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Ultima Online revisits dynamic content with Magincia reconstruction

Jef Reahard — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, News items, Ultima Online

Long before RIFT barreled on to the MMO scene and made a buzz-phrase out of "dynamic content," Ultima Online developers were busily pumping out some dynamic content of their own. In the fall of 2007, the influential fantasy sandbox title saw a horde of nasty demons descend upon the hapless town of Magincia and raze it to the ground despite (or in some cases, because of) the efforts of players on each of the game's shards. The invasion was part of a larger story cycle called Warriors of Destiny, and a new event is now brewing that will bring players back to the site of the ruined town.

As part of the New Magincia rebuilding process, the provisional government of Britannia is holding a lottery for 22 land plots atop the city ruins. Said plots may be used for residences or shops at the winning player's discretion. The city is also playing host to a new public gardening mechanic, and you can find all the details at the official Ultima Online website.

Ultima Online revisits dynamic content with Magincia reconstruction originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stinkweed and stars: Wizard101's latest update improves the quality of life

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Free-to-play, Wizard101, Family

Budding magicians will find Wizard101 a friendlier and more colorful place following the recent February update to the game. Topping the list of additions are two new castles: a cash shop-only tropical island and a craftable Celestial Observatory. The Observatory represents a truly monumental undertaking for the crafting set, although some would argue that the result is well worth the time spent on it.

The update's other major focus is on smoothing out some of the lumpy bits of in-game gardening, which now should be much more user-friendly for those with green thumbs. We can safely speak for everyone when we say, "Thank goodness that Stinkweed now grows faster!"

Wizard101's also started a membership program for anyone who uses a credit card for their subscription during the previous 30 days. As a reward to players who use this form of payment, KingsIsle will refill their energy faster, increase the size of their backpacks, expand their friends list, and quicken their hatching and crafting timers.

You can read the full update notes over at Wizard101.

Stinkweed and stars: Wizard101's latest update improves the quality of life originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Choose My Adventure: There's no crying in the Spiral edition

Beau Hindman — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Polls, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Casual, Kids, Wizard101, Choose My Adventure, Family

Ah, another week of playing in the Spiral of Wizard101. It's been a lot of fun so far, and I've learned more than I thought I would. Of course, the game continues to run smoothly without almost any issues, and the combat is really starting to ramp up. I've barely dipped my toes into crafting and gathering, only going so far as to take on the first quest in a line that seems to explain it. I even dabbled in pet-raising and games, as well, probably the main area in which I can see the need for more improvement.

Other than that, I mostly enjoyed jumping into open groups with other players. Solo play is a blast, for sure, but having three other wizards at your side as you battle a gaggle of baddies is a sight to be seen. I'll have to get much better, though, in spite of finding it easy to mow down my enemies. I've started to notice chinks in the armor of my deck and have begun to wonder what it is I am doing wrong. I have an idea, but more testing is needed.

Click past the cut to read the details of my adventure, and maybe you can give me some advice, too!

Continue reading Choose My Adventure: There's no crying in the Spiral edition

Choose My Adventure: There's no crying in the Spiral edition originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kingsisle shines some light on Wizard101 gardening

Beau Hindman — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Patches, Previews, Free-to-play, Trading card games, Casual, Kids, Wizard101, Family

If you're a player of Wizard101, the surprisingly deep card-based MMO from Kingsisle Entertainment, then you were probably surprised when gardening made an appearance on the test server last week. I know I heard a gasp of surprise as my wife logged in to take a look! It seems as though players will now be able to grow their own plants, complete with their own personalities and faces.

Well, things were still a bit foggy so we decided to fire off a few questions (with the help of our friend Fallon at Diary of a Wizard) in the hopes that our thumbs would become a little greener. Thankfully, Fred Howard, V.P. of marketing at Kingsisle, was able to answer them all. Join us past the cut for the full interview!

Continue reading Kingsisle shines some light on Wizard101 gardening

Kingsisle shines some light on Wizard101 gardening originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square-Enix cracks down on gardeners, sends out bans

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Culture, News items, PvE, Consoles

If you've got a green thumb, you probably now have a sore thumb thanks to the Square-Enix banhammer. Gardeners across Final Fantasy XI have been complaining on fan forums that they've recently lost their accounts, only now tying the cause of their bans to their gardening activities.

Community site Pet Food Alpha has reported that Square-Enix is specifically targeting players who own more than one character for the explicit reason of gardening. Any level character can garden -- even right from the start of the game -- but no character can have more than 10 flowerpots at a time in their house. This has sparked players to purchase more character slots to simply expand their gardening enterprises, a common practice that has been done by players for over six years.

Players are unclear if these bans have been handed our by individuals on the RMT Task Force, or if they bans were created by one of Square-Enix's new automated tools. We'll keep our eyes on this story and update as new information comes in.

Square-Enix cracks down on gardeners, sends out bans originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lila Dreams devs are blogging up new MMO insights

Mike Schramm — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, PvE, Browser, Casual, Roleplaying

Back in late January, Eliah posted about an interesting little MMO called Lila Dreams, that was intriguing for a few reasons. Not only is it being developed as a 2D game in Java and Flash on Kongregate.com (a website probably most known for the extremely popular Desktop Tower Defense game), but the premise sounds terrific: the game takes place all inside a little girl's dream, with platforming and "gardening," and "mood-based world altering." Sure, it might not appeal to the Counterstrike crowd, but to experienced game players and developers that just sounds perfect.

Since we first posted about it, the developers of the game have been blogging, and now there's quite a bit to read there about the process behind the game, including some good tidbits about how to make an RPG without a grind, and how to include microtransactions that vibe with both players and the people who want to make money from them.

It'll definitely be interesting to see what comes of this. It certainly seems new, and as a great movie once said, the new needs friends.

[Via KTR]

Lila Dreams devs are blogging up new MMO insights originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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