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[MechWarrior Online Q&A gives you six devs for the price of none]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/18/mechwarrior-online-qanda-gives-you-six-devs-for-the-price-of-none/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/18/mechwarrior-online-qanda-gives-you-six-devs-for-the-price-of-none/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/18/mechwarrior-online-qanda-gives-you-six-devs-for-the-price-of-none/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Concept art -- MechWarrior Online
MechWarrior Online continues to unleash a steady barrage of new information with today's newly released developer Q&A. Piranha Games has outdone itself with the latest post, which brings you answers from not one, not two, but six MWO developers. The devs begin by giving fans some insight into how BattleMech modules will work to augment pilot abilities; for example players can sacrifice night-vision distance for higher visual detail. The remainder of the Q&A covers a great wealth of different topics, such as intelligence-gathering, the BattleGrid, and -- most importantly -- hula girls. For the full Q&A, just click on through the link below to the MechWarrior Online official forums.

MassivelyMechWarrior Online Q&A gives you six devs for the price of none originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>battlegriddev-q-and-adev-qaf2pfree-to-playhula-girlsmechwarriormechwarrior-onlinemodulemodulesmwopiranhapiranha-gamesq-and-aqaWed, 18 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MechWarrior Online fights with knowledge as well as lasers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/04/mechwarrior-online-fights-with-knowledge-as-well-as-lasers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/04/mechwarrior-online-fights-with-knowledge-as-well-as-lasers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/04/mechwarrior-online-fights-with-knowledge-as-well-as-lasers/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

MechWarrior Online
In any combat situation it is key to be as well-informed as possible: to know where your enemy is (hopefully not right behind you), what resources you have on hand (dual Twinkies), what you're up against (spouse aggro), and so on. The makers of the upcoming MechWarrior Online have devoted their second dev blog to the importance of information -- or as they put it, "knowledge is power!"

To aid with information warfare, the designers will provide to players a key tool called a BattleGrid, which will function like a pumped-up interactive map during in-game conflicts. Through the BattleGrid, players will be able to get a good idea of what's going on in the field quickly and what orders are coming through for the attack.

The blog post also mentions the concept of "modules" that allow pilots to customize their 'Mechs, and it gives a brief overview of the line-of-sight targeting system and how players can work together to share battlefield information as well as how they can confuse the enemy. Hiding and seeking in the game will require a good combination of both detection and "spoofing" modules to keep your team alive while exposing the opposite one.

[Thanks to Nimsy for the tip!]

MassivelyMechWarrior Online fights with knowledge as well as lasers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>battlegriddetectiondev-blogdev-diarydeveloper-bloghide-and-seekinformation-warfareknowledge-is-powerline-of-sightmechmechwarriormechwarrior-onlinemodulemodulespiranha-gamesspoofingWed, 04 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Fitting the Caldari Naga]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/18/eve-evolved-fitting-the-caldari-naga/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/18/eve-evolved-fitting-the-caldari-naga/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/18/eve-evolved-fitting-the-caldari-naga/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

EVE Evolved title image
While EVE Online's recent Crucible expansion brought us over a hundred small features, balance tweaks, and graphical updates, its headline feature was undoubtedly the four new tier 3 battlecruisers. It's been several years since a new combat ship was added to EVE, and combat had begun to get a little stale. Most of EVE's ships follow a logical design progression, with larger ships having more tank and higher damage output. CCP turned that concept on its head with the new tier 3 battlecruisers, which deal battleship-class damage but have both the agility and paper-thin tank of a tech 1 cruiser.

The Caldari Naga is the very definition of a glass cannon, able to output more damage than a Megathron or Rokh but at the cost of having practically no tank. It can be sniper-fit to deal around 650 DPS at ranges of 100-130km, blaster-fit to output a raw 1,500 DPS at ranges below 10km, or even set up to fight effectively with blasters outside web range. Its high top speed and cruiser-like agility add new gameplay options to existing sniper and heavy damage-dealer fleet roles, providing battleship-class damage for roaming cruiser gangs. It's a potential game-changer for nullsec alliances engaging in hit-and-run style warfare, but as with all new ships it can be difficult to figure out an effective ship fitting.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I explore three solid fittings for the Naga designed to fill common PvP roles.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Fitting the Caldari Naga

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Fitting the Caldari Naga originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Excited about Dungeons and Dragons Online's Update 8? Do you feel a jolt race up your arm when you contemplate its glory and find yourself breathless? That may be a heart condition -- perhaps you should get it checked out? Or it could be the weighty dose of content that's about to descend on your chest, you never know!

Along with cookie jars and cosmetic armor, DDO's Update 8 will unleash a quartet of new adventures for brave dungeoneers. In a recent promotional post for the patch, Turbine's provided a description for each of the level 13 adventures. The first, "Assault on Summerfield," has your team defending the city against waves of invasion, while the subsequent "Blockade Buster" gives you the opportunity to sail to the enemy ships at night and blow them up. In a pair of longer modules, "Undermine" and "Siegebreaker" offer daring groups a chance to infiltrate the enemy base and shut down their supply line of troops once and for all.

As of right now, we do not have word as to the pricing plan for these adventures if you are a F2P player. However, it's never too soon to get ready to protect Stormreach in Update 8 by reading this post. And stay tuned -- we'll be taking a deeper look at Update 8 later this week on Massively!

MassivelyBust the blockade and storm the fortress in DDO's Update 8 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adventureattack-on-stormreachcookie-jarcosmetic-armorddoddo-update-8dungeons-and-dragons-onlinef2pfantasyfree-to-playmodulestormreachturbineTurbine-Entertainmentupdate-8Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New DDO screens highlight Module 9's Shavarath]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/08/new-ddo-screens-highlight-module-9s-shavarath/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/08/new-ddo-screens-highlight-module-9s-shavarath/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/08/new-ddo-screens-highlight-module-9s-shavarath/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


The free Module 9 update is just around the corner for Dungeons and Dragons Online, at least relatively speaking. But since we know that waiting for a big shiny new patch can be daunting at best, here are some screens of the forthcoming Shavarath to help tide you over until that fateful patch day. Module 9 is piling on a number of new features, including a raise for the level cap, chat improvements, new feats and abilities, capstone enhancements, and we're assuming some other yet-to-be announced goodies.

For a game that's pushing past three years, Dungeons and Dragons Online is looking quite good. It probably helps that Module 9 is moving DX10 support out of beta and into officially official status. That's twice as official as it was before, for anyone keeping score.

As great as these screenshots are, we really think Turbine needs to do their hard work some justice and put out a new trailer showcasing all the new improvements with an emphasis on the animations. It's all the rage nowadays, Turbine!

Gallery: DDO Module 9

MassivelyNew DDO screens highlight Module 9's Shavarath originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ddodungeons-and-dragons-onlinedx10modulemodule-9screenshotscreenshotstrailerturbineWed, 08 Apr 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Winterblink: asset control and consolidation in EVE Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/winterblink-asset-control-and-consolidation-in-eve-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/winterblink-asset-control-and-consolidation-in-eve-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/winterblink-asset-control-and-consolidation-in-eve-online/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Warp Drive Active podcaster Winterblink is a man who's got everything, apparently. And too much of it, scattered throughout his hangars in New Eden. It's a common problem in EVE Online, particularly for players who roam a lot throughout the galaxy. Mission runners, ratters, and adherents of most any trade or livelihood in the game accumulate a lot of random assets, individually of low worth but which can hold substantial value when seen as a whole. Unfortunately, what Winterblink describes in his blog gets even worse when a player uses containers to organize their possessions by category across multiple stations. The contents of those containers cannot be viewed remotely; one has to be docked in that particular station to see what's inside.

Winterblink decided he couldn't handle the clutter anymore and shared the most efficient way he's found to deal with it all, step-by-step. He also had a good idea about having a container that only has the modules for his preferred ship fittings. Slowboating all over New Eden to consolidate his assets worked out for Winterblink. But this writer found that the negligible value of his junk and the time lost consolidating it wouldn't be worth the effort, and opted to ruthlessly destroy a fair amount of it, rather than collect and reprocess or resell the odds and ends. The slash-and-burn approach works for Tech I modules, but once ships and Tech II of anything enter into the picture, Winterblink's way is best. Especially in that he opted to reprocess the materials rather than trying to sell them all on the market.

Continue reading Winterblink: asset control and consolidation in EVE Online

MassivelyWinterblink: asset control and consolidation in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>assetsccpccp-gameseveeve-onlinefactionfaction-modulemission-runnermodulemodulesnew-edenofficerofficer-modulepodcastpodcasterratrattersci-fit1t2tech-1tech-2warp-drive-activewdawinterblinkThu, 03 Jul 2008 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Player vs. Everything: The quirks of D&D Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/player-vs-everything-the-quirks-of-dandd-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/player-vs-everything-the-quirks-of-dandd-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/16/player-vs-everything-the-quirks-of-dandd-online/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


From the first time I stepped into Turbine's Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach, I was amazed by how well it managed to capture the dungeon crawling feel of the franchise that I knew, loved, and grew up with. With its fast-paced, pulse-pounding, and thoroughly satisfying combat, clever use of hidden doors and traps, and resource management mini-game of health, spells, and abilities, D&D Online provides a unique gameplay experience that no other MMOG can provide right now. One only has to listen to the vehement and impassioned discussion of the hardcore fans, found in any pick-up dungeon group, to realize that Turbine has something special here---something that World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online, EverQuest and Age of Conan, or even EVE Online simply can't offer.

However, is being unique and interesting enough to justify the price? On a recent Massively podcast, I mentioned that I've always felt like DDO wasn't worth the monthly fee, despite how much I love the game. The standard $15 per month pricing model is a one-size-fits-all label that looks a little too bulky on the city of Stormreach, for a number of reasons. Today I'm going to examine some of the reasons why a game which I find so interesting, exciting, and fun can't manage to crack my wallet open, and what I think Turbine could do to push the game a little further into the competitive territory of its gaming peers.

Continue reading Player vs. Everything: The quirks of D&D Online

MassivelyPlayer vs. Everything: The quirks of D&D Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ddddodungeons-and-dragons-onlinefeaturedgame-designjoystiqfeaturesmodulemodulesnpcsplayer-createdplayer-vs-everythingsecond-gameMon, 16 Jun 2008 15:30:00 EST