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The Soapbox: On MMO negativity

Jef Reahard — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous, Sandbox

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

Last week I was given a link to an op-ed piece at Thade's place, and in lieu of posting a comment there, I figured I'd do it on the Soapbox and hopefully generate some discussion (and traffic) for all concerned.

In a nutshell, Thade questions whether MMO pundits actually like MMOs, and he comments on a perceived rise in negativity amongst what are assumed to be fans of the genre.

I don't know if the blogosphere has taken a turn toward the negative, but if so, there's a pretty simple explanation for it. The games have changed, and the old guard who grew up with MMOs (and are willing/able to devote time to blogging about them) have to try a little bit harder to enjoy themselves as each new title gets further and further from what they like. That's OK, though, and it's also OK -- and even essential -- for the disaffected to speak up.

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The Soapbox: On MMO negativity originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Seven things to do in Ered Luin before you die

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor

As I moved on to my second starter zone in Lord of the Rings Online on my mission to complete every quest in every area of the game, I was in for a rude, if expected, awakening. In comparison to the Shire, LotRO's Ered Luin is lacking across the board. It's hard to imagine that the game's most eastern zone, which houses not one but two racial starting areas, could turn out to be a snoozefest, but I'll let the title of this article do the talking for me. I wanted to have 10 highlights of each zone for this series and could barely get to seven.

The problem here is multifold. In trying to cram both the Elves and Dwarves into a relatively small (if tall) zone, Turbine didn't allow for the space to develop either race's culture before throwing them together in the middle for an awkward social dance. The races aren't allowed to really establish their personalities, either, leaving the Elves to start shining in Rivendell and the Dwarves in Moria. Finally, many of the quests are so dull and forgettable as to prompt players to race through the area to escape to more interesting locales.

It's not all a loss, of course. Some of the areas are quite scenic, and I do actually approve of the concept of setting up the conflict between Dwarves and Elves. If anything, the taste of ideas here almost begs for the area to be significantly expanded so that these concepts could be played out and the respective Elf and Dwarf habitations could be given more life.

In the end, I recommend that visiting travelers, adventurers, and treasure-hunters pack a light lunch and plan to get the following seven activities done in a half-day's span.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Seven things to do in Ered Luin before you die

The Road to Mordor: Seven things to do in Ered Luin before you die originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aion digs through history with an in-game event

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Events, in-game, Humor

Atreia's precious artifacts don't belong in some rich guy's collection -- they belong in a museum! If you're feeling the Indiana Jones vibe and are in the mood for a little treasure hunting, then Aion's got the in-game event for you: Picking Up the Past. The past is a litterbug, we tells ya!

Starting today and running through October 5th, Picking Up the Past challenges players on both sides of the faction fence to uncover fossils that are apparently everywhere. Some will be easy to find; others are riding piggyback on dungeon monsters.

Once a player find enough fossils, he or she can can turn them in for a variety of rewards including medals, Abyss relics, consumables, crafting mats, and -- why not? -- couples t-shirts. There are no quests associated with the event; simply find and turn in fossils as fast as you can!

Aion digs through history with an in-game event originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Dungeon-running with Turbine

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 13 May 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play, Hands-on, The Road to Mordor

As we talked about last month, Turbine's toting around a double-barreled shotgun full of content that it's preparing to unload. While the biggest blast will undoubtedly be Lord of the Rings Online's third expansion, Rise of Isengard, the team is working hard to provide us with plenty to do between now and then. Part of that effort is directed at Update 3, which is currently scheduled to go live on May 23rd in North America and after June 1st for Europe when the LotRO Global Service takes effect and all of the accounts are moved under Turbine's purview.

I eagerly sat down with Turbine's Aaron Campbell and Joe Barry for a play-through of Update 3's two new three-player instances, Halls of Night and Inn of the Forsaken. Both of these scalable instances will be available to a wide swath of players, and they feature mechanics and sights never before seen in the game.

Also, they're wicked cool.

So join me today as I take you on a brief tour of horrors and adventures beyond imagination. Has everyone used the restroom before we go? Are you sure? It's a long article; I don't want you leaving in the middle of it. OK, let's ride!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Dungeon-running with Turbine

The Road to Mordor: Dungeon-running with Turbine originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 May 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Fashion show! Fashion show! Fashion show at lunch!

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor

Major patch weeks are always a great deal of fun in Lord of the Rings Online as everyone digs into the new content, looks for hidden gems, and goes on grand new adventures. As much as I appreciate most everything in this week's Echoes of the Dead update, I have to say that, hands-down, the additional outfit slots made me the happiest.

Yes, I'm weird, but I can't be the only one who had an inner squeal of joy when Turbine announced that it was going to expand (via the store) the number of outfit spots from two to five. I've always, always loved the outfit system in this game as a way to give my characters a unique and aesthetically pleasing look versus having to stare at the mismatched armor they seem to pick up along the way.

In celebration of the additional outfit slots, I wanted to finally dig into the outfit system and look at the basics of Middle-earth fashion: where you get these pieces, how colors come into play, and where you might go for inspiration. So let's put on our finest frippery and strut the catwalk, ladies and gentlemen!

(I promise, next week I'll be much more manly. Probably.)

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Fashion show! Fashion show! Fashion show at lunch!

The Road to Mordor: Fashion show! Fashion show! Fashion show at lunch! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyperspace Beacon: Homage to we hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will

Larry Everett — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, New titles, Opinion, Humor, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon

One of the best compliments you can give a creator is to make an homage to his work. The title of one of the Hyperspace Beacons was an homage to TOROCast articles. It's a way to tell the creator, "You're doing a good job. Keep up the good work." Not to mention, homages are a lot of fun. In fact, my first published work was an homage to the work of Charles Dickens. I wrote a story about what happened to the Cratchit children. But what happens when an homage goes too far?

Every once in a while, the Hyperspace Beacon takes a side track and asks about ideas that should end up on the cutting room floor. We all know games have concepts that just don't work. Star Wars: The Old Republic will be no exception. This little humorous segment is called We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will -- or WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW, for short.

Follow me after the break to see what "homageneous" ideas should never make it into the release of SWTOR, but knowing our luck, they will anyway.

Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Homage to we hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will

Hyperspace Beacon: Homage to we hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but knowing our luck, it probably will originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA shows off Azarel's Temple

Jef Reahard — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, New titles, News items, TERA

Has it really been ten weeks already? Time flies when you're looking at great TERA screenshots, and En Masse Entertainment has recently released the tenth installment of its Screenshots of the Week featurette. This set, coming to us from the dark innards of Azarel's Temple, may be the most exciting yet (or it could be just the fact that we love grim dungeon interiors that remind us of Raiders of the Lost Ark).

In any event, Azarel's Temple is hidden amidst the dense jungles of Southern Arun, and you can get a sneak preview of it by checking out the first three images in our gallery below, or by visiting the official TERA website. Just make sure you stay out of the light.

Gallery: TERA Screenshots of the Week

TERA shows off Azarel's Temple originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Games Day '09: Lands of the Dead design discussion with Gabe Amatangelo and Jeff Skalski pt. 2

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Warhammer Online, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage

Now you guys have a really interesting design going on with Warhammer, regarding the City Siege system. You've basically built in your own cap on the game's system, which is very different from other MMOs in the market. What's it like designing something like Land of the Dead with that restrictive cap in mind?

Jeff: It's challenging. Sometimes it feels like we're splitting hairs, but we planned to do this type of stuff earlier on, so we left some space to design in. We wanted to make sure this was a free expansion that all players had access to that runs parallel to the tier four campaign...

Gabe: It compliments many different areas of our content. It compliments many types of players with many types of gear and gives them new objectives to achieve. But the top end, yeah, it's definitely a challenge, and that's the one campaign. We have three campaigns. The Warhammer world just has so much stuff in it. There are so many other armies and other things to be inspired by to make new content.

With all of that other stuff in mind, where would you like to take Warhammer if the decision was solely up to you?

Gabe: There's alot. You know, when we explored the RvR gated "Darkness Falls" dungeon, we explored a bunch of different things. We explored Mordheim, we explored Skavenblight, and then we fell across the Tomb Kings. This was perfect for us, as it allowed us to explore a bunch of different gameplay dynamics.

But still, I think Skavenblight is a very cool element. Then you have the whole Vampire Counts dark world...

Jeff: We still got Sylvania and getting out there to do. Personally, from a visual standpoint, I'd like to see Lustria. I think it's an environment we just don't have in the game at the moment, which was one of the reasons I was really excited about Tomb Kings. I like having a completely new environment and it's a setting we don't have at all in our game.

Gabe: And it also really depends on what we want to get out in regards to content. Is it a dungeon, is it a new open zone? That affects where we go with it. If it's a dungeon, oh well then we should go to Skavenblight as it's a underground thing over there. If it's a whole new mini-zone, then maybe we go to Lustria. Of course I'm talking in broad general terms, but that's the stuff that directs where we take it.

Is there anything that got left out of this expansion that you wish would have made it in?

Jeff: We accomplished alot, but there is that one thing we had to cut back on, as we needed to get moving with production, and that was being able to bring the Tomb Kings in as an ally in the RvR siege. In the early days of the design, we were thinking about giving the assistance of the Tomb King and his army out during city sieges.

Gabe: There were several ways we strayed away from that and one was certainly production issues, but another was that we wanted the campaign system to be the campaign system. Land of the Dead is gated by the campaign, but it doesn't hinder or affect the system in any way and we wanted to leave it like that.

The one for me was that we wanted people to be able to access Land of the Dead from level one. But, well, we just couldn't do that. We pushed it back to level 25.

Jeff: But the majority of our players meet that requirement anyway. The other other thing that we wanted was for instances to be able to let more players in. So there's six man runs right now, but there was this "other one" where we wanted to get that number higher, but we didn't get that in.

Gabe: *evil laughter* Not yet.

Now one of thing some of our commenters are going to point out as a problem is the power leveling. You can be level 25, then get bolstered to level 36 in Land of the Dead, and you gain level 36 experience at level 25. Why did you guys decide that?

Gabe: Well Darkness Falls was very successful as an alternate spot for power leveling. So we went and followed that form and put it into Land of the Dead.

The other thing to note though is that you can lose control of the Land of the Dead, and that will cause power leveling to spike. It's another carrot on the stick for players to gain control of the area. So I don't think it's going to be a problem, I think players are going to enjoy it.

Jeff: It gives you another track, an accelerated track, and it happens right at 25 for a reason as it's in that lull between tier three and tier four. It's going to be that extra push that will get people into tier four. We've done many things to help ease that lull, like new epic questlines and boosted quest experience, to get people into tier four.

So, ok, let's pretend I'm a newbie to Warhammer. Why should I come and play your game?

Jeff: If you want PvE content, we got the public quest system which is a trendsetter in the industry and I know we're going to see more of it pop up.

Oh yeah, Runes of Magic already jumped on that.

Jeff: Oh yeah, we know, and it's cool. It's just a good system because it helps get people together. From an PvP standpoint, our game was built for realm vs. realm combat. You can do it from rank one in our game. There are scenarios, there's RvR areas, they're dynamic, there's a lot of variety. We slowly introduce the player to harder and harder mechanics as they advance through the tiers, like keeps, and outer walls of keeps, and city sieges. To me, that's why players should come. If you want PvP then there's no other place to go.

Gabe: With Land of the Dead specifically, it's the pyramids and the necropolis. There's no other setting like that in modern MMOs. It's the action RPG elements and working together to overcome them as a group as well as individually. There's just nothing like it. You like Zelda, you like God of War? Then check this out.

The sands of the Tomb Kings are coming as the final release in the Call to Arms live expansion, the Land of the Dead approaches! Massively has your back with coverage from Mythic Entertainment at Games Day '09, so get your WAAGGGHHH ready for RvR mayhem as Massively re-arms for WAR!

Games Day '09: Lands of the Dead design discussion with Gabe Amatangelo and Jeff Skalski pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 May 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Games Day '09: Lands of the Dead design discussion with Gabe Amatangelo and Jeff Skalski

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Warhammer Online, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

After saying goodbye to Paul and Josh, I soon found myself sitting down with Gabe Amatangelo, the senior designer on Land of the Dead, and Jeff Skalski, the RvR team lead, with the task of getting inside the Land of the Dead development process.

What I got were some great insights into how testing and development works at Mythic Entertainment, as well as some inside facts on Land of the Dead and some great reasons for why players should come back and try out some WAR. Interested in what sparked the movement to an action RPG dynamic? Wondering what features may not have made the final Land of the Dead cut? All of that and more is inside this Games Day interview.

Continue reading Games Day '09: Lands of the Dead design discussion with Gabe Amatangelo and Jeff Skalski

Games Day '09: Lands of the Dead design discussion with Gabe Amatangelo and Jeff Skalski originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 May 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lego IPs interview pt. 2

Michael Zenke — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Massively Interviews, LEGO Universe, Kids

Mark: How many play themes there have been? There's been over a couple of thousand. But they're all very different, right, because there are some that are underwater, there are some that are in space. We have a couple of 'evergreen' sets that have been with us forever. Lego City was one of those themes, Racers, the car set, that's been with us forever, Castle has always been very popular. You're going to see them and those different universes come alive. That's why we work so closely with NetDevil.

We want to get that Lego passion and Lego understanding of our products across. If it was as easy as saying, "Here's Lego Castle, let's make it into an MMO", we wouldn't need to do that. It's not that easy. It's how we tie every set together. It's for every kid out there that loves Lego. It's a community of 3 million people, that we have. Each have different interests, you can see if you go online. There are Trains, there have City, they have Space, everything. They're trying to fit a little bit of each in to start with. What we're trying to do with the game is put enough content out there, to see that this is a creative game. You can create what you want, so how far are you going to take it?

Continue reading Lego IPs interview pt. 2

Lego IPs interview pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lego Universe could eventually include Star Wars, Indiana Jones

Michael Zenke — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, Casual, Massively Interviews, LEGO Universe, Kids

We recently had the chance to speak with Ryan Seabury, Producer for Netdevil's in-development Lego Universe. Along with Project Lead Mark Hansen, Seabury gave us an insider's look at the exciting create/play/explore world of Legos online. The two men were extremely confident in their vision for the project, and we couldn't help but be impressed by their passion for bringing this millions-of-kids strong product to the world of MMO gaming.

Join us as we talk to Seabury and Hansen about the background behind the project, and what kind of worlds we'll be seeing. From Castle to Racers and everything in between, it sounds like whatever kind of kid you are at heart there'll be something there to enjoy. And, of course, the exciting news is that it's definitely possible we'll one day see Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and the other licensed Lego products inside of Lego Universe.

Read on, and be sure to come back for our next interview clip about gameplay!

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Lego Universe could eventually include Star Wars, Indiana Jones originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cinemassively: Indiaena Jones in Legend of the Second Empire

Moo Money — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Second Life, Free-to-play, Cinemassively, Machinima

(If you haven't seen Indiana Jones 4, you should view this with caution. Some of the plot elements of this machinima are directly inspired by the movie, thus qualify as spoilers.)

Torley Linden called attention to this Japanese machinima, Indiaena Jones: Legend of the Second Empire, by 5959 Mopp. 5959 is a serious Second Life machinima enthusiast with 34 videos under their belt in two months time. They take full advantage of the beautiful scenery in the various sims that they film in as they go on their epic SL adventure, which somewhat mirrors part of the plot of the actual film. While the film doesn't really get into the swing of things until about six minutes in, it's definitely worth a watch -- if you can get past the quarky robotic voices drowned out by the music.

[Via Torley Linden]

If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them. Please note that due to the high volume of Second Life submissions, we would prefer submissions from other platforms.

Cinemassively: Indiaena Jones in Legend of the Second Empire originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soloist: Why I do it

Akela Talamasca — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP, Raiding, Quests, Grouping, PvE, Opinion, The Soloist, Hands-on

After this post, I had it in mind to think through why I prefer to solo, and whether the reasons why are valid ones, given that I'm playing in a genre meant to provide a social experience. I'm going to try to list as many reasons as I can think of in favor of grouping and playing with buddies, and provide a counter-argument if I can. Bear in mind, this is not me telling you that you should go solo; this is just me trying to 1) explain why I do it, and 2) understand for myself whether my reasons hold water.

Enough said; excelsior!

Continue reading The Soloist: Why I do it

The Soloist: Why I do it originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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