Massively

The Daily Grind: When does a clever loophole become a bannable exploit?

Brianna Royce — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Bugs, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Trouble has been brewing this week over a Star Wars: The Old Republic "exploit" in which people use seemingly legitimate (but perhaps unintended) game mechanics to tip the balance of the game in their favor. Of course, this is nothing new to veteran MMO players, who have seen hundreds, even thousands, of such loopholes and bugs spackled and patched since first MMO came online. Entire World of Warcraft guilds have been banned, however temporarily, for "exploiting" poorly coded raid AI, for example.

I've always felt that it's the game company's responsibility to counter loopholes before anyone takes advantage of them; the onus should be on the developer, not the player, to set the rules of the game using hardcoded mechanics. The players can't be expected to suss out the game-designers' intent, after all. Other gamers believe that "exploiters" really ought to know better and deserve whatever punishments the game's GMs mete out. What do you think? When does a clever loophole become a bannable exploit?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: When does a clever loophole become a bannable exploit? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes

Brendan Drain — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, MMO industry, News items

As part of a refocusing on developing EVE Online, CCP Games has recently taken us on a video tour of its art, features and core technology departments. This week it's the turn of the customer relations and Virtual Worlds departments as CCP Guard finds out what makes EVE tick. In his visit to the den of GMs, he finds that important stuck queue petitions are answered on average in 15 minutes, a response time much improved compared to a few years ago.

Guard chats to several people from CCP's Virtual Worlds department, which is responsible for keeping all the EVE server clusters online and improving performance. CCP Hunter discusses what goes on during EVE's daily downtime and reveals that the once hour-long period has been reduced to only nine minutes per day. We also find out about recent hardware upgrades and the infamous "supernode" deployed for large-scale nullsec wars.

Skip past the cut to watch the full video in HD.

Continue reading EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes

EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unveiled: The Supernatural trailer shows off gameplay, customization [Updated]

Jef Reahard — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items

Unveiled: The Supernatural recently made its way onto our radar screen, and a new trailer from last week's G-Star convention offers the first real look under the game's hood. While we've seen plenty of screenshots, renders, and a cinematic, the new clip indulges in a few fly-through shots as well as some glimpses of avatar and outfit customization.

Toward the end of the video we also get to see both solo- and group-based PvE, as well as the requisite neck biting and heart-stabbing that are part and parcel of every vampire title. Check out the full clip after the cut.

[Update: Maverick Studios reached out to us to let us know that this isn't an official trailer: "It is not a publicly released gameplay trailer from G-star; it is a prototype video made more than a year ago by eight developers who were constructing their vision of Unveiled: The Supernatural."]

Continue reading Unveiled: The Supernatural trailer shows off gameplay, customization [Updated]

Unveiled: The Supernatural trailer shows off gameplay, customization [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Preparing for the apocalypse (again): GamersFirst on Fallen Earth's F2P shift

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Business models, Interviews, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox

Today was my last day in Fallen Earth. My subscription ran out, so I was cut off from everything: glorious crafting, expansive exploration, black humor, and gas mask fashionware. Fortunately, my adventures will resume on October 12th, when Fallen Earth officially makes its transition to a hybrid free-to-play/subscription model.

Like many current players and potential clones, we are understandably curious about the implications and (pardon the pun) fallout from such a fundamental shift in the business model. Will F2P be the savior of this niche game? What's being done to prepare for the change? To answer these questions and more, we talked to Joseph Willmon, an associate game director for GamersFirst.

Massively: How are you preparing your servers for the added influx of free-to-play tourists?

Joseph Willmon: We're still wrapping up some of the final stages of settling the Fallen Earth servers into their new homes at GamersFirst, so soon they'll be as optimized as we want them to be. We're lucky in that Fallen Earth was designed from the ground up to support lots of people playing -- we'd have to blow all estimates out of the water really quickly in order for population to be an issue, which wouldn't be such a bad problem to have!

Continue reading Preparing for the apocalypse (again): GamersFirst on Fallen Earth's F2P shift

Preparing for the apocalypse (again): GamersFirst on Fallen Earth's F2P shift originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Face of Mankind looking for storyline gamemasters

Jef Reahard — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Roleplaying, Sandbox

Nexeon Technologies is looking for a few good storytellers, according to a post on the Face of Mankind forums. The sci-fi sandbox has long been a theoretically rich roleplaying environment, and the devs are looking to put that theory into practice.

"We are currently looking to bring back an official storyline to Face of Mankind in a manner whereby it will play a significant part [in] the roleplay environment [of] the game, and where we will see players from all factions and backgrounds taking part in one way or another," writes Arthurius, Nexeon's community manager.

To that end, Nexeon is looking to bring in several storyline gamemasters, and applications are now being accepted. The requirements are nothing to sneeze at, particularly when it comes to game knowledge, perfect grammar, and the willingness to sacrifice your own game time for the greater good. If you think you've got what it takes (or you're just curious), you can read more on the official Face of Mankind forums.

Face of Mankind looking for storyline gamemasters originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Proof that GMs have a sense of humor discovered in WoW

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Humor, Miscellaneous

We all know that in-game GMs work hard to process a heavy ticket load and often use standard scripts and cut-n-paste replies as a result. However, there are real people behind these names, and some of them even have a sense of humor.

