm them out... which, sadly, has proven to be the case with City of Heroes.

Synapse (aka Phil Zeleski) from the City of Heroes development team addresses this in a recent blog post. He writes: "We really didn't want the Mission Architect to be an environment that encourages farming for XP, Rewards or Badges, and we thought long and hard about the current Architect badge situation. Ultimately we'd like it to be a place where you go to play great player created content." To keep the Mission Architect system in keeping with their initial goals, Paragon Studios is removing the badges commonly farmed from the game, 90 of them in all, which he lists in his post.

Continue reading Rampant farming forces Paragon Studios to remove City of Heroes badges

MassivelyRampant farming forces Paragon Studios to remove City of Heroes badges originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>achievementsbadgescity-of-heroescohfarmingforumsgame-mechanicsissue-14mission-architectparagon-studiosphil-zeleskisuper-herosynapseSun, 24 May 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Pirates of the Burning Sea takes bold step to curb mission farming]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/18/pirates-of-the-burning-sea-takes-bold-step-to-curb-mission-farmi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/18/pirates-of-the-burning-sea-takes-bold-step-to-curb-mission-farmi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/18/pirates-of-the-burning-sea-takes-bold-step-to-curb-mission-farmi/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


The latest devlog for Pirates of the Burning Sea is written by Lum and focuses on improving the game's mission system, particularly fixing the problem of mission farming. Lum writes, "When we create big mission arcs, we design them to be a fun, engaging, and most importantly, a linear experience. We want players to get a sense of story and to do something interesting. We also want to reward players who accomplish the goals for those missions."

He says that mission farming and the in-game monetary rewards aren't necessarily the problem, although it's not what the devs had in mind for players. Lum says that since people stop to repeat the most lucrative parts of a given mission arc, they're not experiencing the game as it was intended for the players. Even worse, some players make faction choices on the basis of how lucrative a certain mission with that faction is. Flying Lab Software wants to change missions in Pirates of the Burning Sea so that players are continually progressing through stories rather than motivated to remain in place to reap the gold harvest.

Gallery: Pirates of the Burning Sea core gallery

Continue reading Pirates of the Burning Sea takes bold step to curb mission farming

MassivelyPirates of the Burning Sea takes bold step to curb mission farming originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 May 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>devlogexperiencefactionsfantasyfarmingflying-labflying-lab-softwaregoldhistoricallootlummission-farmingmissionsnpcnpcsopen-seapiratespirates-of-the-burning-seapvequest-farmingquestsMon, 18 May 2009 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: How much grind is too much?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/28/the-daily-grind-how-much-grind-is-too-much/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/28/the-daily-grind-how-much-grind-is-too-much/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/28/the-daily-grind-how-much-grind-is-too-much/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Grind. There's no mechanic in MMOs quite as discussed, debated and decried. Some people dread it, feeling that having any form of recognizable grind in an mmo just destroys the experience for them. Others actually enjoy it, when there's only a little of it at a time, or it's for a recognizable goal, such as grinding materials to level tradeskills or grinding instances to get a certain drop. For still others, who seemingly have the patience of a saint, they'll take pretty much any amount of grind dished out just to continue playing a particular game, grinding for hours, days, weeks, months to accomplish the smallest of things. This morning we thought we'd ask - at what point does a particular game cross from merely difficult or time-consuming to 'grind' for you? Or are they pretty much one in the same? Are you OK with some small amount of grind, or does it send you running for the cancel account/uninstall the second you experience it? How much grind is too much?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: How much grind is too much? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>difficultfarminggrindinstancesopinionpatientrepetitive-taskstdgthe-daily-grindtime-consumingtradeskillSat, 28 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Better know a gold farmer]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/26/better-know-a-gold-farmer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/26/better-know-a-gold-farmer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/26/better-know-a-gold-farmer/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Nick Ryan at Eurogamer tracked down gold farmers from all walks of life and has profiled them in his ongoing series "Gold Trading Exposed." In this second installment of four, Ryan speaks directly with four different gold farmers, each from different parts of the process.

He first introduces "Paul," a British farmer who began farming as a side business in Ultima Online, then moved to EVE and was eventually ran out by the Chinese farming industry. Ryan then moves on to "Mr. Li," a Chinese farmer who works toward the lower rungs of a large-scale operation spanning almost 10,000 World of Warcraft accounts. Finally, Ryan speaks to "Sophia," a marketer who works for SwagVault, a gold re-seller, and her colleague "Benjamin."

