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The Repopulation lets players customize outfits to their hearts' content

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Video, Game mechanics, Previews, Dev Diaries, Sandbox

As The Repopulation is free from conventional MMO leveling and hews to skill-based progression instead, dealing with player gear is substantially more difficult than it would be otherwise. The team posted a five-minute dev video explaining how items, repair, and what it calls "fittings" work in the game.

The long and the short of The Repopulation's gear system is that players will be able to pick the outfit (or "shells") that they like the best visually and then equip the stats they want on it. This is done through fittings, which is similar to socket systems found in other MMOs.

As outfits take damage, the conditions of the fittings can and do degrade, reducing the stats associated with it. If it gets too bad, the fittings will either need to be repaired or replaced.

You can check out The Repopulation's gear system after the break. The team is currently accepting signups for June's alpha testing.

[Thanks to Halldorr and J.C. for the tip!]

Continue reading The Repopulation lets players customize outfits to their hearts' content

The Repopulation lets players customize outfits to their hearts' content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do MMO studios owe us item restoration?

Brianna Royce — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

MMOs vary widely in their account and item restoration policies. In some games, like some of NCsoft's offerings, if you're hacked or you lose access to your account because your memory is toast, it's game over unless you happen to have your original account key. In games like Lord of the Rings Online, you're not guaranteed full reimbursement of your money or gear if a hacker strips you naked and leaves you dancing on a mailbox. BioWare won't refund guild bank items stolen by rogue guildies, either.

In World of Warcraft, you'll almost always get your account back if you're hacked or you accidentally delete your favorite hat, but it might take an agonizingly long time. This week, Blizzard launched a new item restoration service that attempts to solve the second problem by simplifying the process of reclaiming lost trinkets (though not items stolen by hackers). I was surprised that Blizzard considers this a problem worthy of automation, but maybe it's more common than I thought.

So now I'm wondering whether companies are actually obligated to restore items we've lost through our own goof-ups. Do you consider this a vital service of a support team, and would you quit a game if your items were truly gone for good?

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: Do MMO studios owe us item restoration? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pathfinder Online developer blog outlines the path of production

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Sandbox, Crafting

Everything comes from somewhere. That's one of the axioms underpinning Pathfinder Online -- almost every single object that players see will have been produced by a player. In the most recent development blog, the process for gathering and producing items is outlined, and it bears all of the detailed hallmarks of the game's other systems. This isn't a game in which players grab a pickaxe and swing at the nearest rock face for ore; instead, you construct a camp and start up an entire mining operation.

The game has a basic three-tiered structure to its non-combat operation, starting with harvesting the resource, moving on to processing and refining the items in question, and finishing with crafting a usable item. And as an outgrowth of the game's open systems, these elements work in multiple directions. Starting a camp to harvest resources, for example, can generate a lot of commotion and attract hostile monsters, necessitating that players deal with the fallout or find someone else willing to do so. No one can accuse the designers of making crafting activities a secondary goal with this degree of detail involved.

Pathfinder Online developer blog outlines the path of production originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lord of the Rings Online lets you add a game wallet by lightening your real wallet

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Patches, News items, Free-to-play

If you're a Lord of the Rings Online veteran, you've probably accumulated a large number of different barter items for various upgrades. Skirmish tokens, regional tokens, festival tokens... all vital to getting various gumballs, all clogging up inventory space that could go toward other items. The development team has heard your cries for a solution, and thus, the improved barter wallet has come into existence. Unfortunately, this upgrade comes at a price -- just about $10, specifically.

Needless to say, some players and subscribers will be rather galled by the fact that this feature is being sold. On the other hand, player testimonials indicate that the upgrade works wonderfully, and it's a single account-wide purchase for all of your past, present, and future characters. Whether or not you prefer to grab the account-wide upgrade or wish to abstain on matters of principle is a personal decision, but there's no denying that the freed inventory spaces are certainly appealing.

Lord of the Rings Online lets you add a game wallet by lightening your real wallet originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 Mar 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallen Earth's newest patch aimed at improving a life of crafting

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Crafting

Crafting has always been one of the major elements of Fallen Earth, and with good cause, really: you're in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and you can't just buy all your supplies down at the S-Mart. But that doesn't mean crafting is all roses and happy thoughts; some items are far rarer than necessary and others present in useless abundance. It's ripe for some revisions, and that's exactly what the game's newest patch, set for release on October 4th, is meant to address.

Several recipes have been streamlined, with unnecessary parts removed from the equation to make a crafter's life easier. At the same time, craftable items are being removed from merchant inventories, encouraging players to seek out other players or assemble the items themselves. If you're feeling a bit leery of the changes, though, fret not -- you still have a couple of days left to stock up on materials.