GameFront shared a story of a World of Warcraft player named Dougie who asked to be knighted with the "Fresh," title, a GM responded tongue-in-cheek by saying that another already held it:

Sit well Dougie, and listen to this tale.

This is a tale of events which hath inverted a young ones life, and led to his eventual appointment as heir to the throne of the Bel Air Township.

Begat and reared in western Philadelphia spending many a day becoming frigid whilst filling baskets adjacent to the academy. Ruffians ran rampant through the village; a scuffle ensued prompting his fearful mother to change his domicile to that with over kin, in Bel Air.

He summoned a cart, which appeared most gaudy, nonetheless he beseeched the driver to take him to Bel Air. Arriving barely after nightfall, he bid the knave goodbye, as he relished his arrival at his new place of residence, where he was awarded the title of 'The Fresh Prince.'

So there you have it: Proof that GMs can and do have a sense of humor -- and also a comprehensive knowledge of 90s sitcoms.

Proof that GMs have a sense of humor discovered in WoW originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Community Detective Issue #20: Xsyon [Updated]

Jef Reahard — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, MMO industry, Opinion, Hands-on, Xsyon, Post-Apocalyptic, Community Detective

Welcome back, intrepid readers. After a bit of a hiatus, Community Detective is back on the case (that case being the chronicling of various MMORPG communities and customer service experiences).

When I left off a few weeks ago, I'd just completed a whirlwind tour of DC Universe Online -- the PC and console versions -- and this week's issue couldn't be more different. We're talking polar opposites here, as Notorious Games' Xsyon sandbox is everything that DCUO is not (although the two titles do share half-baked chat functionality).

I'll be honest here: I tend to cut sandboxes an inordinate amount of slack because a) I love them, and b) they've been relegated to second-class citizen status on account of the casual MMORPG explosion. Join me after the cut as I attempt to maintain some semblance of objectivity while recounting a couple weeks' worth of Xsyon community and customer service adventures.

Continue reading Community Detective Issue #20: Xsyon [Updated]

Community Detective Issue #20: Xsyon [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joymax launches Silkroad Online expansion and new events

Jef Reahard — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, News items, Silkroad Online, Free-to-play

There's a ton of new functionality on display in Joymax's free-to-play Silkroad Online MMORPG. The historical fantasy title, set along the renowned China to Constantinople trading route in the 7th century AD, has recently released its Rise of the Thief-Hunter expansion. Additionally, Joymax has added 24-hour GM support to the game and is hosting a series of events designed to draw awareness to the new services as well as solicit fan feedback (and offer prizes). Festivities include a share-your-knowledge event, a Fortress War video competition, and a Legendary Player tribute event.

The expansion features a new emphasis on jobs, and players will be able to specialize in new skill sets dependent on their characters' jobs and levels. Job titles will also change as various advancement tasks are completed, and reputation gain is now tied in with rank bonuses (which in turn raises attributes).

Rise of the Thief-Hunter also brings a newly designed crafting system granting players the ability to fabricate everything from siege items to alchemy staples. A new trade system allows for players to explore their smugglery sides and offers quests that reward unique job items. Players may also choose to protect trade caravans or raid them. Check out the official Silkroad Online website for more information on the expansion and associated events.

Joymax launches Silkroad Online expansion and new events originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist and the NeverEnding Quest: A cozy chit-chat with Thom Terrazas

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Interviews, MMO industry, The Game Archaeologist

Welcome back to the Game Archaeologist's third week of our EverQuest expedition! So, OK, we lost a few valued members of our team crossing the wilds of Norrath, but who would ever think that 10 rats could be so vicious when out for vengeance? It comes with the territory, and really, it's well worth the loss of human life if we can educate just one soul on one of the most influential MMOs of all time. Their mothers will understand their sacrifice.

We've already taken a look at the highlights of EverQuest and the perspectives of several veterans of the game, which means this week we must be gearing up for an inside look into the machinations of grinding, hell levels, alternative advancement and DKP. For this, we struggled through the Swamp of Sony to find the ramshackle hut of Thom Terrazas -- and he was expecting us. A fight ensued, with many a chicken flung in anger, not to mention a few pokes in the eye, Three Stooges-style. But in the end, Terrazas capitulated and told us everything we wanted to know.

Thom Terrazas almost has all his SOE merit badges, having worked on Planetside, Vanguard and now EverQuest in various roles. I was curious -- what was it like to be handed the keys to not just a game, but a veritable institution? Hit the jump to see what Terrazas has to say about his favorite memories, the future of the game, and why EQ hit it out of the park in 1999.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist and the NeverEnding Quest: A cozy chit-chat with Thom Terrazas

The Game Archaeologist and the NeverEnding Quest: A cozy chit-chat with Thom Terrazas originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anarchy Online player hijacks GM account, runs amok in game

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Anarchy Online, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Humor

Many of us have mused from time to time what we would do if we happened to get our hands on coveted GM powers in our MMOs. While it may be tantalizing to think of slaughtering raid bosses with a single command, it's probably best that these virtual god-like powers are kept out of the public's reach. Unfortunately for the Anarchy Online team, this scenario went from hypothetical to chaotically real this past week.

