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[Alts need not apply in Freesky Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/13/alts-need-not-apply-in-freesky-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/13/alts-need-not-apply-in-freesky-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/13/alts-need-not-apply-in-freesky-online/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

There are a lot of games that don't necessarily make the process of having an alt a smooth road, but almost none that outright prevent you from even indulging the idea. However, Freesky Online has come out with a recent developer diary that states precisely that: no alts allowed. And while their decisions outlined therein are focused highly on the idea that as a free-to-play game there need to be certain measures in place to prevent abuse of the system, they're applicable to many of the issues that players of larger MMOs have faced.

An obvious example is the longstanding practice of "bank alts", which is specifically referenced in the diary -- as far as the game's developers are concerned, it's abusing the mechanics of the game for unscrupulous means. There are certain games where it's considered standard practice to have at least one character just for banking purposes, but there's a point to be made that this is circumventing the hard-coded limitation of how much space a single character has to store items. The ramifications for other games are likely small at the moment -- it's unlikely that CCP is going to start deleting extra characters, for instance -- but the concepts are interesting to anyone who plays games where alts are frequent.

MassivelyAlts need not apply in Freesky Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>altsccpeveeve-onlineffxifinal-fantasy-xifree-to-playfreesky-onlinegame-designiggTue, 13 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Freesky Online merges two servers, offers players compensation]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/08/freesky-online-merges-two-servers-offers-players-compensation/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/08/freesky-online-merges-two-servers-offers-players-compensation/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/08/freesky-online-merges-two-servers-offers-players-compensation/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Browser-based MMO strategy game Freesky Online has just finished merging two of its servers to help bring the player population up. The Paradise and Canaan servers have been turned into a single server called Paradise&Canaan, and the server's map was made bigger and filled with more resources to give the inflated population a chance to prosper in their new environment. The hope is that a greater population will increase the amount of PvP action that goes on and offer new strategic alliance opportunities.

Along with the positive effects, the merge brought a lot of inconvenience to players: those that had a character on both servers were only able to keep one, and friends lists and existing alliances were deleted. Players were also unhappy about having their ongoing activities interrupted. To make up for all of this, the game's developers IGG have put together some compensatory goodies for affected players. There are two different gift packages; the players' reputation level affects which pack they will receive. To see what you might be entitled to, visit the news article about the merge at the game's official site.

MassivelyFreesky Online merges two servers, offers players compensation originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>browsercanaan-servercompensationfofreesky-onlineiggparadise-and-canaan-serverparadise-serverserver-mergestrategySat, 08 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST