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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Ragnar Tørnquist discusses TSW's skill system, investigations, and more]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/27/ragnar-tornquist-discusses-tsws-skill-system-investigations-a/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/27/ragnar-tornquist-discusses-tsws-skill-system-investigations-a/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/27/ragnar-tornquist-discusses-tsws-skill-system-investigations-a/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/horror/" rel="tag">Horror</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/interviews/" rel="tag">Interviews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world/" rel="tag">The Secret World</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/27/ragnar-tornquist-discusses-tsws-skill-system-investigations-a/"><img alt="Screenshot -- The Secret World" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/09/tswheader.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
	Dark days are coming, my friends. All the myths are true, and evil lurks around every corner. Thankfully, we've gotten our hands on a new PC Gamer interview with <a href="http://www.massively.com/category/the-secret-world"><em>The Secret World</em></a>'s creative director <a href="http://www.massively.com/tag/ragnar-tornquist">Ragnar T&oslash;rnquist</a>, which should help to cast some light on these grim prophecies.<br />
	<br />
	It's already well-known that <em>The Secret World</em> won't hinge on classes and levels but instead will allow players to craft their own skill sets from a number of set categories. Ragnar expounds on this system, explaining that players will have access to something called a Base Gear Manager, which essentially provides a way for players to quickly swap between preset groups of abilities and equipment in order to adapt to the situation at hand.<br />
	<br />
	While players will likely find themselves falling into the traditional MMO archetypes of tanks, healers, DPS, and so forth, T&oslash;rnquist points out that <em>The Secret World</em> won't be as instance-heavy as other games and will provide a plethora of open-world events that will allow players to come together as an ad hoc group to, say, keep a police station from being overrun by the forces of evil.<br />
	<br />
	Perhaps most interesting, though, are the bits of information revealed about the game's unique Investigation Missions. T&oslash;rnquist provides two examples of what players can expect from the ARG-inspired missions. One involves hunting down an in-game location based on a fortune teller's visions, while the other is a bit more in-depth, requiring players to look up information on a famous painter in order to progress. He also hints that the team may put up websites regarding in-game information that players will have to hack into in order to progress the investigation.<br />
	<br />
	For the full interview, which is full of interesting nuggets and anecdotes from T&oslash;rnquist himself, just click on the link below.</div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/27/ragnar-tornquist-discusses-tsws-skill-system-investigations-a/">Ragnar Tørnquist discusses TSW's skill system, investigations, and more</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/27/ragnar-tornquist-discusses-tsws-skill-system-investigations-a/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20067736/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/27/ragnar-tornquist-discusses-tsws-skill-system-investigations-a/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>funcom</category><category>interview</category><category>investigation</category><category>investigation-mission</category><category>investigation-missions</category><category>pc-gamer</category><category>progression</category><category>ragnar-tørnquist</category><category>ragnar-tornquist</category><category>skills</category><category>the-secret-world</category><category>tsw</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Daniel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Secret World dev diary talks story, context]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/secret-world-dev-diary-talks-story-context/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/secret-world-dev-diary-talks-story-context/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/secret-world-dev-diary-talks-story-context/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/horror/" rel="tag">Horror</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world/" rel="tag">The Secret World</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dev-diaries/" rel="tag">Dev Diaries</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJuEQStDHEI"><img border="1" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/05/tswgdc20112.jpg" vspace="4" /></a></div>
Sleuthing for more story-centric info regarding <a href="http://funcom.com">Funcom's</a> upcoming horror-conspiracy MMORPG? Look no further than <a href="http://thesecretworld.com"><em>The Secret World's</em></a> latest <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJuEQStDHEI">video dev diary</a> featuring commentary from designers <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/ragnar-tornquist">Ragnar Tornquist</a> and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/joel-bylos">Joel Bylos</a> as well as lead writer <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/dag-scheve">Dag Scheve</a>.<br />
<br />
The trio highlights <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world"><em>The Secret World's</em></a> use of the real world as both location and character, with Bylos calling it "<em>the greatest resource of all</em>." The video shows a few new clips courtesy of the game's cinematics, but Tornquist is quick to point out that cinematics don't tell the whole tale when it comes to <em>The Secret World's</em> narrative. In spite of the fact that every character in the game is motion-captured and fully voiced, the story is "<em>embedded into the world. You have to look for it, you have to search for it. The story is exploration and the story is discovery</em>," Tornquist explains.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/funcom">Funcom</a> also seeks to challenge gamers in ways that depart from the traditional MMORPG paradigm, and Bylos says that "<em>we're not just asking them to click a mouse button over and over again, but to think about what they do</em>." Put on your thinking caps and click past the cut for the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJuEQStDHEI">full video</a>.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/secret-world-dev-diary-talks-story-context/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Secret World dev diary talks story, context</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/secret-world-dev-diary-talks-story-context/">Secret World dev diary talks story, context</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 30 May 2011 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/secret-world-dev-diary-talks-story-context/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19953517/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/30/secret-world-dev-diary-talks-story-context/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>cinematics</category><category>dag-scheve</category><category>dev-diary</category><category>fantasy</category><category>funcom</category><category>horror</category><category>investigation</category><category>joel-bylos</category><category>missions</category><category>mmo-story</category><category>Ragnar-Tornquist</category><category>sabotage</category><category>story</category><category>the-secret-world</category><category>tsw</category><category>video</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jef Reahard]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 30 May 2011 13:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Engaging the brain: Funcom talks about the immersiveness of story in The Secret World]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/engaging-the-brain-funcom-talks-about-the-immersiveness-of-stor/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/engaging-the-brain-funcom-talks-about-the-immersiveness-of-stor/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/engaging-the-brain-funcom-talks-about-the-immersiveness-of-stor/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/horror/" rel="tag">Horror</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world/" rel="tag">The Secret World</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dev-diaries/" rel="tag">Dev Diaries</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/new_video_the_secret_world_developer_diary_story_and_missions"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/05/tsw-1306502688.jpg" style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 4px;" /></a></div>
<em>"No designer could ask for more to draw upon,"</em> <a href="http://www.thesecretworld.com"><em>The Secret World's</em></a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/joel-bylos/">Joel Bylos</a> says. <em>"This world, our world, is the greatest resource of them all."</em><br />
<br />
And so begins <a href="http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/new_video_the_secret_world_developer_diary_story_and_missions">a fascinating trip down the dark alleys of storytelling</a> in <a href="http://www.massively.com/tag/funcom">Funcom's</a> upcoming MMO. In a dev diary <a href="http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/view/videos/gameID/404/videoId/1971">posted at MMORPG.com</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world"><em>The Secret World</em></a> team suggests it's more interesting to set the game in our world instead of in rehashed fantasy lands. By embracing the concept of "everything is true," the writers open the door to every conspiracy theory, every urban legend, and every branch of pseudoscience known to man.<br />
<br />
<em>"The story is exploration. The story is discovery,"</em> Bylos promises. He says that the ultimate goal of the storytelling team is to get players to stop mindlessly clicking and to start engaging the story on a conscious level. This includes investigating events, hunting for clues and solving puzzles. No, this isn't <em>Scooby-Doo Online</em> (although that would be <em>awesome</em>).<br />
<br />
It's also interesting to note that every character in the game has full voice-over and motion capture as a way to pull you into the story instead of jolt you out of it. Bylos also outlines the different types of missions, which include stealth and infiltration, action, investigation, and story.<br />
<br />
[Thanks Even!]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/engaging-the-brain-funcom-talks-about-the-immersiveness-of-stor/">Engaging the brain: Funcom talks about the immersiveness of story in The Secret World</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 27 May 2011 10:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/engaging-the-brain-funcom-talks-about-the-immersiveness-of-stor/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19951910/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/27/engaging-the-brain-funcom-talks-about-the-immersiveness-of-stor/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>conspiracies</category><category>conspiracy</category><category>conspiracy-theories</category><category>dev-diary</category><category>developer-diary</category><category>horror</category><category>immersion</category><category>immersiveness</category><category>investigation</category><category>joel-bylos</category><category>mmorpg.com</category><category>psuedoscience</category><category>puzzles</category><category>Ragnar-Tornquist</category><category>scooby-doo-online</category><category>stories</category><category>story</category><category>storytelling</category><category>the-secret-world</category><category>tsw</category><category>urban-legends</category><category>video</category><category>writing</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 27 May 2011 10:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[GDC 2011: Funcom talks The Secret World's PvE, PvP, and ARG]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/10/gdc-2011-funcom-talks-the-secret-worlds-pve-pvp-and-arg/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/10/gdc-2011-funcom-talks-the-secret-worlds-pve-pvp-and-arg/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/10/gdc-2011-funcom-talks-the-secret-worlds-pve-pvp-and-arg/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/horror/" rel="tag">Horror</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-real-world/" rel="tag">Events, real-world</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/previews/" rel="tag">Previews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world/" rel="tag">The Secret World</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-secret-world"><img border="1" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/03/tswheader.jpg" vspace="4" /></a></div>
