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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[GamersFirst kicks off APB's second open beta]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/betas/" rel="tag">Betas</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/real-life/" rel="tag">Real life</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/patches/" rel="tag">Patches</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/all-points-bulletin/" rel="tag">All Points Bulletin</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/crime/" rel="tag">Crime</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/dev-diaries/" rel="tag">Dev Diaries</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/"><img border="1" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/07/04-apb-reloaded.jpg" vspace="4" /></a></div>
In case you missed it, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/all-points-bulletin"><em>APB Reloaded's</em></a> second beta phase kicked off yesterday. The version 1.5.2 update "<em>contains the biggest changes to missions, matchmaking, skill rating, and district recommendation to date</em>," according to the latest <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/gamersfirst">GamersFirst</a> dev blog.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/bjorn-book-larsson">Bjorn Book-Larsson</a> has a few words of wisdom for residents of San Paro in terms of 15-minute patching-related disconnects. GamersFirst is working "<em>round-the-clock</em>" to isolate issues and come to terms with bugaboos that don't necessarily crop up prior to a large-scale player influx.<br />
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The latest <em>Reloaded</em> dev diary also contains detailed info relative to all the matchmaking and threat level changes, as well as a bit about cheating statistics and upcoming <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/nvidia">Nvidia</a> support. Finally, there's a blurb about future servers, and gamers in Russia, Hong Kong, and Australia can look forward to dedicated shards before long.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/">GamersFirst kicks off APB's second open beta</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19998089/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>all-points-bulletin</category><category>all-points-bulletin-reloaded</category><category>apb</category><category>apb-reloaded</category><category>beta</category><category>beta-2</category><category>Bjorn-Book-Larsson</category><category>cheating</category><category>crime</category><category>dev-blog</category><category>dev-diary</category><category>f2p</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>gamersfirst</category><category>matchmaking</category><category>mmo-shooter</category><category>open-beta-2</category><category>san-paro</category><category>server-stability</category><category>shooter</category><category>testing</category><category>threat-level</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jef Reahard]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[NCsoft extends a thank you to Aion players for their patience]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/aion/" rel="tag">Aion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-in-game/" rel="tag">Events, in-game</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><a href="http://www.aiononline.com"><img hspace="4" border="1" align="right" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/10/aionthankyou.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/21/the-aion-server-queue-survival-guide/">Remember those server queues</a>? Yeah you do. How could you forget the glorious two-hour-plus waits to get in to play <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/aion">NCsoft'</a>s <em><a href="http://www.aiononline.com">Aion</a></em>?<br /><br />Well, those times are in the past now. The <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/aion">Aion</a></em> 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.<br /><br />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 -- <a href="http://www.aionarmory.com/item.aspx?id=169620000">Lodas Amulets</a>.<br /><br />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!<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/">NCsoft extends a thank you to Aion players for their patience</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.aiononline.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19198884/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/16/ncsoft-extends-a-thank-you-to-aion-players-for-their-patience/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>aion</category><category>aion-the-tower-of-eternity</category><category>breaking</category><category>experience-boost</category><category>lodas-amulet</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>server-queues</category><category>server-stability</category><category>thank-you-gift</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Seraphina Brennan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Winds of Change to blow through Warhammer]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/29/winds-of-change-to-blow-through-warhammer/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/29/winds-of-change-to-blow-through-warhammer/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/29/winds-of-change-to-blow-through-warhammer/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/warhammer-online/" rel="tag">Warhammer Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://crewchief.net/Sandstorm%204.jpg"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/04/winds-of-change.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></div>
What's the worst case scenario for an MMO pitting hundreds of players against each other in epic large-scale RvR combat? Lag. Crashing. Rollbacks. Unfortunately, many <a href="http://warhammeronline.com"><em>Warhammer Online</em></a> players have experienced all these issues while participating in open RvR. <a href="http://mythicentertainment.com">Mythic</a> has been working on server stability since launch and now plan on taking a more aggressive stance by testing <a href="http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=765">a new mechanic called The Winds of Change (WoC)</a>.<br /><br />The WoC will basically teleport certain players to the nearest PvE safe spot (warcamp or chapter hub) when <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/10/counterpoint-on-warhammer-onlines-fortress-siege-population-cap/">the server determines it is under enough stress to soon buckle</a>. If people do not voluntarily leave once the WoC message is broadcast across the zone, dead players in the effected area will be teleported first, followed by the severely wounded. On the plus side, at least those players who qualify will still have a chance at rolling for rewards.<br /><br /><a href="http://knightsofthefeatheredhats.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/winds-of-change/">Some players believe</a> the solution is not ideal because it forces people out of RvR, the game's bread and butter, but Mythic says the WoC only be a temporary fix until they can solve their server stability issues once and for all. One has to wonder if that is even possible given the game has been on the market for over 7 months already. Still, we remain cautiously optimistic. A more permanent solution may arrive with <a href="http://massively.com/tag/land-of-the-dead">The Land of the Dead</a> as we predict many players will flee the original open RvR campaign for RvR in the desert.<br /><br /><strong>Update #1</strong> - Mythic has released <a href="http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=767">a server maintenance announcement</a>.<br /><br /><em>Greetings!<br /><br />Today, 4/29/09, all North American and Oceanic servers will be brought offline at 9:00 AM EDT for an update. We anticipate all servers to be back online by 1:00 PM EDT. </em><em><strong>This update will improve City Instances and server stability; in addition the Winds of Change feature will be removed from Dark Crag during this downtime.</strong><br /><br />Thank you and as always keep an eye on the Herald for the latest news and information during server updates!</em><br /><br /><strong>Update #2</strong> - GOA's Nilax <a href="http://forums.war-europe.com/warhammeronline/board/message?board.id=generalannouncementsEN&amp;message.id=32#M32">has released this statement</a> on the official European forums.<br /><br /><em>"After reviewing the metrics and community feedback Mythic have removed the Winds of Change feature from Dark Crag. As they will continue to look at this or similar options to improve stability I will leave this thread open for now."</em><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/29/winds-of-change-to-blow-through-warhammer/">Winds of Change to blow through Warhammer</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://herald.warhammeronline.com/warherald/NewsArticle.war?id=765>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/29/winds-of-change-to-blow-through-warhammer/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1531220/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/29/winds-of-change-to-blow-through-warhammer/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>call-to-arms</category><category>land-of-the-dead</category><category>lands-of-the-dead</category><category>mythic-entertainment</category><category>population-control</category><category>RvR</category><category>server-stability</category><category>war</category><category>warhammer-online</category><category>winds-of-change</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brooke Pilley]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:30:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