Fallen Earth's newest patch aimed at improving a life of crafting originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crash the Rusty Hearts beta with style with enhanced keys from Massively!

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-play, Giveaways

Rusty Hearts is heading into closed beta on July 27th, something that participants in our last giveaway of beta keys have no doubt zeroed in on. But we've got another batch of keys to give away just before the beta launches, and this time they're coming with a little something extra. Actually, several extras.

Players who use one of the Rusty Hearts beta keys from Massively will be entitled to a special costume on the first character created -- the Night Witch costume for Angela, the Bright Uniform for Tude, or the Dark Seal outfit for Frantz. You'll also be granted a seven-day Gold Pass and a smattering of items, which should be enough to kick-start your beta experience nicely.

What's that? You already took an entry from our first giveaway? Well, not to worry -- if you grabbed a previous key to the game from us, you'll still get all of the bonuses. But if you haven't yet nabbed a spot in the beta and the latest Perfect World outing interests you, maybe now would be the time to grab a code?

Crash the Rusty Hearts beta with style with enhanced keys from Massively! originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB Reloaded open beta coming May 18th

Jef Reahard — Tue, 03 May 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Real life, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Dev Diaries

Mark your calendars, APB fans. May 18th is a big day in the history of the resurrected title since it marks the official start of open beta. Bjorn Book-Larsson broke the good news yesterday on the APB Reloaded blog, and he had a few other interesting nuggets to discuss as well.

GamersFirst's character restoration service should make its first appearance today around 4:00 p.m. PDT, and APB veterans from the Realtime Worlds days will be able to reclaim their old avatars and customizations. If you're unsure if you qualify, check your inbox as GamersFirst will be sending out email notices to everyone with an available reclaim.

Book-Larsson also talks briefly about some of the company's plans for dealing with cheaters. No details are given, of course, but GamersFirst is apparently very aware of all the attempted aimbotting going on thus far in the beta. Finally, there's a blurb concerning new item rollouts in the coming days, as well as some info relating to the game's payment interface. Head to the official APB Reloaded blog for more.

APB Reloaded open beta coming May 18th originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 May 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XIV launches another notorious preview

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Previews, News items, PvE, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

We're not sure exactly when Final Fantasy XIV's large December update will be going live, but we do know that one of its major inclusions will be the addition of notorious monsters. The first of these powerful beasts has already been previewed, but a new one is now being shown for all to see... not that it would be easy to miss the enormous Tarbh Uisge. One of the last great buffalo, his mind has been eaten away through years of suppressive magics, leaving him as a bundle of violent rage.

Tarbh Uisge appears to be in the same category as the previously demonstrated Deadeyes in more ways than one. This great beast is linked to a levequest as well, but he also drops the same set of runestones as his contemporary. The Templar armor previewed alongside the buffalo, therefore, can be obtained by players slaying either beast and accumulating drops, which frees players to pursue both or neither as they see fit. Final Fantasy XIV should be releasing this newest opponent in the near future, which should yield a notable boon to everyone not trampled underfoot.

Final Fantasy XIV launches another notorious preview originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log: Patching holes

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

Due to a general case of it's-the-blasted-holiday-season, I didn't get nearly as much playtime with Final Fantasy XIV following the November patch as I would have liked. I had to wait a couple days to really sit down and engage in a nice play session to really get a feel for all of the changes that had been wrought on the game by the update. And in a way, I'm glad I knew that I would need some time and thus focused on the community piece last Saturday, because it's meant more time to really appreciate the improvements.

The short version, if you're allergic to page breaks, is that this patch solves a huge number of issues, to the point that I imagine many players who couldn't see past those issues to the core game will be better able to see what's at the root. But there's a lot of unpacking to do, so I'd still recommend hopping past the cut for a breakdown of the patch as a whole as well as a brief look for what the December update still has to do for Final Fantasy XIV.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Patching holes

The Mog Log: Patching holes originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Tattered Notebook: Never leave home without it

Karen Bryan — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: EverQuest II, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Trading card games, Legends of Norrath, The Tattered Notebook

This week, I decided it's time to dump the bag. My characters often accumulate items at such a rapid rate that my bags quickly resemble those of a typical teenager at the mall. Any time I resign myself to plunking down at the bank to sort my inventory, I end up shocked at some of the stuff I bring home. However, there are some items in EverQuest II that are lifesavers, and others that can really be handy in a pinch. Let's take a look at a few items that you should never leave home without.

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Never leave home without it

The Tattered Notebook: Never leave home without it originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Icarus publishes latest Fallen Earth State of the Game

Jef Reahard — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, News items, Post-Apocalyptic

Fallen Earth fans have had a rough couple of weeks (to say nothing of the staff at Icarus Studios). The post-apocalyptic sci-fi MMORPG was recently hit with a round of layoffs that impacted several key people and likely left subscribers wondering as to the future of everyone's favorite digital wasteland.