Benjamin in particular offers a poignant analysis of just how much money makes its way to Blizzard: "Each time Blizzard massively bans the farming accounts and trading accounts, the gold sellers and farmers suffer great losses. They have paid for the Classic CD-Key, the Burnfing Crusade CD-Key, Wrath of the Lich King CD-key and 60 days Time Cards. The total cost is over 100 USD. ... I estimate that Blizzard itself has got millions of US dollars from the farmers."

Ryan's investigative journalism is by far the most comprehensive since Julian Dibbell actually went to China for his book Play Money, which covered gold farming in great detail.

MassivelyBetter know a gold farmer originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chinaeveeve-onlinefarmingrmtultima-onlineworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 26 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The science of farming nodes and playing the market]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/26/the-science-of-farming-nodes-and-playing-the-market/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/26/the-science-of-farming-nodes-and-playing-the-market/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/26/the-science-of-farming-nodes-and-playing-the-market/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

How to make money in your MMO of choice; this is probably one of the most popular topics among players who want the best gear. Should you raid for rare boss drops? Should you buy low and sell high in the auction house? Should you farm for crafting supplies? Of course, each game's economy is different, but personal preference should dictate what you ultimately decide and how you wish to spend your time.

Over at Kill Ten Rats, they've written a great article on the phenomenon of item pricing in MMOs. The example is centered around the economy of Lord of the Rings Online and how you can allow certain people to inflate auction house prices beyond belief, to ultimately lower the item's price for others. It's an interesting take on an MMOs version of supply and demand, which isn't really even based on supply or demand, but the perceived version of either.

MassivelyThe science of farming nodes and playing the market originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>economyfarmingkill-ten-ratslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromaking-moneysupply-and-demandturbineTue, 26 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Guild Wars skill update: The nerfing of Shadow Form]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/04/guild-wars-skill-update-the-nerfing-of-shadow-form/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/04/guild-wars-skill-update-the-nerfing-of-shadow-form/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/04/guild-wars-skill-update-the-nerfing-of-shadow-form/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


The ups and downs of the Assassin skill Shadow Form has been quite the topic of debate lately in Guild Wars. Back in May, the skill had its duration increased which made it the perfect skill for ecto farming builds in the Underworld. The inevitable progression from there evolved into ecto and shard prices dropping dramatically from the over-farming of all the big farm spots. However, in the June 2nd skill update, Shadow Form had quite a change. Now, the caster does 50% less damage while Shadow Form is active on them. Not only that, but the Mindblade Spectres in the Underworld have received Hex Breaker to help combat the hex-based farming builds that have always been so popular in this area.

Now the question is, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing? Of course, if you're one of the people who farmed ecto with your A/E Chaos Planes farmer, you might not be very excited by this update. We've found that generally, most players do welcome this change though. Not only for the projected rise in ecto prices (making them worth obtaining the old way, and selling on the market again), but also to give a bit of credibility back to the Assassins who enjoyed their class for what it was before they became easy money-makers.

MassivelyGuild Wars skill update: The nerfing of Shadow Form originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>arenanetassassinfarmingguild-warsncsoftnerfshadow-formskill-balanceFri, 04 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[CoX: Player ingenuity identifies bizarre drops bug]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/22/cox-player-ingenuity-identifies-bizarre-drops-bug/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/22/cox-player-ingenuity-identifies-bizarre-drops-bug/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/22/cox-player-ingenuity-identifies-bizarre-drops-bug/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Farming often gets a bad rap in City of Heroes, but sometimes it does the game a major favor. For example, a player working the same map with the same enemies over and over is in a perfect position to notice when random events - the dropping of loot, for example - aren't as random as they should be.

This was exactly the situation that a forum regular called KeepDistance encountered. Every time they ran a particular map, they would get exactly the same number of salvage and recipe drops, distributed exactly the same way. That's not supposed to happen.

Continue reading CoX: Player ingenuity identifies bizarre drops bug

MassivelyCoX: Player ingenuity identifies bizarre drops bug originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 May 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bugbugscity-of-heroescity-of-villainscohcovcoxdrop-ratesfarmersfarmingncsoftrecipessalvageThu, 22 May 2008 17:30:00 EST