Many of you are no doubt as anxious as we are to get your hands on <a href="http://funcom.com">Funcom's</a> new <a href="http://www.thesecretworld.com/"><em>The Secret World</em></a> MMORPG (with a <a href="http://www.thesecretworld.com/">new website</a>!). The skill-based end-of-the-world riff has been shrouded in a good bit of mystery for a good long while, but we've finally managed to snag a few minutes of face time with the title. This year's <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/gdc-2011">GDC</a> marked the first opportunity for anyone outside of <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/funcom">Funcom's</a> alpha team to lay eyes on the game, and we've got some pretty juicy details to pass on.<br />
<br />
Join us after the cut for the new trailer as well as a recap of Funcom's presentation, which was spearheaded by <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/ragnar-tornquist">Ragnar Tornquist</a> and featured designers <a href="http://www.massively.com/tag/martin-bruusgaard">Martin Bruusgaard</a> and <a href="http://www.massively.com/tag/joel-bylos">Joel Bylos</a>. Discussion topics include PvP, PvE missions, and character progression.<div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/the-secret-world-gdc-2011-0/">The Secret World: GDC 2011</a></strong></p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/the-secret-world-gdc-2011-0/#3961777"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/03/tswgdc20111-1299760382_thumbnail.png" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/the-secret-world-gdc-2011-0/#3961778"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/03/tswgdc20112_thumbnail.png" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/the-secret-world-gdc-2011-0/#3961779"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/03/tswgdc20113_thumbnail.png" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/the-secret-world-gdc-2011-0/#3961780"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/03/tswgdc20114_thumbnail.png" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/the-secret-world-gdc-2011-0/#3961781"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/03/tswgdc20115_thumbnail.png" alt="" title="" /></a></div><p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/10/gdc-2011-funcom-talks-the-secret-worlds-pve-pvp-and-arg/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>GDC 2011: Funcom talks The Secret World's PvE, PvP, and ARG</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/10/gdc-2011-funcom-talks-the-secret-worlds-pve-pvp-and-arg/">GDC 2011: Funcom talks The Secret World's PvE, PvP, and ARG</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/10/gdc-2011-funcom-talks-the-secret-worlds-pve-pvp-and-arg/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19863809/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/10/gdc-2011-funcom-talks-the-secret-worlds-pve-pvp-and-arg/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>action-missions</category><category>alternate-reality-game</category><category>arg</category><category>breaking</category><category>demos</category><category>fantasy</category><category>featured</category><category>funcom</category><category>game-developers-conference</category><category>gdc</category><category>gdc-2011</category><category>horror</category><category>investigation</category><category>investigation-missions</category><category>joel-bylos</category><category>martin-bruusgaard</category><category>meta</category><category>meta-game</category><category>miscellaneous</category><category>preview</category><category>progression</category><category>Ragnar-Tornquist</category><category>skill-based</category><category>skill-wheel</category><category>skills</category><category>the-secret-world</category><category>tsw</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jef Reahard]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Alter-Ego: A quick and dirty guide to Area 51]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/12/alter-ego-a-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-area-51/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/12/alter-ego-a-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-area-51/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/12/alter-ego-a-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-area-51/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/super-hero/" rel="tag">Super-hero</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/pve/" rel="tag">PvE</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dc-universe-online/" rel="tag">DC Universe Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guides/" rel="tag">Guides</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/alter-ego/" rel="tag">Alter-Ego</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/alter-ego/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/02/alterego-area51hdr.jpg" /></a></div>
When it comes to taking your first steps in <a href="http://www.dcuniverseonline.com"><em>DC Universe Online</em></a>, the sheer amount of different types of missions and objectives can be a bit daunting. "<em>What is this Alert thing sitting in my quest log?</em>" you might say. "<em>What does it do? It is PvP? PvE? What's the point of doing an Alert?</em>" Well, to help demystify some of <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/DC-Universe-Online/"><em>DC Universe Online</em></a>'s content for you, I wanted to offer up a basic overview to the very first in-game Alert: Area 51. However, knowing that some of you have already run this instance, I also wanted to make it useful for those who may have popped in but not spent a great deal of time in the zone. That's why this post not only contains a first-timer's overview of this Alert but also gives more advanced players a handy guide to all the Investigations, Player Briefings and Collections -- as well as a couple of other things I found in the Area 51 zone that might have been missed otherwise.<br />
<br />
Ready to dig in and help beat Brainiac back from trying to take over? Curious about what kind of extra goodies can be gained? Join me after the break as I take some of the mystery out of the notorious Area 51!<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/12/alter-ego-a-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-area-51/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Alter-Ego: A quick and dirty guide to Area 51</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/12/alter-ego-a-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-area-51/">Alter-Ego: A quick and dirty guide to Area 51</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/12/alter-ego-a-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-area-51/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19839576/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/12/alter-ego-a-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-area-51/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>alert</category><category>area-51</category><category>blue</category><category>brainiac</category><category>cadmus</category><category>cadmus-research-findings</category><category>collection</category><category>collections</category><category>dc-universe-online</category><category>dcuo</category><category>global-briefing</category><category>global-investigations</category><category>green</category><category>group-content</category><category>guide</category><category>instance</category><category>investigation</category><category>investigations</category><category>investivation</category><category>level-10</category><category>normal</category><category>player-briefing</category><category>player-briefs</category><category>soe</category><category>sony-online-entertainment</category><category>walkthrough</category><category>welcome-to-groom-lake</category><category>yellow</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Krystalle Voecks]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 12 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[EVE Online's volunteer program compromised]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/eve-onlines-volunteer-program-compromised/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/eve-onlines-volunteer-program-compromised/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/eve-onlines-volunteer-program-compromised/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online/" rel="tag">EVE Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/09/sleeperimageaccompisdpost580.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/ccp-games">CCP Games</a>, makers of <a href="http://www.eveonline.com"><em>EVE Online</em></a>, announced that they've discovered wrongdoing on the part of an individual or individuals <strike>within</strike> <strong>[correction: in relation to]</strong> their volunteer program, and are investigating the matter. The Volunteer Manager for <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online"><em>EVE Online</em></a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/ccp-ginger">CCP Ginger</a>, explained the situation earlier today: <em>"Last weekend external resources related to the Interstellar Services Department (<a href="http://wiki.eveonline.com/wiki/Volunteer_program">ISD</a>), EVE's volunteer program, were compromised which led to the theft of some volunteer program related data but also information about specific volunteers. As a result, we are being extra careful here, as this first and foremost pertains to the volunteer program and has no effect on our EVE Online operations or any customer data whatsoever." </em><br /><br />CCP Ginger stressed that information stolen came from <em>"areas operated outside of CCP's infrastructure and is therefore not related to anyone's EVE player account data. Player billing information, personal information, and character/game information all remain completely secure and unaffected, as well as CCP corporate pathways and e-mail, Tranquility, databases, etc." </em><p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/eve-onlines-volunteer-program-compromised/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>EVE Online's volunteer program compromised</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/eve-onlines-volunteer-program-compromised/">EVE Online's volunteer program compromised</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.eveonline.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&amp;bid=701>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/eve-onlines-volunteer-program-compromised/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19171493/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/eve-onlines-volunteer-program-compromised/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>breaking</category><category>ccp-games</category><category>ccp-ginger</category><category>eve-online</category><category>internal-affairs</category><category>interstellar-services-department</category><category>investigation</category><category>isd</category><category>privacy</category><category>volunteers</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Egan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[178 starbases involved in EVE Online's multi-trillion ISK exploit]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/178-starbases-involved-in-eve-onlines-multi-trillion-isk-exploi/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/178-starbases-involved-in-eve-onlines-multi-trillion-isk-exploi/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/178-starbases-involved-in-eve-onlines-multi-trillion-isk-exploi/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online/" rel="tag">EVE Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/bugs/" rel="tag">Bugs</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-in-game/" rel="tag">Events, in-game</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/exploits/" rel="tag">Exploits</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/12/eveupdateonstarbaseexploitrockat425.jpg" /></a><br />The last several days have brought us some news of a rather significant exploit in the sci-fi MMO <a href="http://www.eve-online.com"><em>EVE Online</em></a>. The game boasts a dynamic virtual economy which is in many ways integral to the game itself. (Inter Stellar Kredits, or ISK, is the currency upon which <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online"><em>EVE Online</em></a>'s economy is based.) When <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/11/rumored-four-year-multi-trillion-isk-exploit-in-eve-online/">rumor broke of a multi-trillion ISK exploit</a> in the game, it raised a few eyebrows. However, when <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/ccp-games">CCP Games</a> themselves confirmed it and announced they would launch <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/">an investigation into the matter</a>, it became more serious, as reflected by the economic impact on the market in the game. (Remember kids, internet spaceships <em>are</em> serious business... <em>EVE</em> tends to have more drama than the average massively multiplayer online game.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ccpgames.com">CCP Games</a> provided an update on the investigation today, stating that 178 starbases were discovered exploiting the issue and have been destroyed. This is the first time they've been willing or able to put a solid number on how extensive the exploit was, in terms of the scope of the operation. CCP stated: <em>"We have also banned all those we have found directly involved and all accounts we have found to be connected to those players. The investigation is still under way and will take a while to conclude."</em> Also part of the investigation is the Internal Affairs aspect, which some players have been following. CCP Games reports that they haven't found links between any of their own staff (or the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/council-of-stellar-management ">Council of Stellar Management</a>, for that matter) and the starbase exploit. See the <a href="http://myeve.eve-online.com/news.asp?a=single&amp;nid=2608&amp;tid=1">official announcement from the <em>EVE developers</em></a> for more details on how the investigation is progressing.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/178-starbases-involved-in-eve-onlines-multi-trillion-isk-exploi/">178 starbases involved in EVE Online's multi-trillion ISK exploit</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://myeve.eve-online.com/news.asp?a=single&amp;nid=2608&amp;tid=1>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/178-starbases-involved-in-eve-onlines-multi-trillion-isk-exploi/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1407127/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/19/178-starbases-involved-in-eve-onlines-multi-trillion-isk-exploi/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>ban</category><category>banning</category><category>bans</category><category>breaking</category><category>bugs</category><category>ccp</category><category>ccp-games</category><category>drama</category><category>eve</category><category>eve-online</category><category>exploits</category><category>game-mechanics</category><category>internal-affairs</category><category>investigation</category><category>sci-fi</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Egan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[An update on the EVE Online starbase exploit]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online/" rel="tag">EVE Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Economy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/exploits/" rel="tag">Exploits</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/crafting/" rel="tag">Crafting</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/12/eveshuttleplanetat225.jpg" alt="" />In the wake of <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/11/rumored-four-year-multi-trillion-isk-exploit-in-eve-online/ ">last week's revelation</a> of a market disrupting exploit in <a href="http://www.eve-online.com"><em>EVE Online</em></a>, a growing number of players have been calling for increased transparency on the situation. <em>EVE's</em> developer <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/ccp-games">CCP Games</a> has stated they've discovered seven player-run corporations taking advantage of the player owned station (POS) exploit, which yielded a vast amount of materials used in the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online"><em>EVE Online</em></a>'s manufacturing (crafting) system. Three of those corporations were in two alliances, and over 70 accounts have been banned thus far in connection with the exploit. The starbases used in the exploit have been destroyed by CCP, and they've stated that the corporations in question are now effectively inactive following the bans. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.ccpgames.com">CCP Games</a> has not released the names of characters, corporations, or alliances linked to the exploit, but a player named "moppinator" of the AMT. corporation (part of Ev0ke alliance) stepped forward and <a href="http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&amp;threadID=945978 ">issued the following statement on the extent of his alliance's involvement</a>:<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>An update on the EVE Online starbase exploit</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/">An update on the EVE Online starbase exploit</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&amp;threadID=945978>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1400931/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>amt</category><category>ban</category><category>banning</category><category>bans</category><category>ccp</category><category>ccp-games</category><category>cheating</category><category>controversy</category><category>crafting</category><category>economy</category><category>ev0ke</category><category>eve</category><category>eve-online</category><category>evoke</category><category>exploits</category><category>investigation</category><category>market</category><category>moppinator</category><category>player-owned-station</category><category>pos</category><category>sci-fi</category><category>starbase</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Egan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