AO Game Director Colin Cragg labeled it an "unplanned and unwanted volunteer event" when a player managed to access a GM account and ran amok for over two hours in the game last Tuesday. Surprisingly, the player in question did try to "put on a spectacular show with special guest stars," as Cragg put it, although the event ended up causing a huge mess. Some players became unable to fight due to fear effects while others unwittingly received special items in their inventory. The team spent over 30 hours cleaning up the situation, and Funcom had to suspend over 140 accounts until these items could be removed. It is unclear if they caught the person responsible.

Surprisingly, Cragg says that this wasn't the first time that someone took a GM account for a joyride in the game, due to the company's policy of trusting volunteers with this access. Even so, he had a few strong words for anyone who would do this: "If anyone is reading this who is responsible for these attacks GIVE US A BREAK. All we are trying to do here is trying to continue to develop a game we all enjoy. If you are mad about your accounts being banned, or something like that, please try to grow up and accept the fact that you very likely deserved it."

You can read Cragg's full account of this event at Anarchy Online.

Anarchy Online player hijacks GM account, runs amok in game originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[UPDATE #2] DDO: Endless night or endless bannings?

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Bugs, Events, in-game, Free-to-play

What began as a fun Halloween event in Dungeons and Dragons Online has turned into a sour experience for several players. Last night, three-day bans were handed out by Turbine GMs who determined that DDO players were reportedly taking advantage of an exploit during the Mabar, The Endless Night Festival. However, many hit by the bans were unaware of the exploit, and were disgruntled when they were hit with the ban right as customer support left for the evening.

According to the notices sent out, Turbine feels justified for these actions: "Recently we conducted an investigation into an exploit that was being utilized in Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, involving our recent Mabar, The Endless Night Festival. As a result of that investigation, your account has been identified in utilizing this exploit. Please be advised that use of an exploit is strictly prohibited by our Code of Conduct."

One thread concerning the bannings was deleted, although another persists. Players express disbelief over what they see as punishment for rules they didn't know existed. One player, Madmonkey2, summed up the collective disbelief: "If the player has no idea what is going on, how can they be guilty of abusing an exploit? I personally did not gain one single benefit from that event, yet I am accused to doing something (unknown) repeatedly to benefit somehow?"

As you may recall, the Endless Night Festival was plagued with issues in the preview, although the event appeared to proceed more smoothly on the live servers.

[Update: The forum thread we mentioned has since been deleted]

[Update: It looks like those bannings happened by mistake. According to Turbine, less than 1% of the player base was affected, but those players can expect the error to be rectified and to receive compensation as soon as possible. Turbine's Tolero has posted a statement on the DDO forums.]

[UPDATE #2] DDO: Endless night or endless bannings? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Downtime deployment debate

Brendan Drain — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, PvP, Opinion, EVE Evolved

Earlier this week, an explosive argument broke out in the EVE Online community. Following an extended server downtime, it became known that Reddit-based alliance Test Alliance Please Ignore had used the server downtime to protect the deployment of 14 territorial claim units. Ordinarily, these claim units are vulnerable to attack for eight hours while they start up. The owner may choose to either commit a fleet to defend them for eight hours or leave them unguarded and hope nobody decides to knock them down.

This mechanic is designed to ensure that a force can't claim or attack a large number of systems simultaneously against opposition, as an alliance can't reliably defend several TCUs at once. By anchoring the structures just before the extended downtime occurred, Test Alliance made them invulnerable for their entire deployment time. A controversial debate then ensued, as GMs stepped in and Test pilots began making accusations of corruption, collusion and favouritism.

In this opinion piece, I weigh in on the latest debate to shake New Eden. I look at whether downtime deployment really is an exploit and whether there's any substance to the accusations made against EVE's Game Masters.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Downtime deployment debate

EVE Evolved: Downtime deployment debate originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE extended downtime has some unfortunate consequences

Brendan Drain — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 20:40:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guilds, Lore, Patches, PvP, News items

Early this morning, the EVE Online server underwent an extended scheduled downtime for the deployment of the Tyrannis 1.2 patch. The patch deployment proceeded as planned and almost exactly to schedule, with the entire downtime lasting around 12 hours. When the servers came up, however, members of some nullsec alliances noticed that something was amiss. All of a sudden, a number of systems in Delve that had been vacant before the downtime were now owned by Reddit-based alliance Test Alliance Please Ignore.

It soon became apparent that Test Alliance had placed territorial control units in the systems just before the extended downtime began. Under normal circumstances, territorial claim units must be protected by a fleet for the six hours they need to start up. During that time, enemy fleets have a chance to engage the hostile force and destroy their claim unit. If the six hours pass without event, ownership of the system is then awarded to the alliance that placed the structure. By placing the structures immediately prior to the extended downtime, enemies of Test Alliance were unable to contest the claim, which meant it automatically succeeded. What happened next has been the cause of a great deal of controversy on the EVE forums and Reddit.

Skip past the cut for a run-down of what happened next.

Continue reading EVE extended downtime has some unfortunate consequences

EVE extended downtime has some unfortunate consequences originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 20:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist and the Girdle of Anarchy: Your stories

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Anarchy Online, Interviews, The Game Archaeologist

I have to admit that I have a particular soft spot for Anarchy Online. It was, for better and worse, my first MMO -- on launch day, no less. That experience terrified me so much that I became convinced my machine could never run an online game, and so it wasn't until Shadowlands released that I returned to Rubi-Ka for another go. Fortunately, that time things went more smoothly, and I cut my teeth on that content. Sure, it was mostly over my head, and I'm pretty sure I gimped my character by level 3, but the otherworldly atmosphere and giddy newness of MMOs in general more than made up for it.