Happily, Icarus senior game designer Marie Croall is here with a lengthy State of the Game letter that puts a few of our fears to rest and outlines a path forward. Though Croall doesn't directly address the recent layoffs, preferring instead to focus on the upcoming development schedule, it's clear that there are a lot of improvements incoming, which bodes well for Fallen Earth's fans and future.

Croall talks about Sector 4, a level cap increase, and new gear, consumables, and recipes that will soon see the light of day. Graphical upgrades and physical combat changes are also on the way, with the latter being pushed to the test server before the end of the month. The Fallen Earth team will also be improving high-end group content, tweaking the serendipity system, and continuing to balance Progress Towns throughout December. Finally, look for long-awaited additional character slots to be available in the Fallen Earth store as early as next week.

Check out the full letter on the official forums, and also look for the Fallen Earth devs on next week's Massively Speaking podcast with Shawn and Rubi.

Icarus publishes latest Fallen Earth State of the Game originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warhammer Online drops 1.3.6 today

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, Warhammer Online, News items

The odds weren't in favor of us seeing the newest patch for Warhammer Online so soon... but that works just fine, since the patch itself is Against All Odds. Even if you're not using it to set up a lame joke, however, patch 1.3.6 is going live today after slightly extended server maintenance, bringing with it several updates and improvements to the game. The eponymous Against All Odds mechanic is one of the central changes, giving a side without sufficient numbers in an RvR lake bonus rewards for persistence.

1.3.6 also brings two major changes to items in the game. The first is the addition of an appearance system, allowing players to make their armor look like whatever set they want without losing the benefits of high-end rewards. The second is equally significant, splitting the high-end Sovereign armor into two sets to celebrate alternate playstyles for each class. As always, there are a number of adjustments and bug fixes listed in the full patch notes, but Warhammer Online players should be happy enough knowing that the game's latest patch is live and ready to enjoy.

Warhammer Online drops 1.3.6 today originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earthrise offers new insights into weaponry

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Earthrise, Post-Apocalyptic

Weapons are useful. Nearly any MMO player will be happy to expound on the virtues of them, and so it's no surprise that Earthrise will be featuring its own selection. The development team recently released information and a few renders of the weapons that will be coming out for the post-apocalyptic game, detailing shotguns, assault rifles, and precision rifles. the forum post also details that each skill line is tied to a specific item -- meaning that shotguns don't simply encompass firing shells, but an entire suite of abilities based around using a shotgun.

Assault rifles are flexible, with both burst fire and sustained fire possible, as well as grenade launchers to give them area-of-effect attacks. Shotguns, meanwhile, specialize in close-range brutality, allowing for crowd control and quick dispatching of targets. Precision rifles take the "sniper" role, allowing players to hit single targets with extreme force over long distances. The full rundown can be found on the post on the official forums, which should be welcome news for players eager to hear more on the slightly-delayed science fiction MMO.

Earthrise offers new insights into weaponry originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: We're all in this together

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 19 May 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Game mechanics, Opinion, Humor, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

Community can be a funny thing. We pick the community we're in -- in this case, City of Heroes -- but we don't pick any of the other members. Sometimes they're all really stand-out folks, and sometimes... well, sometimes your choices are between Flower Power, Slug-fest, and Hammer Time. Lucky for us, the community that's formed itself around our favorite superhero MMO is pretty darn good at its worst and outright awesome most of the time. (And a proper shout-out to our community for the game right here, while I'm at it.)

To be fair, we're a bit on the lean side at the moment. After all, we're not getting another update for a couple of months and we almost all know it. Issue 17 is pretty awesome, but we also know that Going Rogue is just around the corner, and so most of us are focused a bit more on the future. But we've still got a lot to talk about in our day-to-day adventures. That both helps everyone to feel that much more welcome, and it helps facilitate this week's look at some of the noteworthy community threads that have been cropping up lately.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: We're all in this together

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: We're all in this together originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Taking inventory

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 07 May 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

One of the great points of commonality for MMOs is the time-honored tradition of inventory management. Specifically, the minigame wherein you have to decide what to keep, sell, throw away, or hold on to with a limited amount of space. One of the major contentions regarding the Allods Online cash shop at launch (aside from the huge debuff only removable via cash shop items) was how much it used to cost just to make a minor upgrade to your inventory storage. The prices have since changed, of course, but the irritation at inventory management was obvious.

Nearly every game has to decide how much of a management aspect should be involved and the right amount of space for a given character in any stage of their career. Moreover, these aspects usually change with time, as stack sizes increase and decrease with patches. Some players see space management as a relic of games like Dungeons and Dragons, which used it to try and maintain realism in broad strokes. Others see it as an obnoxious limitation on gameplay that's long ceased to have any connection with its original purpose.

