Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: What's your preference of difficulty?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/22/the-daily-grind-whats-your-preference-of-difficulty/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/22/the-daily-grind-whats-your-preference-of-difficulty/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/22/the-daily-grind-whats-your-preference-of-difficulty/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Some people like it when the game challenges them for months on end, stopping them at the same battle over and over again until a group comes together and cooperates in a way that yields progression.

Other people like to be able to sit down at a game, play it for a few hours, and feel like they've made some progress and accomplishments. They enjoy feeling rewarded after a small play session, instead of dedicating hours of work and thinking to their games.

And still others would rather find extreme progress in less than an hour, being highly rewarded for very little challenge. It's not fun if it's hard, right?

So today's grind question is as follows: what is your preference of difficulty? Are you the person who likes to be stumped for weeks on end, or are you more of the type who wants to get the maximum reward for the smallest effort? Speak forth into thy comment box, and let thy voice be heard! And hopefully you won't use a silly accent like us, but you can if you'd like to.

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What's your preference of difficulty? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>casualchallengedifficultyeasyfungaminghardhardcoremediumprogressionraidsthe-daily-grindWed, 22 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Are Tabula Rasa's server populations up?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/01/are-tabula-rasas-server-populations-up/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/01/are-tabula-rasas-server-populations-up/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/01/are-tabula-rasas-server-populations-up/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Ever since Tabula Rasa's now-infamous patch 1.5 went live, I've noticed a trend most curious. In the months since the game launched, the server populations did something of a quick spiraling crash. They started out at consistently high, and over the course of the month gradually fell to mostly medium, then only occasionally medium, and since probably December, the only one of the game's servers to rise out of the doldrums of a low server population has been Centaurus, a fact easily ascribed to its position as the sole European server. But after patch 1.5, I've consistently seen the three U.S. servers operating at medium server population. Are we really to believe that the population went up after the release of the game's most disastrous client patch to date?

It's certainly not impossible that the game has seen an infusion of new blood. Several people at Massively HQ couldn't resist the allure of getting the collector's edition when it appeared online for cheap. I think it's more likely however that the Destination Games team, prodded by recent reports of the game's failure, simply changed the criteria for what qualifies as a "medium" or "low" server population. This would have the effect of making players believe that the game has actually much better off than it already was by manipulating data that's available only to them. And as a morale booster for the player population, I have to say it works. Even though I'm wise to the fact that the amount of players probably hasn't changed significantly, it's nice to log into the game and see that my server isn't entirely barren. Is it ethical? That's debatable. Does it work? Most certainly.

MassivelyAre Tabula Rasa's server populations up? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>destination-gamesmediumpatch-1.5serverserver-populationtabula-rasatrSat, 01 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Warhammer Online player-mounts displayed in concept art gallery]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/17/warhammer-online-player-mounts-displayed-in-concept-art-gallery/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/17/warhammer-online-player-mounts-displayed-in-concept-art-gallery/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/17/warhammer-online-player-mounts-displayed-in-concept-art-gallery/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


A recent newsletter for Warhammer Online gave us a glimpse at the concept art for some of the player mounts that the game will have, and TenTonHammer has posted these up in a handy gallery. Featured are mounts for the Greenskin, Dwarf, High Elf, Chaos, and Empire armies. For some races, we see a Light, Heavy and Medium version of the mounts, and the Greenskins have two different kinds of mount shown, boars and wolves.

The newsletter that these images came from gave us a few scraps of information on some mount mechanics. There will be temporary mounts for rent, aimed at lower level characters, and riding into water will throw you off your mount. Similarly, you can be shot off your mount if you ride into battle (though no word yet on whether mounted combat will at all be possible). Missing from any of the concept art shown was a mount for the Dark Elves. The newsletter promises more details soon on mounts in general, and perhaps we will learn about their mode of transportation at that time.

MassivelyWarhammer Online player-mounts displayed in concept art gallery originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-reckoningconcept-artea-mythicgalleryheavylightmediummountmounted-combatmountsmythicwarhammerMon, 17 Dec 2007 12:00:00 EST