After last week's brief overview of the many years of Anarchy Online's operation, vets poured out of the grid to share their own screenshots and stories. It may not be the hip new thing these days -- more like, it needs a hip replacement -- but to hear these players tell it, AO isn't as washed up as you may think.

Read on for sordid tales that would make any of the Game Archaeologist's own adventures look like a dip in the kiddie pool!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist and the Girdle of Anarchy: Your stories

The Game Archaeologist and the Girdle of Anarchy: Your stories originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX 2010: Wrassling the FFXIV community with Square-Enix

Justin Olivetti — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Interviews, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage, Final Fantasy XIV

It was hard to miss Final Fantasy XIV at PAX Prime this year -- its booth loomed large, white and sprawling right inside of the main exhibition hall doors. As players poured in to get their hands on this imminent title, Massively pulled aside Square-Enix's Yasu Kurosawa and Sage Sundi for a chat about managing the global community.

Sage deals with more of the global aspect across multiple regions, while Yasu is Square Enix's North America representative and is tasked with bringing the community's voice back to Japan. Unfortunately, we were limited from discussing gameplay aspects of FFXIV, but the pair were open about the challenges and difficulties of handling a community worldwide, especially in regions where the game's developers are not linguistically fluent. Read on for their thoughts on the subject.

Continue reading PAX 2010: Wrassling the FFXIV community with Square-Enix

PAX 2010: Wrassling the FFXIV community with Square-Enix originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are you a leader or follower?

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Today we want to know one very simple fact from you: Are you a leader or follower in game?

Are you the take charge, "Follow me into the gaping maw of hell, gentlemen!" figure who grabs the reins of every situation? Do you get disgruntled when a group sits around, twiddling its thumbs because nobody can make up his mind? Are you a guild master, an officer, a raid leader or even a community leader for your game? Do you enjoy creating teams and being the one calling all the shots? Does being a leader even give you a heady rush of power?

Or are you a laid back, "You guys decide what we're going to do and I'll do it!" gamer who likes lining up behind someone else? Is it less stressful being a follower because you can just play without having to worry about organizing and figuring things out too often? Is your personality just incompatible with being the go-to guy or gal? Would you much rather have someone take care of the big details so you can enjoy the smaller things in life?

In MMOs, are you a leader or follower?

The Daily Grind: Are you a leader or follower? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's Community Detective, Issue #3: Aion

Jef Reahard — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, MMO industry, Opinion, Community Detective

"There is currently a wait of about five days from the time you sent your request. We will continue to do all we can to reduce the wait time." So says a portion of the support email we received from NCsoft over the weekend while preparing the notes for this week's issue of Community Detective. Five days? Five days! Well, the good news is that the debacle had a happy ending. The bad news is that the wait, and a few vocal community members, colored our current perceptions of Aion.

Welcome to another issue of Massively's Community Detective. This week we're changing up our format just a bit to focus on a single MMORPG. Aion goes under the microscope today, and the PvPvE title skews a bit more towards conventional MMOs than last week's EVE/Darkfall duo.

Before we dive into the world of Atreia, let's reiterate the column's purpose, as well as outline our current methods. Fly past the cut for more.

Continue reading Massively's Community Detective, Issue #3: Aion

Massively's Community Detective, Issue #3: Aion originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anti-Aliased: The customers aren't always right, but they should be supported

Seraphina Brennan — Thu, 27 May 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, Anti-Aliased

The customer isn't always right. Trust me, I know, I use to work at GameStop. *shivers at the thought of pushing reserves* Sometimes, the customer is wrong -- dead wrong -- but that doesn't mean the customer shouldn't be supported and appreciated.

Customer support is one of those areas of MMO games that often goes overlooked when it goes right, or put under a spotlight when it goes wrong. There is no middle ground with that department, and the many good people who put long hours into making sure your account properly works don't get enough thanks

Well, let's fix that. Today I want to talk about two recent interactions I've had with customer support, but I also want to address a few issues that I have with the system as well.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: The customers aren't always right, but they should be supported

Anti-Aliased: The customers aren't always right, but they should be supported originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whack a GM for profit in Runes of Magic

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic

The Game Master is a sacred position, only attained after decades of painful training under the practiced eye of an ancient guru. Well, that, or an application to a studio and a subsequent interview. Either way, to be in the hallowed presence of a GM means that you either messed up badly, or you need help.

Runes of Magic throws out a third scenario by placing a bounty on all of their GMs during a special event held tomorrow, May 7. As part of their "Expedition 60" program, they're inviting players to hunt down and terminate -- with extreme prejudice -- GMs any and everywhere they are spotted. Why would anyone be so suicidal to take on a full-fledged GM? For rewards, of course! If a GM is found and downed, they will drop a permanent Purgatory Nightmare Mount.

If that sounds good, log into Runes of Magic on May 7 and pay attention to the chat channels for clues as to the nearest GM's location. Read the full announcement for more info!