So what do you think? Is inventory management a good thing, or is it one of those gameplay elements you'd like to see go the way of the dodo?

The Daily Grind: Taking inventory originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 May 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What's your favorite toy?

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

We've all got our best abilities, the ones that do the most damage or heal the most or save us the largest number of headaches. We all have the armor or items or random hats or whatever that give us huge stat increases and make us almost invulnerable in most circumstances.

And then... we have the toys. The stuff that's not bad, but just... doesn't really do much of anything. The one that lets you hover when that's not actually relevant to anything except looking cool. Or the item you've been holding on to that lets you shoot non-damaging fireworks all over a room. Totally useless, of course, but always fun when you get to break it out.

What's your favorite in-game toy? Is it a piece of equipment without any useful stats but a really amazing look to it? An item that does something silly and unique? A spell that's been designed without many practical components, or one that has practical usage but generally just gets played with? When you have the downtime, what's your choice of fun little toys in your favorite game?

The Daily Grind: What's your favorite toy? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anti-Aliased: Microtransaction mayhem pt. 2

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Business models, Culture, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, Consoles, Champions Online, Anti-Aliased

Plus, it's not like this has never happened before

Many complaints about this format seem to stem from the notion that this is a new practice. However, keen observers of the industry will note that this practice is absolutely nothing new.

The first introduction of this format is, amazingly enough, World of Warcraft. Name changes, server transfers, character re-customizations, and the eventual faction transfers are all a part of their suite of premium services. Perhaps you never thought about it because Blizz never used the dreaded terminology, but these are microtransactions. You're paying extra to take advantage of a service, even though you're paying for a subscription.

Over in another superhero fun land, NCsoft has been selling character costume packs, extra character slots, and other goodies all for premium prices in City of Heroes. Oddly enough, no one has rioted over the sale of wedding outfits and mystical armors, even when the magic pack comes with a brand new power that you otherwise can't get in-game.

"Microtransaction is a loaded word in our culture -- it makes people think of unfair item shops and poorly formatted 'free to play' games.'"

Lastly, the original subscription/microtransaction model -- Xbox Live. XBL offers all subscribers some pretty nifty services, like cross-network friends lists, cross-game communication, massive yearly updates, and the ability to play games online. But, it also pushes the sale of videos, music, game add-ons, and original games via the Xbox Live Marketplace. It may not seem like it, but this is the definition of the microtransaction model. You're paying a subscription to purchase more content.

So why all the angry?

Why Cryptic? Why Champions? Why does everyone lash out now?

First off, people are angry because microtransactions are coming with the game's launch, and that makes them visible. CoH added their microtransactions years after the launch. Xbox Live was originally just playing games online, adding in microtransactions after a few years of service. World of Warcraft followed the same trend, adding their "premium services" well after launch. Cryptic hasn't slipped them in later, under people's noses.

Another reason people are angry -- Cryptic called them microtransactions. WoW offers "services," XBL offers "content," and CoH offers "packs." Microtransaction is a loaded word in our culture -- it makes people think of unfair item shops and poorly formatted "free to play" games. That word alone has put many people off simply because it exists. I'll put money down and say that some of the naysayers didn't go on to do their homework regarding what Cryptic was offering.

But Cryptic isn't offering anything new. It's a shop of "services" like name changes, costume changes, and other account level data changers coupled with some silly cosmetic options. Plus, Cryptic has stated that anything that has an in-game effect can still be acquired in-game. Don't want to pay for the costume change token? Earn one in game.

Stop saying the sky is falling

It's not. You don't like it, then don't buy from it. This isn't anything extremely experimental or surprising. It's not price gouging if you don't actually pay for it. And it's not like Champions is going to ship with huge swaths of content missing, forcing you to buy items from the Cryptic Store to progress through the game. It's simply an option, nothing more.

Take advantage of the beauty of the system -- if you don't want it, don't pay for it.

Colin Seraphina Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who is paying for sparkling angel wings, if they're available. When she's not writing here for Massively, she's rambling on her personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message her, send her an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow her on Twitter through Massively, or through her personal feed, @sera_brennan.

Anti-Aliased: Microtransaction mayhem pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting out in Vana'diel: Questing and you

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Game mechanics, Guides, Leveling, Tips and tricks, Quests, PvE, Player Housing, Consoles

Hello again adventurers! Today's topic is once again back on hard gaming ground instead of community theory as I introduce quests and their purpose.

Questing in Final Fantasy XI is not like questing in other games. Quests exist, but they don't jump out at you with bright yellow exclamation points. NPCs don't scream, "I have things for you to do for me!" Quests don't hold your hand as you pursue their goals. Also, most importantly, quests don't reward experience.

So why bother, right? If you're only going to get come cruddy gold and maybe an item, why should you spend your time doing the quest? Beautiful question, and a very accurate one. Let's take a look at the quest system, what it has to offer you, and how to find some quests at your level with ease.

Continue reading Starting out in Vana'diel: Questing and you

Starting out in Vana'diel: Questing and you originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RuneScape's PvP loot system explained, rewards increased

William Dobson — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, PvP, RuneScape, Free-to-play

The behind-the-scenes workings of RuneScape's player-kill loot is a lot more complicated than many people might expect. It's not simply a matter of looking for PvP battles and hoping to win the random-number-generator for a sweet item, as a recent developer post on the game's official website explained. In short, a value known as "drop potential" must be increased if you want better loot. This is achieved by spending time in PvP areas, while risking a certain amount of your own items. Some zones like the Wilderness are worth more to your drop potential, but you can probably expect a lot more action too. This system rewards the brave, and leaves the cowardly with junk-loot.

As well as elaborating on the mechanics of PvP drops, the post also mentions that two improvements have been made to the system. One is a shift away from having a larger number of items dropping, to fewer but more valuable items. The other is a simple increase to the value of the items dropped. These changes help with inventory management, and also mean that people are more likely to bother picking up what they've earned. Sounds like a good reason to get out there and see what sort of items you can find -- just make sure you've got the skills to pay the bills.

RuneScape's PvP loot system explained, rewards increased originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Terra Nova looks back (and forward) at the Diku legacy

Samuel Axon — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Warhammer Online, MUDs

EverQuest, World of Warcraft, The Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online and many other MMOs all have one important thing in common. Well, okay; they have a lot of things in common -- like about 85% or more of their gameplay mechanics. But the main thing -- indeed, the reason why they have so much in common -- is that they are all descendants of a kind of text MUD game called Diku.

Acknowledging that, virtual worlds blog Terra Nova published a "State of the Diku" article for the year 2008. The article was written by Timothy Burke. It's mostly a dispassionate look at game design -- serious business. Burke starts out questioning the purpose of "vendor trash" drops (or grey items as they're generally known in many popular contemporary MMOs). Then he analyzes the public quests of Warhammer Online, viewing them as a positive variation on traditional Diku design.

If you're into thnking critically about MMO design, it's worth checking out. We take for granted the fact that most of today's MMOs are based on the Diku formula; maybe that means we're clinging to old ideas that don't make a lot of sense in today's world.

Terra Nova looks back (and forward) at the Diku legacy originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asheron's Call's 100th update is live and kicking

Samuel Axon — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Asheron's Call, Events, in-game, Expansions, Patches, PvP, News items

The much-heralded 100th Asheron's Call update has finally arrived! In addition to new areas and monsters, it notably adds in the highly anticipated faction system, with three distinct societies that players can join. There are also two new towns which may be captured in PvP. The society that controls a town will have access to the Black Market, which sells special items unavailable anywhere else.

A new tier of loot has been added -- mostly for levels 150 and up -- which includes armor sets for players above level 180 and items used in crafting new spells. Yep, there are new spells -- a whole level of them in fact! Level 8 spells may either be researched in the traditional way, or learned via combination of certain item drops from the new tier.

The complete release notes, including details on how to acquire items in the new loot tier, are available at Turbine's AC website. This is a huge update (accompanied, of course, by the August event), and it's a great time to feel proud that you're among the special few playing Asheron's Call today.

Asheron's Call's 100th update is live and kicking originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Contest: Win an exclusive City of Heroes in-game item from Comic-Con

Barb Dybwad — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Contests, Massively Event Coverage

We stopped by the NCsoft booth at Comic-Con 2008 and had the chance to chat with City of Heroes Community Manager Alex 'Lighthouse' Von Minden, who noted that a number of community members were disappointed about not being able to attend the Con for a chance to snag the exclusive in-game item from the VIP Pass. We thought it would be fun to give players not in attendance a chance to pick one up, so we're happy to present Massively readers with 10 chances to win a unique in-game CoH Comic-Con item. This contest is open to all ages and locations -- you'll just need an active City of Heroes account to claim it. To enter, just leave a comment in this thread by 5pm EST Wednesday, July 30. We'll choose 10 winners at random to receive a code for the unique in-game item. Good luck!

Update: contest closed! Thanks to everyone who entered -- we'll be announcing winners ASAP!

Contest: Win an exclusive City of Heroes in-game item from Comic-Con originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MapleStory patch 0.56 adds desert region, rad surfboard drops

Samuel Axon — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: MapleStory, Events, in-game, Patches, Casual

MapleStory's 0.56 patch has gone live! The patch's additions are impressively robust; they include a new region and town, guild alliance support, windowed mode support, auto-inventory sorting, macros, and extra party search features.

