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[BioWare taking SWTOR queues 'seriously']]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/19/bioware-taking-swtor-queues-seriously/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/19/bioware-taking-swtor-queues-seriously/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/19/bioware-taking-swtor-queues-seriously/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Tython air taxi
Stop us if you've heard this one before: Hugely anticipated MMO struggles to balance lengthy launch queues with long-term server and community stability. Yes, BioWare is slogging down the same slippery supply and demand slope that many AAA MMOs have trod before, and a report at Eurogamer suggests that the lines have only just begun.

There were 140 servers open for business this past weekend (a pre-launch period in which BioWare staggered waves of invites to legions of early release customers), and more are being added due to queue times approaching two hours. With Star Wars: The Old Republic's actual launch day looming tomorrow, BioWare's Jeff Hickman did his best to deflect criticism and soothe the impatient rumblings of disgruntled players.

"While we can't promise that there won't ever be queues, we can promise you that we are taking this matter seriously and constantly reviewing them to make sure that they are manageable and reasonable," he said.

MassivelyBioWare taking SWTOR queues 'seriously' originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowareea-biowareearly-accessearly-releaseElectronic-Artsjeff-hickmanlaunchlaunch-queuesqueue-queuequeuessci-fiserver-queuesstar-wars-the-old-republicswtorthe-old-republictorMon, 19 Dec 2011 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Did BioWare make the right call?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/25/the-daily-grind-did-bioware-make-the-right-call/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/25/the-daily-grind-did-bioware-make-the-right-call/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/25/the-daily-grind-did-bioware-make-the-right-call/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

BioWare made something of a stink last week with its decision to limit Star Wars: The Old Republic pre-orders (both in terms of total numbers and in certain regions around the world). Here at Massively, we received dozens of angry emails entreating us to take up the cause of the common gamer.

While limits on digital goods do seem a bit artificial, it's also worth noting that recent popular MMO releases were beset with server overcrowding and lengthy login queues (we're thinking of both Aion and RIFT here).

BioWare ruffled quite a few fan feathers with its actions, but from the outside looking in, it's difficult to determine what the company could have done differently. That's where you come in, and this edition of The Daily Grind is all about your reaction to Star Wars: The Old Republic pre-orders, load limits, and regional publishing. Do you think BioWare made the right call?

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!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Did BioWare make the right call? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowareea-biowareelectronic-artsgame-discussiongamer-discussionload-limitsmmo-discussionmmo-hot-topicsmmo-issuesmmo-topicsmmorpg-discussionmmorpg-hot-topicsmmorpg-topicsopinionpre-ordersregionsserver-queuesstar-wars-the-old-republicswtortdgthe-daily-grindMon, 25 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[PAX East 2011: Massively interviews RIFT's Scott Hartsman]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/15/pax-east-2011-massively-interviews-rifts-scott-hartsman/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/15/pax-east-2011-massively-interviews-rifts-scott-hartsman/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/03/15/pax-east-2011-massively-interviews-rifts-scott-hartsman/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

With the launch of RIFT still fresh, members of the Trion team packed their bags and flew to Boston to attend PAX East. Even though they didn't have a booth, their "We're not in Azeroth anymore" banner made their presence known. In addition, Community Manager Cindy "Abigale" Bowens hosted a party in Boston to celebrate the launch with players and fans. Massively had a chance to sit down and talk with Trion CCO and RIFT Executive Producer Scott Hartsman about launch day, security, plans for the future, and a whole lot more. Read on for the full interview!

Continue reading PAX East 2011: Massively interviews RIFT's Scott Hartsman

MassivelyPAX East 2011: Massively interviews RIFT's Scott Hartsman originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>abigaleadd-onsaddonsappappscindy-bowensdungeon-finderfeaturedguild-warsinterviewinterviewslaunchlaunch-daypaxpax-2011pax-eastpax-east-2011riftrift-planes-of-telarascott-hartsmanserver-populationserver-populationsserver-queuesshardssocial-gaming-nightsuccesstriontrion-worldsTue, 15 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/17/the-road-to-mordor-pippins-top-five-plugins/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/17/the-road-to-mordor-pippins-top-five-plugins/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/17/the-road-to-mordor-pippins-top-five-plugins/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This past week in LotRO's been a bit like riding river rapids: There's been a lot of rapid ups-and-downs, violent lurches to avoid dangerous objects, and a whole lot of noise that's drowning out the calmer waters ahead. For every piece of good news and positive word-of-mouth, there's been a lot of unfortunate bumps, such as server queues, dynamic layers, mouthy trolls and Codemaster's launch delay. However, I believe it's all going to settle down in a couple more weeks, and LotRO will emerge the better for it.

So if this is your first week in Lord of the Rings Online, welcome! Find a great kinship, take time to smell the flowers, and hunt some orc for me.