Whack a GM for profit in Runes of Magic originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Choose my Adventure: Fallen Earth finale

Shawn Schuster — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Culture, Events, in-game, Hands-on, Choose My Adventure

This being the last week in Fallen Earth for the Choose my Adventure group, we decided to have our own grand finale. Holding true to tradition, we had you vote on the location and type of party this was to be. You ultimately chose to do some zombie hunting in Sector 2's Newton, which really proved to be a good time!

How much of a good time? How does a flaming totem pole made of GMs sound? A flaming GM-kabob, if you will? How about zombie boxing? Yeah, I'd say we had some fun. Check out the gallery below for some of my favorite screenshots taken through the last few weeks in the game and keep reading after the cut for more on our last day in Fallen Earth.

Gallery: Choose my Adventure: Fallen Earth

Continue reading Choose my Adventure: Fallen Earth finale

Choose my Adventure: Fallen Earth finale originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See an Aion GM in action blowing up spammers

William Dobson — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Humor

NCsoft has always been fairly vocal about about their assault on Aion's goldspammer and bot epidemic. They bolstered the game's spam filter a while ago and their Game Surveillance Unit reportedly banned over 27,000 botting accounts just last week. It's great to hear about these positive statistics, but if your game experience has been ruined in the past by some of these unsavory characters, you might be looking for something more visceral -- and thankfully, we've got that for you.

Enter Youtube user MidoriPeanut, who managed to catch an Aion GM in the throes of a banning spree and recorded it all for the rest of us to enjoy. The movie features the GM blowing up a number of goldspammer ad stores, all set to the dramatic Syringe by Emilie Autumn. Sure, this could all take place behind the scenes and the offenders would quietly disappear from the world, but isn't it a lot more fun seeing them cast off to hell by a cutesy animal? Get out the popcorn and head past the break to see the banishing in action.

Continue reading See an Aion GM in action blowing up spammers

See an Aion GM in action blowing up spammers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aion 24/7 GM support 'coming very soon'

Kyle Horner — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, News items

Aion has a lot of great qualities, although one of the biggest issues in-game towers above pretty much any others: 24/7 in-game GM support. Whether it's gold spammers, bugs or some issue that goes above and beyond asking for help in guild chat -- constant GM support is essential for happy customers.

So you'll be happy to know it's coming very soon! At least, according to recent Twitter activities by the community team. As the weeks continue to churn for this newly hatched (at least in the west) MMO, having a quality support team is going to make or break many potential players' opinions when their hesitant friends ask, Aion"Should I pick up Aion?" Thus, this is good news. Not as good as it actually happening, but very close!

[via TTH]

Aion 24/7 GM support 'coming very soon' originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet the Champions Online lead GM team

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, Champions Online

Very infrequently do we get to see the people who are diligently working behind the customer service counter in our online games. They listen to all our requests (frivolous or not,) they free us from the shackles of bad environmental clipping, and they make sure we're having a fun time in our game of choice. They are the game masters, and Champions Online is taking the time to give them a whole interview on their website.

The interview focuses on the three lead GMs of Champions Online (and soon to be Star Trek Online): Jim "Jaydeegee" Garner, Markus "Villarigor" Kraus, and Noel "Destra" Holmes. The three of them tackle some of the questions of customer service, including their day-to-day jobs, dealing with customers, reporting bugs, and how they take their time to enjoy the game. If you want the full story on their answers, check out the interview on the Champions Online main site.

Meet the Champions Online lead GM team originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: World events in EVE Online

Brendan Drain — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, PvP, PvE, Opinion, Roleplaying, Virtual worlds, EVE Evolved

In the early years of the MMO genre, developers and game masters routinely ran special once-only events to immerse the playerbase in a game's storyline. Storytelling has always been one of EVE Online's strongest features and in the early days of EVE developers showed a significant commitment to immersive events. These events unfortunately became plagued with difficulties and inadequacies, leading to the eventual shut-down of events altogether. Of course EVE isn't the only game hit by these issues, it forms part of what I consider to be a very disappointing trend. In recent years, many MMOs have opted to replace authored events with predictable seasonal festivals or have even eliminated events altogether. EVE's storyline is now simply a collection of stories and the news items tell tales of in-game events which never actually happened. In my opinion, this was one of the biggest mistakes the game's developers CCP Games have ever made.

In this article, I grapple with the problems EVE's events have had and find potential solutions in some unlikely places.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: World events in EVE Online

EVE Evolved: World events in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you wish there was more player-GM interaction?

Lesley Smith — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, The Daily Grind

There's something about gamesmasters which seems to fascinate us players. They are near mythical creatures with awesome powers and this is probably because, whatever game you play or official forum you explore, they are fleeting creatures. Often heard but seldom seen, you might spend ten minutes chatting to one after submitting a ticket but they rarely materialize. Sometimes though, they let their hair down and have some fun - usually on PTRs or as part of anniversary celebrations.

I'm curious, readers, do you wish GMs would step down from their lofty seats and interact with us more? I mean on a day-to-day basis rather than once in a blue moon and not just for special occasions. Would you like to talk to one in the flesh rather than conversing with a disembodied chat box? Do you think they need a bigger presence in forums?

The Daily Grind: Do you wish there was more player-GM interaction? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM item scandal rocks WoW

Lesley Smith — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Events, in-game, Exploits, Game mechanics, News items

As epic scandals go, WoW has had its fair share and the latest -- centred around a rather boring looking shirt called Martin Fury -- has had everyone talking over at our sister site WoW Insider.

So it goes like this. One of the guild members of The Marvel Family on US-Vek'nilash, a fellow named Leroyspeltz, discovered a mysterious GM-only item has been sent to one of his alts when Blizzard were restoring items after his account had been hacked. So he gives this unassuming shirt to his Guild Leader, Karatechop, who decided to take it for a spin -- in Ulduar. He didn't file a ticket but rather assumed it was okay for them to have it because it came from Blizzard. They used it fourteen times in various instances as well as Malgyos and 25-man Obsidian Sanctum.

Continue reading GM item scandal rocks WoW

GM item scandal rocks WoW originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 03 May 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tasos addresses Darkfall's GM corruption charges

Lesley Smith — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Forums, MMO industry, News items, Politics

Darkfall dev Tasos Flambouras posted on the official forums regarding player accusations that GMs have been crashing servers, refunding money and items. As players are often unsure of what awesome powers the average Games Master possesses but Tasos is keen to reassure players such reports are completely bogus.

He says: "First of all GMs cannot crash the server, or cause a client to crash. They cannot create items or money. All their actions and communications are monitored and logged. We re-checked all chat logs and GM activity for every report mentioned in the forums or reported to us at the help desk, over the time periods that the questionable conduct was supposed to have taken place and found absolutely nothing. Because of this, any public accusations on the forums accusing GMs or the company of any such activities will be removed, and everyone contributing in the thread will be banned from the forums. GM activity is always monitored by us. If you would like to report GM conduct, then you should use support.darkfallonline.com to do so if you have proof of misconduct."

We're not quite sure why players have been accusing the GMs but crashing servers is certainly above their powers. That's more likely to do with technical problems with the game client or overpopulation on the servers. Tasos is also keen to remind anyone that if they've been banned from the game or the forums, a message will appear when they try to log in.

Tasos addresses Darkfall's GM corruption charges originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aeria Games: "If you don't have fun playing, we'll give you a refund"

James Egan — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Last Chaos, Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Dream of Mirror Online, Stone Age 2

There aren't many MMO publishers out there who would actually offer refunds for gamers who don't have fun in their titles, but this is exactly what Aeria Games is doing. We did a double take when hearing about this but it's legit. Superman0X is a USA Gamemaster for Aeria Games, and has declared "April is Fun Month at Aeria... GUARANTEED".

That's a bold statement. But what does it mean for players of the various Aeria Games MMOs? Superman0X writes, "We are so sure you will have fun we are going to put our AP [Aeria Points] where our mouth is. If any player does not have fun we will refund all their AP purchases for the entire month up to 5000AP." Players who didn't enjoy themselves in April will have a window of opportunity to request a refund from May 1st to May 10th . You can check out the full details in the announcement but we're guessing Aeria has a lot of faith in their titles if they'd even consider making such an offer.

Aeria Games: "If you don't have fun playing, we'll give you a refund" originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Making fleet battle reservations in EVE Online?

James Egan — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP

This is probably a first in the MMO industry... EVE Online announced higher performance server reservations for large scale PvP battles. Unlike most other MMO titles where you choose a server to play on with your friends, EVE Online doesn't make you choose. Although the server cluster is made up of hundreds of IBM blade servers, from a player's perspective, it's all one galaxy with over 5000 solar systems. This is good for a 'sandbox' game, where players are allowed to do whatever they feel like within the rules of that place. It creates a huge galaxy where everyone can potentially interact... or kill each other. But it comes with a rather substantial drawback at times: lag.

This 'single server' approach makes EVE Online a game where players hope to have large-scale fleet battles not unlike all those sci-fi shows and films we grew up with. But the harsh reality is that there are limitations of server technology that hinder large scale conflicts. Bring a few hundred of your friends to a fleet battle in EVE and you might not be fighting so much as watching a slide show. Definitely not the most fun to be had in the game.

Continue reading Making fleet battle reservations in EVE Online?

Making fleet battle reservations in EVE Online? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE dev blog charts much improved customer support experiences

James Egan — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Patches, News items

Long petition queues, particularly related to expansions, has long been a problem in EVE Online. These long waits may very well be a thing of the past, according to GM Nova, Senior Game Master for EVE Online. GM Nova's latest dev blog, "Such stuff as dreams are made on," deals with the deployment of the Empyrean Age 1.1 patch in early September, as seen from a Customer Support perspective. "We at Customer Support, being at the front lines so to speak, are in a unique position to judge or evaluate whether a patch was successfully deployed and if ther is any fallout or unexpected problems involved, as the potential torrent of problems are directed at us to pass on," he said.

GM Nova points out how that 'torrent of problems' has slowed down to a trickle, using graph data of the Trinity expansion deployment (predictably an insane amount of petitions), the subsequent Empyrean Age 1.0 patch (so smooth they thought their petition system had crashed), and finally Empyrean Age 1.1. The trend evidenced by the graphs is that their patch deployments are becoming less fraught with complications, meaning happier players in the long run. GM Nova goes on to discuss some of the structural changes made to CCP's Customer Support department that improve petition response time, saying,"We are happy to announce that our average petition age is currently two days with most normal requests handled in hours. We hope our efforts shine through in the level of support we are able to offer." Would you agree with GM Nova's assessment, and have your own petitions of late in EVE Online been resolved in a reasonable amount of time?