The new area is called Ariant. You'll find it on the continent of Ossyria. Apparently it's some kind of Arabian Nights-esque desert setting (summer, desert; they're both hot -- get it?). A whole slew of new quests, NPCs, monsters, and items have been introduced as well. Of course, the shop has been updated, too. A special event begins with this patch -- summer-themed items like surfboards will drop throughout the season.

Dude, that's like totally rad! Um, sorry. You're right; that was uncalled for.

MapleStory patch 0.56 adds desert region, rad surfboard drops originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Making/Money: MUDflation IG vs. IRL

Alexis Kassan — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, Expansions, Game mechanics, Patches, Endgame, Making/Money

We have tackled the subject of mudflation tangentially a few times of late. It seems to have suddenly become the economic buzzword of MMOs. We have all experienced it. We have come to expect, if not accept, it as part of the games we love to play. And though Wikipedia, in its infinite wisdom, has dubbed it an in-game only phenomenon, I posit a different approach to looking at this occurrence.

Mudflation is an immediate devaluation of previously owned items due to the gain or release of newly available items. This is not unlike technological advance in that the release of the latest new toy makes all others somewhat obsolete. The differences here are the perceived need for the item, the amount of devaluation, and the time frame in which this occurs.

Continue reading Making/Money: MUDflation IG vs. IRL

Making/Money: MUDflation IG vs. IRL originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The European connection in 9Dragons

James Egan — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, 9Dragons, News items, Free-to-play

Acclaim's martial arts MMORPG 9Dragons is about to gain some more European fans, with the launch of Bardo Euro -- their new European server. Bardo Euro promises to offer the European playerbase an improved game experience with better connections all around.

Apparently the players have been calling for a European 9Dragons server for some time; Acclaim is delivering on their promises to improve the game and is holding a number of special events to celebrate the launch:

30% off sale: All items in the 9Dragons Item Mall will be 30% off for 3 days only. June 6-8.

Bonus exp rate events: Earn 2 times experience points by playing on the Bardo server. June 3-9.

Monster spawn event: High level monsters will invade Bardo. June 3-5, 6, 8-9.

VGM/GM PvP event: Test your martial arts skills battling against Acclaim VGM and GM staff. June 3-6, 8-9.

Fireworks in Bardo: To celebrate the official launch of the European server, fireworks will light up the sky at random times from May 30 to June 8 on the Bardo server.

If you're in Europe, why not give 9Dragons a shot? Roll yourself a Shaolin or Wu-Tang badass and see if you can take down a GM or two in martial arts combat.

Via Warcry

The European connection in 9Dragons originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tabula Rasa crafting made easier with disassembly chart

Chris Chester — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Crafting, Professions, Tabula Rasa

One of the most bewildering aspects of Tabula Rasa (and believe me, there are many) is the almost inexplicably difficult crafting system, which not only turns out weapon modifications that are close to useless in combat, but also requires a style of component micro-management that borders on the insane. Part of the problem is that the only way to get most components is by breaking down other weapons, with no clear guide as to what parts you can expect to get out of the deal. So for most people, you end up with a footlocker full of strange-sounding parts, and somehow still end up without the parts you need to fill those recipes.

Alpha Wolf Wonderlus over at Tabula Rasa Vault has done us all an enormous favor by posting a disassembled item chart that shows what sort of components you're liable to get from a weapon with a given modification. It's still only a matter of probability whether you'll get a certain item, but it's good to know where to start looking if you've got a specific modification in mind.

This will come in handy if I ever make it to level 50 and make a crafting clone, which is just about the only time that crafting in Tabula Rasa is viable. Since crafting talent points are drawn from the same pool as combat abilities, most people don't bother trying crafting until after level 30, when it becomes possible to make a clone with all the crafting talents maxed out. Still, it's neat!

Tabula Rasa crafting made easier with disassembly chart originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DOFUS's Livitinems

Akela Talamasca — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Dofus, Game mechanics, Tips and tricks, News items

If you're having trouble reading that word, I'll admit that I do too. It's pronounced 'LIH-vih-TIH-nem'. But when my eyes glide over it, I just keep wanting to say 'living items', which must be the point, 'cause that's what they are!

Livitinems are benign critters in the world of DOFUS that live in your clothing items, whose only purpose in life is to change the appearance of your wardrobe. They don't confer bonuses or extra protection, they just sit there on top of you and occasionally comment on your adventures. An interesting thing about Livitinems is that they eat items; capes eat capes, amulets eat amulets, etc. When they've been fed enough, they evolve into a new appearance; Ankama says they can evolve up to 20 unique appearances.

How do you get a Livitinem? Either by subscribing to DOFUS, buying them, or exchanging them with other owners. There are those who may think the idea of a living hat that eats other hats is a little creepy, but just think of it like it's the Minish Cap -- cute! Wait ... they might be trying to say 'live it in 'em' instead. I'll find out and let you know!

DOFUS's Livitinems originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Arr! Here be yer pre-order bonus item's stats

Kyle Horner — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Historical, Pirates of the Burning Sea, New titles, News items

Flying Lab Software's Aether has taken a moment to pull himself away from all the pre-launch craziness surrounding any MMO only a couple weeks away from retail. Why, you ask? To give us some information on pre-order bonuses, I say! All silliness aside, these items are pretty hot.

What you'll be getting for pre-ordering is three swords -- one for each style of combat -- that all share the same stats. The Musketeer's Matching Blades (Florentine style), Old World Cutlass (Dirty Fighting style) and Swedish Rapier (Fencing style) are all level 1 swords that are equivalent to the power of a level 20 weapon. We're pretty sure that we haven't heard of a pre-order item this powerful in quite some time, if ever. Pirates of the Burning Sea is set to launch on January 22nd, so if you want this pre-order bonus it may be a good idea to do it now rather than later.

Arr! Here be yer pre-order bonus item's stats originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Jan 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO Lorebook now includes item effects

Louis McLaughlin — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online

Turbine have updated the Lord of the Rings Online Lorebook again, and this time it's something awesome: the Lorebook now features full item effects.

Hurrah! This is a great step to making the Lorebook really useful, rather than just for... well, lore. Further updates are planned -- according to Aylwyne, item set pages have been implemented, and will be going into the Lorebook shortly after the holidays. One minor problem with the item effects currently, though: if an item has a use effect, the cooldown is listed properly but not what the use effect actually does. You'll have to look elsewhere for that.

LotRO Lorebook now includes item effects originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forum Fun: Tabula Rasa Military Surplus 101

Chris Chester — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:01:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, Patches, Crafting, Making money, Tabula Rasa

As a rush of items hit Tabula Rasa's new Military Surplus over the last couple days, things have been pretty chaotic, to say the least. Players have yet to strike a balance between prices that are ridiculously inflated and those that are barely higher than what you could sell them for to a vendor. There's a strange dichotomy to Tabula Rasa's economy that can be attributed to the fact that items aren't bind on equip. So you can get a purple quest reward, use it until you grow out of it, and then sell it on the Military Surplus for a tidy profit. (Or my preferred strategy, buy the quest reward as soon as you're high enough level for it, use it until you receive you've completed the quest, then sell the duplicate for what you paid.) Theoretically, this should lead to a huge glut of rare items on the Military Surplus, but people are still spending AFS credits by the boatload.

As a service to the community, forum poster Doctor Victeonus put up a "Military Surplus 101" thread over on the PlanetTR forums. In it, he outlines what the MSRP (Military Surplus Recommended Pricing - very clever Doc) should be for items of different grades and levels. I haven't had the chance to try out his method since the market has calmed down a bit, but it's a very interesting guideline nonetheless. Now if somebody could just sort out the insane market for crafting ingredients, I'd be a happy camper.

Forum Fun: Tabula Rasa Military Surplus 101 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What Rase Kenzo means for virtual property

Mike Schramm — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, Exploits, Professions, News items, Opinion, Second Life, Legal, Virtual worlds

Our own Tateru Nino has been covering the Second Life case of Rase Kenzo very closely, but with the settlement yesterday, it seems the ruling might have effects on the concepts of virtual worlds at large. At issue is whether or not an avatar named Rase Kenzo could use an exploit to duplicate items created by Second Lifers-- does copyright and intellectual property matter when the items you're talking about are virtual? As Tateru herself noted, yes-- virtual theft matters.

And Raph Koster agrees. He points to the Rase Kenzo settlement as all the precendent any court would need to consider virtual goods "merchandise" in every sense of the word, with all the normal protections and inherent properties included.

Now, the Second Life items had some properties that most other virtual world items do not-- they were actually coded and created by the creators, and while you do hit a button to create, say, an Epic in WoW or a ship in EVE, the item you create wasn't actually created by you. So the intellectual property laws probably won't cross over-- whether you virtually "crafted" an item or not, you don't have a lot of claim on it when the design didn't come out of your head.

But we are another step closer to putting a real (and real-world) value on virtual items. This case took place in Second Life, but like many things in the Lindens' world, odds are it will have repercussions in lots of different virtual worlds.

What Rase Kenzo means for virtual property originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The itemization bug bites Tabula Rasa

Chris Chester — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:59:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, Game mechanics, Patches, Crafting, Making money, Opinion, Tabula Rasa

As you should already well know, Destination Games is hard at work on patching up some common complaints in their new sci-fi epic Tabula Rasa. Though the most significant part of the patch for most players was Rage getting whacked with the nerf bat and the promise of a free respec, that wasn't all that Paul Sage and crew had in mind. An easily overlooked part of the patch notes says, and here I quote, "We have also fixed another problem where item rarity was not affecting damage bonuses on the items. Now green weapons will do more damage than their white counterparts of the same level. Blues will do more than greens." Itemization is getting tweaked, and it's going to have huge ramifications.

As things of this nature usually do, the change has spawned a heated discussion within the TR community, with some feeling that the difference in itemization (which, if you'll note, is called a "fix" not a "change") is going to have profound implications for the way players approach equipment and the game in general. As the game exists now, damage is entirely independent of item quality, and the only advantages conferred by rare items (which follows the popular rarity scheme of white < green < blue < purple) are that they have their mod slots filled. In most cases an item bought at a vendor is basically equal to a purple of the same level that you can get either as a rare drop or as a quest reward. Why is that a problem?

Continue reading The itemization bug bites Tabula Rasa

The itemization bug bites Tabula Rasa originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The coming of mudflation

Mike Schramm — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:33:00 EST

Filed under: Expansions, Leveling, Endgame, PvE, Opinion

Keen (of Keen and Graev) has a great post up about what he calls "mudflation" (a combination of the words MUD and inflation). If you've been playing any MMO through the introduction of an expansion, you'll know exactly what he's talking about. That shiny bit of loot you worked for weeks to obtain doesn't look quite so hot when players are grabbing an even better piece from a quick five-minute quest.

Truth be told, "mudflation" isn't actually a bad thing. Change is inherent to MMOs, and it's unavoidable that just as the bar will raise (there will be new heights for players to climb to), so will the minimum rise as well. Mudflation is actually a good thing for the majority of players by definition-- if you consider players as a normal distribution, with a small number of players at the top of the endgame, and a small number of players just entering the endgame, "mudflation" is actually that swell of players in the middle getting their hands on some really new items.

There is a problem, however, with mudflation that I haven't really seen an MMO skillfully deal with yet-- what happens to the content made obsolete? Whenever an expansion comes through town, the old worlds and content get more or less abandoned. While the newest players may still find a little bit of joy in discovering "the old world," they too eventually learn to abandon it for the greener pastures brought with the new content. Mudflation is all well and good for the folks picking up the new shiny items, but it's too bad that MMO makers haven't come up with a better plan for making old content relevant to new players.

The coming of mudflation originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A guide to MapleStory item basics

Michael Zenke — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:09:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MapleStory, Economy, Guides, Crafting, Free-to-play, Browser

MapleStory, the free-to-play browser-based game from Nexon, can be a bit daunting for players unfamiliar with its particular brand of gameplay. TenTonHammer collaborated with Dean Cho, a developer on the game, to create a short introductory guide to items, weapons, and gear in the game.

Cho explains some of the basics of item acquisition, talks about the process of item synthesis, and expounds upon ways for players to expand their inventory space.

With so many different weapons and items to collect, space in your backpack is a premium. New MapleStory players have a limited carrying capacity, but there are ways to organise and extend your inventory. Instead of throwing away spare monster drops, Maplers should try selling them for a profit, either to shops or others players - remember, your rubbish may be very useful to somebody else. Alternatively look out for special NPCs who'll safely store items for you (at a price!), or splash out on some extra inventory slots from MapleStory's Cash shop, the unique store that allows you to accessorise your character with premium items paid for with real money.

A guide to MapleStory item basics originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A look at new LotRO loot from 'The Rift'

William Dobson — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Raiding, PvE

TenTonHammer has posted a guide that looks at some of the loot from Lord of the Rings Online's new raid instance, 'The Rift of Nurz Ghashu', in which players get to band together to hunt down a poor defenseless Balrog. There will eventually be more parts to the guide, but this first installment examines the loot rewarded from handing in Rift-iron coins.

The aforementioned coins are obtained by turning in ore from The Rift, and are then traded on for various items. Note that the coins are not used to get class-specific sets -- these will come from the dropped gems, covered in a future guide. The coins can be traded for some useful consumables, or other general armor pieces (which still look like fairly decent items).

Almost all armor items will cost 2 coins, with the one exception being a 4-coin ring, and the consumables are between 1-2 coins each. It looks like even if you aren't lucky enough to get your hands on a gem during a raid, grabbing some ore to trade for coins can still net you some nice new shineys. The full list of coin loot, with stats and costs, is available via the link below.

A look at new LotRO loot from 'The Rift' originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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