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Player-created Telara Saga adds official trailer and website

Rubi Bayer — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Events, in-game, RIFT

Did you attend last week's Telara Saga kickoff event in RIFT? If you enjoyed it, you'll be happy to hear that the Gaiscioch Family is continuing the eight-month event in style.

The group has launched the official Telara Saga site complete with a full calendar, stats on completed battles, and information on the host guild. The events take place on the Faeblight server for Guardian players, and the next one is tonight at 9:00 p.m. EDT.

The website isn't the only thing the Telara Saga team has been working on -- there is also a three-minute trailer that serves as part guide, part eye candy. Check it out after the jump, and we'll see you tonight in RIFT!

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Player-created Telara Saga adds official trailer and website originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Captain's Log: Anticipating STO's future in user-generated content

Ryan Greene — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Patches, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Captain's Log

Hey there, folks! Welcome back to another edition of Captain's Log, Massively's rarely-coherent-but-always-fun look at Star Trek Online. I have had just the busiest darn week, you betcha. I spent all weekend at New York Comic Con, where I saw more than a few folks dressed to the nines in Star Trek gear, and then I started a shiny new day job on Monday. Phew!

I've been thinking a lot about user-generated content lately. In a recent interview, STO Executive Producer Daniel Stahl offers a few details on the subject, in which we learn a bit about the forthcoming system's abilities and limitations. What do we know about STO's UGC tools? What do we still not know -- mainly, when can we get in there and start crafting our own missions? Why, follow me past the jump to find out.

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Captain's Log: Anticipating STO's future in user-generated content originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The debatable concept of ownership in virtual spaces

James Egan — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Crafting, Opinion, Virtual worlds

Game security news and analysis site PlayNoEvil recently looked at the concept of ownership in the virtual space, in an article called "The Quixotic Quest for Avatar Rights." It explores the question that's been around since the very beginning of virtual interactions: Does the player who invests his or her time into finding, creating, and using an item 'own' it, or is it really just server data that's company property?

For most game and virtual world operations, there's little room for debate. They create the environment and everything in it, right down to a gamer's or user's avatar. However one view expressed at an Austin GDC panel is that while companies work to ensure their legal claim to virtual property, they also foster the illusion that the player has some degree of ownership. While the mindset of the industry isn't likely to change any time soon, there are those involved on the development and business end that would like to see changes regarding 'avatar rights.' Others are pushing for an improved EULA which would ensure the continued growth of virtual worlds, where users have greater control over their own created content. What's your view on this? Do companies have any responsibility to their subscribers or users to relinquish control over player-created content? Are gamers and virtual worlds users unreasonable in thinking the situation should change?

The debatable concept of ownership in virtual spaces originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 21 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMO features that haven't made it into Warhammer Online

James Egan — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Warhammer Online, Opinion

Among the legions of fortunate Warhammer Online fans that have played through beta and the preview weekend is Syp from the Waaagh! blog. He's always entertaining and it's clear he's passionate about Warhammer Online. So when he writes about features in other MMOs that he'd like to see in WAR, you know he's not bashing a game that's not even out of the gate yet. Rather, he's genuinely looking at ways the game could be better.

Syp puts forth his ideal WAR feature set, which includes capturable and trainable pets similar to World of Warcraft's system and the player-created content and sidekicks of City of Heroes. Syp would also like to see WAR include an in-game music player like EVE Online, and other features drawn from Everquest 2 and Lord of the Rings Online. Have a look at the Waaagh! "10 features" post and see if you agree with him on what could make Warhammer Online a better title.

Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

MMO features that haven't made it into Warhammer Online originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Cryptic touches on player-created content

Kyle Horner — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Champions Online

Every time Cryptic puts up a brand new Ask Cryptic article we have a tough time picking only one or two answers to talk about. However, this week was pretty easy. The very first question presented asks about how deep Champions Online will delve into the concept of player-created content, whether it be mods or actual in-game content. Jack Emmert responded reasonably by mentioning that the Nemesis system, costume creation, power selection and power customization features are merely the beginning. Apparently we that we can, "look to see [Cryptic] continue to open the door for more player-generated material." Which really makes us wonder what that means for Star Trek Online.

We must admit to this being an exciting proposition. It's our hope as comic book and MMO nerds that there's a future where we can submit completely unique costumes to go through moderated approval for each of our crazy characters in Champions Online. Or even custom animations! That would be unequivocally and unabashedly awesome. Don't disappoint us now, Cryptic.

Ask Cryptic touches on player-created content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

Cameron Sorden — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Dungeons and Dragons Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Player vs. Everything

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.

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Player 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.

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Player vs. Everything: Should MMOGs allow modding?

Cameron Sorden — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, Player vs. Everything

When Diablo first came out, I was a huge fan of it. It was pretty much all I played for months. Then, after a while, I got bored. Even with randomly generated dungeons and enemies, there are only so many loot runs you can do. When Hellfire was released I got back into it again. But with time, the newness of that wore off too. I put Diablo on the shelf, satisfied that I had done everything interesting there was to do with the game. A few months later, I was bored and looking for something to play. That was when I stumbled onto a random website and discovered my first Diablo mod.

Someone had taken the game I knew and loved, and changed it -- it was like playing a whole new game while keeping everything I loved about my favorite game intact. This experience spurred a long-standing fascination with the modding scene for me, and I've since downloaded and enjoyed mods for most of my favorite single-player games. It's amazing what people can do when developers hand them the keys! In fact, I would argue that it dramatically improves both the value and shelf life of your computer game if you make it easy for the modding community to get their hands on your game. Case in point: Morrowind is still an amazing game that looks great and has tons of content, despite being almost six years old at this point. That wouldn't have happened without the support of modders. Given all of the cool things that you can do with modding, shouldn't developers let us tweak their MMOGs, too?

Continue reading Player vs. Everything: Should MMOGs allow modding?

Player vs. Everything: Should MMOGs allow modding? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 May 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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