EVE dev blog charts much improved customer support experiences originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even NPC agents are running from Jita's lag in EVE

James Egan — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Game mechanics, Crafting, Server downtime, PvE

Despite being the most notoriously lag-choked solar system in EVE Online, the teeming trade hub of Jita remains a central destination for all things bought and sold in New Eden. Jita is very much a victim of its own success though, as we said before: "Not a day goes by without an EVE pilot, somewhere, cursing Jita and calling for the system to be nuked." The Need for Speed initiative launched by CCP in 2007 aims at improving both server and client performance, and their latest announcement -- the removal of agents from Jita -- is the latest effort they're using to combat lag. This writer feels you're just begging to have your mission probed out, or you might have a masochistic streak by dealing with Level 4 aggro coupled with Jita lag, but that's not for us to decide.

Apparently a number of mission runners use agents in Jita, but according to CCP Wrangler, these players will soon be receiving EVE mails "informing them that the agents are relocating and the date of the downtime when the move will take place. From that point the agents will cease to offer new missions but they will accept ongoing missions, and of course they will resume their normal activities after the move." We'll see how well removing mission runners from the fabric of Jita's lag will improve the situation, but this might be a step in the right direction. The relocation of agents is likely one of a number of steps CCP Games will need to take to deliver smooth gameplay to a playerbase that keeps growing every year, making lag issues more pressing. On the topic of being relocated, have any of you ever gotten stuck in Jita and needed to be moved by a GM?

Even NPC agents are running from Jita's lag in EVE originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE exploit warning affects corp infiltration practices

James Egan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Exploits, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP, News items

War declarations are an essential part of EVE Online. They allow corporations and alliances to fight for control over resources, territory, or simply to get revenge on their rivals. Then again, others declare war for the opportunity to grief in Empire space. Perhaps it's this latter tendency that prompted the latest announcement from CCP Games. They're branding the monkeywrenching of rival corporations during wartime as an exploit.

GM Grimmi states: "The practice of insta-joining/leaving warring corporations for the purpose of surprising war targets, or getting them in trouble with CONCORD, is considered an exploit from here on. Reports of this will be investigated on a case by case basis and warnings will be issued at the discretion of the GM. Repeated incidents may result in bans on accounts involved." This doesn't seem to apply to 'normal' corp infiltrations, though it does beg the question of why a corporation at war would even be accepting new recruits at all. What's the protocol in your corp, do you continue to accept applicants into the fold during a wardec, or is the risk of alt spying and sabotage too great?

EVE exploit warning affects corp infiltration practices originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warhammer Online NDA lifts tomorrow (August 19th)

James Egan — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:15:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, Warhammer Online, News items

The Warhammer Online NDA is expected to lift tomorrow, according to Mark Jacobs, GM of Mythic Entertainment. The announcement has popped up in a few places, but the message is clear: the NDA is lifting. Jacobs' announcement also touched upon why they're running the Open Beta as they are and early client downloads, but it's the NDA lift that seems to be catching most everyone's attention.

Jacobs said, "We expect to lift it tomorrow morning. I was hoping it was going to be today but I wanted to wait till I got the beta reports from the weekend and we just didn't have enough time to get everything coordinated with our partners in order for the press release to go out today." Jacobs also stated that he'll explain the reasons for the delayed NDA release tomorrow. WAR bloggers everywhere are already freaking out (in a good way) over the news, so expect a literal flood of Warhammer Online info for tomorrow.

Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

Warhammer Online NDA lifts tomorrow (August 19th) originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Age of Conan GM fired amidst in-game sex scandal

Samuel Axon — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Culture, News items

An Age of Conan player tricked a naïve, Funcom-employed Game Master (an in-game customer service representative) into pursuing cybersex with him. The player posed as a female playing a male character and enticed the male GM with flirtatious remarks and innuendos. After the GM fully threw himself into the moment, the player revealed that he was male, and that the conversation had been a prank.

Friends of the player posted screenshots of the conversation on MMORPG's forums, and the ensuing controversy led Funcom to fire the GM for unacceptable behavior and violation of the customer service guidelines. Destructoid then interviewed the prankster and hosted the unedited version of the conversation screenshots.

Frankly, we're not sure who is the bigger jackass -- the GM for his unprofessional behavior, or the player for baiting him into it. Everyone seems to have his or her own unique interpretation of this fiasco.

[Via Big Download]

Age of Conan GM fired amidst in-game sex scandal originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Birthday fun on the Puzzle Pirate GM seas

Krystalle Voecks — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Puzzle, Screenshots, Puzzle Pirates, Free-to-play, One Shots

As some of you may remember, we recently sent out a call for different GMs to send along some of their favorite screenshots. The above screenshot was in response to that call, and comes to us from Ocean Master Eurydice. She helps players out in Three Rings' incredibly addictive, free-to-play game Puzzle Pirates! Here's what she had to say:

I'm a GM on Puzzle Pirates, although over here we call them Ocean Masters. I saw your call for GM pictures and got this OKd with a supervisor. (Always good to check first...) [This] is a screenshot of my first ship, called the Queen of Shadows. It was colorfully decorated a couple years ago for my birthday by wonderful co-workers -- on their off time! It is where I stand when on duty on the Midnight Ocean (a server). We stand on ships so that we can have quiet while we answer petitions, but we can pop off at a moment's notice and be with the players if we need to. As you may be able to make out from the faint messages in the lower left-hand corner, there are parts of the ship not pictured here that are so decorated that I can't walk around them.

That seems like it's definitely a fun place to work if your co-workers decide to pull silly pranks like crowding your ship full of flowers and blocking you from moving around too much! (You know, especially when you also have awesome GM-type powers and can just move the flowers around.) Are you a GM who would like to show off something fun from your game? Send those screens in to us here at oneshots AT massively.com, along with whatever you'd like to say about them. It's almost as much fun as a ship full of flowers.

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Birthday fun on the Puzzle Pirate GM seas originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: It's good to be the (GM) king

Krystalle Voecks — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:05:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Age of Conan, One Shots

We have to admit, we were a little bit surprised when this particular Age of Conan screenshot landed in our One Shots in-box. While we have no way of verifying if the person in question is actually a Funcom GM or if they're just really good at Photoshop, we still thought this one was highly amusing. Confused? We were too, until we read the attached note:

After a long hard day of assisting players, sometimes a Game Master just needs a good sit. Where better than the throne of Conan himself? It's good to be the king.

-- your friendly neighborhood Funcom employee who happens to read Massively

If that really is a GM, we think that's a pretty funny/cool thing to do after a long hard day -- and we certainly don't begrudge them the chair! If you're a GM in a game, feel free to send us screenshots of your particular game (no names required) and if not, feel free to send your screenshots in anyway! All games are welcome, from indie to mainstream! Just send those cool screenshots to us here at oneshots AT massively.com along with a note describing what we're seeing. Pretty easy way to give your favorite game exposure, no?

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: It's good to be the (GM) king originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online: Using neutral characters in militia activities is an exploit

James Egan — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:45:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Exploits, Game mechanics, News items

Oh you kids! When are you going to learn that you can't cheat at intergalactic war? Following up on the recent exploit of circumventing ship class restrictions in combat zones, EVE Online's GM Grimmi just decreed the following activity to be an exploit as well: "Using neutral characters to tank Faction Navy NPCs to stop them from attacking players involved in Factional Warfare with that faction is considered an exploit. Action will be taken against users found engaging in this activity."

So it's official; using draft dodgers as a way to draw fire away from enlisted militia characters is evil, and will presumably get you thrown into a Concord cell with no windows. Be advised. Hippies.

EVE Online: Using neutral characters in militia activities is an exploit originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Empyrean Age factional warfare exploit identified

James Egan — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Exploits, Game mechanics, PvP, News items

Factional warfare in EVE Online, by design, ensures that ships of a much greater ship class cannot engage smaller ships in certain deadspace mission pockets. If you and your fellow militia pilots are in a zone designated for nothing larger than frigates, for instance, you shouldn't find yourself getting locked by battleships fighting for your rival militia. Apparently this has started to occur; some players have found that the jump gates to these zones don't actually prevent them from warping in ships of a magnitude not allowed in such areas.

GM Grimmi had this to say at the EVE Online site: "Flying bigger class ships than allowed by the jump gates to Factional Warfare complexes has been classed as an exploit. If you are found doing this we will be forced to take in-game actions as abusing game mechanics is not allowed." So there you go. You might still be able to get in there with something obscenely overpowered and pop frigates like balloons, but you'll say goodbye to your account over it.

Empyrean Age factional warfare exploit identified originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EQII dev Noel "Ilucide" Walling interviewed

William Dobson — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry

EverQuest II developer Noel Walling (also known as "Ilucide") has given some of his time to let the fans find out more about him. His move into the gaming industry was born from a near-obsession with the original EverQuest, something that a number of readers may be able to relate to. After being a GM with EQ for a while, he moved to work on EQII before its launch, and has remained there since.

Ilucide seems to have a hand in everything when it comes to EQII, performing many different roles some days, but enjoys designing group instances the most. He has a level 74 character in the game, and perhaps the reason he's not 80 is due to the amount of other games he is playing on and off: a lengthy list -- and a great list, at that -- ranging from other MMOs to console games. Have a read of the rest of the interview to learn about Walling's interest outside of games, including the ever-important question: "Regular or Decaf?".

EQII dev Noel "Ilucide" Walling interviewed originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP Games outlines GM hierarchy in EVE Online

James Egan — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, MMO industry

The latest EVE Online dev blog comes from GM Zhainius, who writes about customer support at CCP Games. Over the 5 years EVE Online has been running, the GM staff has answered millions of petitions in addition to writing articles and guides. But their work is typically in the background; it's the devs that really get the attention. GM Zhainius felt like writing to clarify the inner workings of CCP Games in terms of customer support, and to give players a clearer picture of what happens when they file a petition.

GM Zhainius dispels rumors that Game Masters at CCP are volunteers. They're all paid employees, some of whom have been doing their job for years. He also cites a low turnover among CCP's GM staff; in fact, a number of them have been with EVE before the game even launched. The GMs work from four locations worldwide: Reykjavik, Atlanta, Düsseldorf, and Shanghai. He lays out the company's entire customer support structure and the groups or 'cells' the support team is divided into. The EVE dev blog is an interesting look behind-the-scenes into how CCP customer support is handled, and whether or not you're a satisfied customer, it's always good to know that at least someone is reading those ship reimbursement petitions.

CCP Games outlines GM hierarchy in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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