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Free Realms buys the farm, offers it to players

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Game mechanics, News items, Free-to-play, Free Realms, Family

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

Free 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.

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Empty lots available for decoration in Free Realms

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 15 May 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: News items, Free-to-play, Virtual worlds, Free Realms

What would you do with an empty lot that you could build almost anything on? Free Realms is interested to see what your answer might be, because they've removed the biggest impediment to building whatever you want: that big, inconvenient house in the middle. Well, to be fair, houses aren't inconvenient when you want one there, but they do sort of get in the way of a giant hedge maze, or obstacle course, or tribute to yourself in real estate form.

There are two types of lot currently available, a Briarwood lot and a Snowhill lot. Each one can hold a grand total of 1,500 items, which gives players more than enough freedom to build almost anything. The one catch is that the lots do cost Station Cash, but that's the nature of the free-to-play beast. Free Realms has always had an interesting mix of elements, both sandbox-oriented and quest-oriented, and this one skews toward the side of a sandbox -- which is what you can literally build, if you so desire.

Empty lots available for decoration in Free Realms originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 15 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMO Family: Family night at the MMO buffet

Lisa Poisso — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: RuneScape, Free-to-play, Casual, Free Realms, Kids, Wizard101, MMO Family, Family

MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the family.

It's no secret how rich the world of family-friendly MMOs has become -- or then again, considering the general lack of regard and awareness for them even among gamers like us, perhaps it is. Certainly, there's no denying the sheer quantity of kids' games on the market. Even an entire year ago, there were already more than 200 youth-oriented virtual worlds and MMOs either in development or on the market. A year later, as we recently reported, "... Blizzard's World of Warcraft has the most number of players in the U.S. out of all the MMOs it tracked, just in front of NeoPets and Club Penguin. Other MMOs in the top five include Disney ToonTown and RuneScape." From where this writer sits, eyeballing the list of possibilities for our ongoing Parents Guide series about family-friendly games ... It's going to be a long, long run, folks.

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MMO Family: Family night at the MMO buffet originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Get organized in Dungeon Fighter Online

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Guilds, Patches, Previews, Free-to-play, Dungeon Fighter Online

Dungeon Fighter Online isn't for everyone, but it's not trying to be. There are elements it has and others it omits that wouldn't fit in any other game. But the lack of a decent guild system has still been a keenly felt omission from this hybrid brawler-MMORPG. So it's good news for players that a new event is taking place in-game right now before the game launches its guild system on April 28th. While the system isn't in place yet, there's unsurprisingly an official guild recruitment page to help players organize themselves early.

Unlike many games, guilds in Dungeon Fighter Online will provide buffs and other benefits to members beyond simple companionship, a preview of which is available during the in-game event. Players will also get a taste of the new Selectable Avatar Items, a new offering in the cash shop that gives the freedom to choose specific stats and styles for their Avatar. While the items are only available for a limited time in-game, being able to have fine control over what you're using is generally well worth the trade. Though the game's official launch isn't until June, it's still in an open beta, so anyone interested can start getting together for fun and profit

Get organized in Dungeon Fighter Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free Realms takes to the seas

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Previews, Free-to-play, Casual, Free Realms

Pirates these days are, not to put too fine a point on it, considered head-explodingly awesome. They get their own day of the month, they've been the lynchpin of several films, and they're generally pop culture gold. The new producer on Sony's popular Free Realms, David Georgeson, has recently announced that the longstanding absence of pirates in the game will soon be addressed. After a few early leaks, it's now official that the game will be releasing the nautical "Pirate's Plunder" mini-game to let everyone enjoy sailing the high seas and keeping a parrot on your shoulder.

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Free Realms takes to the seas originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Allods Online announces changes to cash shop pricing

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Allods Online

When Allods Online soft-launched on February 16th, it had proven just how much buzz a free-to-play game could generate in a short span of time. Three days later, it proved how quickly a game's reputation could plummet, as the release of the cash shop prices sent most players into a paroxysm of rage. The official statements (and interviews) were seen as amounting to "well, it's our game so pay up," and the crowd was quickly turning around and heading for the hills. So an age-old strategy has been employed: the powers that be are reversing their position

The official announcement doesn't give any details, but it makes it clear that the community outrage has been heard, and the cash shop prices will be revised sometime this week. The structuring has been changed to make "participation in this element of the game" less onerous, and no doubt to try and reverse some of the animosity leveled against Astrum Nival and gPotato in recent days. It remains to be seen whether or not the turnaround will mollify players or if the changes will be too little too late, but it's good to see that the voice of the players has been heard all through Allods Online.

Allods Online announces changes to cash shop pricing originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Soured on Allods Online?

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, New titles, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, Allods Online

Last Monday, everyone was looking forward to the soft launch of Allods Online on the 16th. This Monday, many of those same people are scowling and making their fair share of unhappy grumbling noises. What happened? Well, while no one expected that the anticipated free-to-play would lack an item shop, almost no one expected that the prices would be... well... for lack of a better term let's say "ruinous." No small portion of the blogosphere has piped up in rage, and the official response from the company succeeded in further angering players and potential players.

Oh, and there's a bit of discontent about how this ties into the next patch, as well.

As we survey the game's quick reputation shift, it's well worth asking where people stand on the issue. Has the entire brouhaha and ill-received response soured your opinion of Allods Online irrevocably? Would you be willing to try it if the prices were lowered, or are you now refusing to play the game solely based upon principle? Or are you willing to roll with the changes and write the entire thing off as a misunderstanding?

The Daily Grind: Soured on Allods Online? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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