Today I'd like to take a look at one of the unsung heroes of the recent content patch -- the ability to create and use plugins (also called mods and addons) to enhance your user interface. While the system is still in beta and has a rough-around-the-edges feel to it, it's already shown great potential, particularly though the creativity that mod designers are pouring into it. While there are only a small number of plugins available as of right now and Turbine has yet to expand the scope of these Lua scripts beyond constrained limits, it's not too early to beef up your UI with these spiffy additions. Read on, free peoples of Middle-internet!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>addonaddonsbevy-o-barsbuffbuff-barscodemastersdebuffdebuffalo-billdynamic-layersemoemotesf2pfeaturedforumsfree-to-playhotbarhudlord-of-the-rings-onlinelotrolotro-uilotrointerfacelotroplugins.comlualua-scriptmiddle-internetmodmodspalantirpluginplugin-managerpluginsquickbarquickslotserver-queuestonicbarstrollsturbineTurbine-Entertainmentuiworld-of-warcraftFri, 17 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[NCsoft extends a thank you to Aion players for their patience]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Remember those server queues? Yeah you do. How could you forget the glorious two-hour-plus waits to get in to play NCsoft's Aion?

Well, those times are in the past now. The Aion servers have settled down, leading to most people being able to log in immediately, even during peak hours. Queues have all but vanished, and the game is settling in for its long haul.

However, NCsoft did want to give the Aion devoted a little gift for putting up with all of the hassle. While it may not entirely make up for the time spent waiting in line, it will certainly help speed your progression -- Lodas Amulets.

These amulets, when used, will provide 20% bonus experience from monster kills for one hour. Every character has been given five of these unique items, meaning that pre-order customers will now have 10 of them, as they have already received five from their pre-order. Enjoy the weekend of adventuring!

MassivelyNCsoft extends a thank you to Aion players for their patience originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionaion-the-tower-of-eternitybreakingexperience-boostlodas-amuletncsoftserver-queuesserver-stabilitythank-you-giftFri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Aion gets its first State of the Game address]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/04/aion-gets-its-first-state-of-the-game-address/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/04/aion-gets-its-first-state-of-the-game-address/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/04/aion-gets-its-first-state-of-the-game-address/#commentsFiled under: , ,


It's been a little over two weeks since Aion launched and NC West Executive Producer Lance Stites just released its first State of the Game address. These kinds of announcements have become more and more frequent as new MMOs launch and they usually cover the main successes and issues within a given period. This address is no different.

Lance proudly declares Aion's "fun and polished" launch and goes on to talk about the incredible demand they've experienced. Perhaps the demand was too high because the main issue he covers in this letter revolves around the server queues players have been sitting in since launch. NC West ran the usual prelaunch calculations and even added a 25% buffer to determine the game's initial server caps but that just wasn't enough.

It doesn't help that players have been playing long and hard either. "For example, we're seeing timeframes where 60 percent or more of our players are playing at any given time. This is a significant event by any MMO standard," Stites says. To address this problem, the studio is working on offering one-time free server transfers in the near future. Check out his full letter on the official site.

MassivelyAion gets its first State of the Game address originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionfree-transferslance-stiteslaunchnc-westncsoftserver-queuesstate-of-the-gameSun, 04 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[NCsoft scrambles to reduce server queues: Private store tweaks incoming]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/25/ncsoft-scrambles-to-reduce-server-queues-private-store-tweaks-i/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/25/ncsoft-scrambles-to-reduce-server-queues-private-store-tweaks-i/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/25/ncsoft-scrambles-to-reduce-server-queues-private-store-tweaks-i/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

If one thing has marred the otherwise polished launch of Aion it is the extremely long server queues players face when trying to log in and play what they paid for. NCsoft responded a couple days ago saying that they are aware of the problem and working on solutions such as increased server caps and even opening a new server in both North America and Europe. Today they just announced a maintenance patch that addresses a major cause of their queue problem: Private stores will now have 30-minute timer to prevent them from being abused.

Private stores are a great concept. Players can set up shop anywhere in the world to sell their spare goods and make a pretty penny. Unfortunately, a feature of these stores is that they prevent you from idling out of the game. This feature really compounds the current server queue problem.

To avoid going through the queue process again, many players simply set up a private store and go AFK for hours at a time. One store we came across had this description set: "AFK at work, making you queue." This is even more evidence that MMO players will often take the path of least resistance for personal gain. Devs really need this hammered into their heads.

MassivelyNCsoft scrambles to reduce server queues: Private store tweaks incoming originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>abuseaionaion-patchexploitmaintenancencsoftprivate-storeserver-queuesFri, 25 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[NCsoft responds to Aion's server queues]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/ncsoft-responds-to-aions-server-queues/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/ncsoft-responds-to-aions-server-queues/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/23/ncsoft-responds-to-aions-server-queues/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


The long Aion server queues are a sticking point for many players who have been looking forward to playing these past few days. We even made a guide to help the Aion folks survive the long waits.

However, the calls against the server queues have not gone unheard. NCsoft has taken note of everyone's feelings, and they've sent us the following response to the issue of the server queues.

At NCsoft our commitment is to making the MMO player experience the best it can be. And while Aion has seen a very successful launch that has exceeded our expectations in many ways, we are aware of the longer than usual queue times that players have experienced on some of the servers. This is due to the initial rush of players that we've seen in the early days of the game's launch in Europe and North America.

Continue reading NCsoft responds to Aion's server queues

MassivelyNCsoft responds to Aion's server queues originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionaion-the-tower-of-eternitybreakingncsoftofficial-responseserver-fullserver-queueswait-timesWed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST