Massively

Guild Wars 2 wants you to play with your friends no matter what

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP, Guild Wars 2

"Whenever we design a new feature we always ask ourselves how it impacts our players' ability to play with their friends," ArenaNet's Eric Flannum stated about Guild Wars 2. In an interview focused on connecting players together, Flannum made it clear that the team was looking for every possible opportunity to pave the way for social hookups.

Flannum addressed the specifics of how Guild Wars 2's servers work in relation to transfers. While there is a traditional paid transfer service (which can be used only every seven days), all players will have the ability to hop over to friends' servers as a guest. Player team-ups are further made possible by the dynamic level-adjusting system that scales players down to the zone they're occupying.

This process is made easier by ArenaNet's decision to make friend lists and guilds account-wide instead of specific to a server. So while each guild has a home server, other chapters can exist elsewhere. Flannum also said that the team is carefully structuring its PvP system so that it will be free from potential abuse by server guesting.

Guild Wars 2 wants you to play with your friends no matter what originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 May 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Choose My Adventure: Next stop, City of Heroes

MJ Guthrie — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Polls, City of Heroes, Free-to-play, Massively Meta, Hands-on, Choose My Adventure

I hope your vote wasn't born from a desire to see me in tights!

Although road trips can be just as fun when you just jump in the car and take off with no predetermined destination, at some point you have to end up somewhere. And it looks like we now know our destination. While I was safely strapped in my seat and watching the scenery, you readers have taken the City of Heroes exit. So it looks like a cape and superpowers will be on order for the next few weeks in Choose my Adventure. (Unless you nix the cape, of course.)

Surprisingly, this time around I actually managed to sit back and enjoy the ride without checking the poll results every 20 minutes of every day; I managed to restrain myself to just once a day! Maybe it was because I've let you have the keys before and knew that I really would enjoy the experience no matter where you took me. After all, you didn't get us in a wreck last time, did you? And Justin survived (relatively) unscathed, so what was there to worry about?

Perhaps on another trip we will be able to explore other exotic destinations, such as Anarchy Online, Star Trek Online, Asheron's Call, or even World of Tanks. I'll admit that I wistfully entertained images of visiting each of these destinations while I was glancing periodically at the polls, but for now, our course is set, and we will be arriving shortly. The first order of business before jumping into City of Heroes is a shot pitstop to develop our character. Be sure to get your vote in before Saturday, April 28th, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. EDT!

Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Next stop, City of Heroes

Choose My Adventure: Next stop, City of Heroes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Should MMO companies reveal server loads?

Brianna Royce — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

As long as I've been playing MMOs, game companies have been obfuscating server loads. Oh, sure, you can make a pretty good guess as to how many players are playing on your server. You can look at one of the MMO charting sites, use a tool to parse how many people are in various zones at set times, or wave a calculator at the fine print in quarterly earnings reports, but those methods are admittedly imperfect. We're usually left with vague categories like low-, medium-, and high-population, terms that aren't comparable from game to game. High-pop for EVE Online doesn't mean the same as high-pop for Warhammer Online, after all.

I can understand why studios want to hide the numbers. Players are bitterly cruel when it comes to data like these, and a small reduction in population one night could lead to a snowball effect of self-fulfilling doom-and-gloom prophecies. Still, players like to know how many other people they can expect to encounter on their server since that helps them plan which server (and which MMO) might be right for them. What do you think -- should MMO companies reveal the precise numbers behind their server loads?

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!

The Daily Grind: Should MMO companies reveal server loads? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIFT flags more trial servers

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, News items, RIFT

In a rather surprising move for a number of RIFT players, it turns out that several of the game's servers have been converted over to trial servers. Naturally, it makes players instinctively fearful that it's the first step toward server shutdowns and closures.

But that's not quite what's going on. As explained by community manager Elrar quite some time ago, trial servers are lower-population servers that are essentially being put to one side for large-scale trial programs. Character creation for subscribers is disabled on those servers, and there's a message encouraging you to move to another server with a free transfer, but it's not a shutdown, just a ramp-up to a larger trial period for non-subscribers.

According to Rift Junkies, a total of 11 servers are seeing the trial tag applied, and players are encouraged to move off these servers by January 18th. If you've got a character on Belmont, Galena, Atrophinius, Crucia, Alsbeth, Estrael, Shadefallen, Sunrest, Freeholme, Dayblind, or Faemyst, now would be a good time to start planning for greener, non-trial pastures.

[Thanks to Celestial Lord for the tip!]

RIFT flags more trial servers originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And then there were two: Warhammer Online merges servers once more

Matt Daniel — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Warhammer Online, News items, Free-to-play

Warhammer Online's server culls continue today as the Gorfang (North America) and Karak Azgal (Europe) servers are being retired. As we mentioned last month, Gorfang players will now be taking refuge on the Badlands server, while Karak Azgal's denizens will find a new home on Karak Norn. For those of you keeping score at home, this brings Warhammer Online's total operational servers to a whopping two. Players with characters on either server can transfer them to the remaining servers via the Mythic Account Center, though at the rate things are going, there may not be any servers left soon enough.

And then there were two: Warhammer Online merges servers once more originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Emperor is stuck in a queue? BioWare shall redouble its efforts!

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Launches, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Is it a wonderful problem to have when your MMO is so popular that everyone trying to crush through the door at the same time is causing painful queues? Or is it a problematic wonder? Either way, the BioWare live team has been struggling to keep up with demand for Star Wars: The Old Republic access -- but the team may be getting closer to winning the war on wait time.

BioWare's Greg Zeschuk stopped by the forums to assure players that the company is "redoubling its efforts" in tackling the issue. As a result, players should already be seeing quicker access to SWTOR:

We've also being doing our best to get every little bit of possible performance on our servers to increase capacity: We've "turned them up to 11" to do our very best to get you in and playing as quickly as possible. As a result - you should now be seeing significant improvement versus waiting times at the end of last week.

The team is also working on a way to hold players' places in the wait queue in the event of a disconnect.

The Emperor is stuck in a queue? BioWare shall redouble its efforts! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic goes dark in preparation for launch

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Launches, Star Wars: The Old Republic

It's as if a million gamers cried out in... you know what? We've done that joke too many times, as has everyone else. We're officially declaring it off-limits for the remainder of this game's history. It's a trap, trust us.

And you thought that intro smelled bad... on the outside!

OK, it's all out of our system -- as is Star Wars: The Old Republic. As the game nears its official December 20th launch date, BioWare is bringing down both the servers and the website in preparation for the momentous event. From 7:00 p.m. until 12:01 a.m. EST, SWTOR will be inaccessible.

BioWare says that as the game comes back online at midnight, the studio will be adding "a large number of new servers" to facilitate the influx of launch players. Even so, the studio predicts that queues on popular servers will be present and urges players to consider rolling characters on lesser-populated realms.

Because of the recently instituted grace period, early access players have until 3:00 a.m. EST on December 22nd to register their product codes or be cut off from gameplay.

Star Wars: The Old Republic goes dark in preparation for launch originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Waaaghon Ho!: Warhammer Online merging servers following free transfers

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Warhammer Online, News items

Saddle up, rough riders: It's time to head to more fertile lands! Starting next week, select Warhammer Online players will be given the option to transfer between servers for free. The decision is Mythic's attempt to merge underpopulated servers, and the company hopes that this move will drive up the action in RvR for previously quiet locations.

Players on the Gorfang (North America) and Karak Azgal (Europe) will be able to move house to Badlands and Karak Norn, respectively, starting December 14th. Once this happens, Gorfang and Karak Azgal will be marked as "Legacy" servers, keeping new players from rolling on them, and then after three weeks, the two servers will be shut down completely. Any characters left on those servers will not be playable until they transfer to their new homes.

Mythic is also paving the way for guilds to move wholesale to new servers, with more information about this coming next week.

Waaaghon Ho!: Warhammer Online merging servers following free transfers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World of Tanks tops its own Guinness World Record

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks

If your hard-won Guinness World Record has to be beaten one day, it's best that you do it yourself.

That seems like Wargaming.net's philosophy, as the studio just announced that it's already broken World of Tanks' previously established record for Most Players Online Simultaneously on One MMO Server. 250,000 players crammed onto the game's Russian server simultaneously in November, far outstripping the title's earlier achievement of 91,311.

CEO Victor Kislyi said that its upcoming technology and software upgrades will enable World of Tanks to do even better: "We are more than happy to watch our World of Tanks win over hearts and minds of gamers all around the world. The multicluster technology will enable us to move steadily towards new milestones and records."

We recently gave World of Tanks a close look in our Firing Line column.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

World of Tanks tops its own Guinness World Record originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes

Brendan Drain — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, MMO industry, News items

As part of a refocusing on developing EVE Online, CCP Games has recently taken us on a video tour of its art, features and core technology departments. This week it's the turn of the customer relations and Virtual Worlds departments as CCP Guard finds out what makes EVE tick. In his visit to the den of GMs, he finds that important stuck queue petitions are answered on average in 15 minutes, a response time much improved compared to a few years ago.

Guard chats to several people from CCP's Virtual Worlds department, which is responsible for keeping all the EVE server clusters online and improving performance. CCP Hunter discusses what goes on during EVE's daily downtime and reveals that the once hour-long period has been reduced to only nine minutes per day. We also find out about recent hardware upgrades and the infamous "supernode" deployed for large-scale nullsec wars.

Skip past the cut to watch the full video in HD.

Continue reading EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes

EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Silkroad Online rolls out premium server tomorrow

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, in-game, Patches, Silkroad Online, Free-to-play

Wanna feel like a VIP? Silkroad Online's got you covered. Tomorrow Joymax will take the wraps off of its new premium server, Genesis, which will cater to the high-rollers and high society among MMO gamers. The members-only server will reward loyal customers by offering huge XP, SP and drop rates, GM events, and discounts on cash shop purchases for a limited time.

Joymax isn't limiting the fun to just subscribers, either; all players on all servers are invited to partake in Silkroad's Carnival. The Carnival will deliver a smaller but still significant XP boost than what Genesis is offering, and any players who head over to an attendance event will rack up SP and skill/stat reset scrolls. This event goes until December 13th, so there's plenty of time to shake your booty and rack up the rewards!

[Source: Joymax press release]

Silkroad Online rolls out premium server tomorrow originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO removes server transfer restrictions

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Economy, Free-to-play

Ever since free-to-play came to Lord of the Rings Online, players looking to move from one server to another have often run into a big, forbidding wall. To keep the server populations from capsizing, Turbine disallowed transfers to select servers for over a year.

It looks like this has changed, as Turbine recently posted an update to its paid premium services forum thread. In it, the studio announced that all such transfer restrictions are removed:

We are also happy to announce that NA World Character Transfers are now available for transfer between ALL North American servers as of 9th November, 2011! Yes, you may now transfer TO Brandywine, Crickhollow, Dwarrowdelf, Elendilmir, Imladris, Landroval, or Riddermark!

European players have access to this service as well.

Unfortunately, these transfers aren't free but come with a hefty pricetag. Players looking to move server homes will need to shell out either $24.95, €21.95, or 2995 Turbine Points. There is also an issue with moving a character back to a server that it came from, so players cannot do that until Turbine resolves the issue.

LotRO removes server transfer restrictions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic releases server details

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Guilds, PvP, PvE, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic

On top of the exciting news this morning that Star Wars: The Old Republic has launched into its third guild phase, CM David Bass posted a healthy wall of text on the forums listing the server types and details associated with each.

It will probably not come as a shock that SWTOR is sticking with the four core server rulesets: PvE, PvP, RP-PvE, and RP-PvP. In PvE, players have to toggle an option to engage in PvP outside of specifically designated combat areas, while on PvP servers everyone is automatically flagged outside of safe areas, such as the starting zones. The RP variants are similar, except that BioWare encourages players to roleplay in character on those servers. There's no word as to whether or not GMs will be enforcing such actions.

Because RP-PvP was a very recent addition to the server ruleset list, guilds participating in the pre-launch deployment program will not be able to choose those servers for launch. Instead, BioWare says that players interested in this ruleset will need to manually form a guild on their faction's homeworld after the game releases.

Star Wars: The Old Republic releases server details originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard auctioning off retired WoW servers for charity

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Events, real-world, Promotions, Miscellaneous

What do you do when you upgrade your MMO's servers and end up with a bunch of hardware you don't need any longer? If you said, "Hold the world's geekiest garage sale," then you're absolutely right.

Recently Blizzard upgraded its fleet of World of Warcraft servers and has decided that instead of mothballing the old ones, it will auction them off and donate the proceeds to a worthy charity. The auctions will be handled by eBay, as any interested parties can place a bid on the actual server shard that hundreds of thousands of players used for years.

Each of the auctioned server blades is a self-contained unit and will have the World of Warcraft logo emblazoned across it, with a plaque attached detailing the server's usage dates and the signatures of the development team. Bidding will begin on October 17th and proceed through November 14th as Blizzard auctions the dozens of HP p-Class server blades off in groups, and the winnings will be given to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which helps combat pediatric cancer and other diseases that affect young kids.

If the thought of owning a piece of MMO history appeals to you -- or if you're looking for an interesting Christmas present for that WoW friend of yours -- then check out the auction dates on eBay.

Blizzard auctioning off retired WoW servers for charity originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Time dilation and the war on lag

Brendan Drain — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, EVE Evolved, Sandbox

When EVE Online launched back in 2003, it quickly gained a following of over 40,000 subscribing players. With around 5,000 solar systems for players to explore, those players spread themselves throughout the galaxy rather than gathering in one place. Players would often come together to trade or make war, but the server generally kept up with the action. As the number of subscribers rose, the size of the average PvP fleet increased and CCP upgraded the EVE server to handle the additional load. 2005 saw EVE's subscriber numbers explode from just over 50,000 to around 100,000 players. Server upgrades suddenly didn't cut it any more, and lag began to set in during large fleet battles.

Ever since then, CCP has waged a largely unseen war against the impossibility of keeping all of EVE's players in one single-shard universe. Holding on to that core ideal that's made EVE the successful sandbox game it is today, developers have pursued every avenue in the fight against lag. While funding research into Python's Stackless IO and constantly optimising code, CCP built the biggest supercomputer in the games industry to house New Eden's growing population. With over 400,000 players now inhabiting the same world and a typically weekly peak concurrency of over 50,000 characters, CCP has been forced to develop some big guns in the war on lag.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at some of the biggest developments CCP has made in the war on lag, including the new Time Dilation feature that literally slows down time to let the server catch its breath.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Time dilation and the war on lag

EVE Evolved: Time dilation and the war on lag originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Prius Online changes up servers, entices players with contests

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-play, Promotions

Big changes are in store for Prius Online this month, particularly in regard to the fledgling game's servers. The dev team announced that the two existing PvP servers -- Requiem and Aurora -- will be merged into a single PvP server called Raven and that players will have their Karma reset. In addition, gPotato is launching a PvE-only server for the game: Primus. The team hopes that this move will accommodate both types of players in what they're seeking.

To celebrate the server restructuring, gPotato is throwing a few fun events for Prius players. On the Raven server, players who hit level 50 by October 4th will be entered into a special raffle for spiffy prizes. Other prize packages are avilable for those who amass the most Karma points and teams that succeed in the Coliseum Tournament.

Over on Primus, gPotato is rewarding the first player who tames 11 specific Pero with a Special Event Pero. More rewards are in store for adventurers who complete specific dungeon quests and take screenshots to prove it (remember kids: screenshots or it didn't happen!), players who cultivate certain items, and outfitters who complete the Yellow Tulip set for their Anima.

All players can benefit from a bonus event in the in-game store, where spending $10 or $50 will net the purchaser additional items. This promotion will continue until October 4th.

Prius Online changes up servers, entices players with contests originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stay on target: SWTOR's guilds begin to align with phase 2

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Guilds, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic's release may feel like it's always going to be in a "galaxy far, far away," but at least BioWare is giving guilds something substantial to do in preparation for launch. Following up the first phase of guild formation, today the studio announced that guilds can now progress into the second phase: alignment.

During this phase, guild leaders can establish up to three guilds as their Allies or Adversaries (depending on the target guild's faction). Not only will this help to cement friendships and rivalries, but BioWare says that these connections "will have the highest chance of being placed in the game together, allowing these guilds to coexist on the same server." This won't happen if the guilds have chosen different server rulesets, however.

Another new feature that's come with this phase is the ability for leaders and officers to begin inviting people to the guild by email. The SWTOR website has a helpful FAQ for all three phases of guild preparations. The third phase, deployment, is scheduled to occur shortly before launch and will begin placing guilds on servers if these guilds have met certain criteria.

Stay on target: SWTOR's guilds begin to align with phase 2 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Planet War celebrates new server with prize giveaways

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Contests, Free-to-play, Browser, Promotions

YooGames' Planet War is rapidly expanding on all fronts, doubling its servers from one to two today. The addition of the newest server, Knight, is an indication that this browser-based space strategy title is gaining an audience.

To celebrate Knight's opening, YooGames is launching a series of events for those brave (or foolhardy) enough to venture into the dangerous void of space looking for wealth and glory. Anyone who rolls on Knight will automatically be granted a VIP code, which can be turned in for a prize pack. There are additional rewards for players who are the first in the doors, who purchase gold for the first time on the server, who buy over 1,000 gold, and who get their heavy workshop tech up to level 5.

It's not just about the solo player, either; YooGames is also looking to reward the 10 best legions that prove their worth on the Knight server. Currently, Planet War is in open beta and is free-to-play for all.

[Source: YooGames press release]

Planet War celebrates new server with prize giveaways originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Perfect Ten: Non-vanilla server rulesets

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Age of Conan, Asheron's Call, City of Heroes, Dark Age of Camelot, Darkfall, Dofus, EVE Online, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Fallen Earth, Lord of the Rings Online, Ultima Online, Vanguard, Shadowbane, Humor, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous

I've always thought that rulesets are a golden opportunity for MMO developers to get creative with their products and try something fresh and exciting. Unfortunately, most every MMO these days, new and old, adheres to the four "vanilla" rulesets that have been in place since Pong. You have your default PvE, your same-as-PvE-except-we-have-a-naming-policy PvE-RP, and the two player vs. player variants: PvP and PvP-RP.

Those are all well and good, but... y'know... couldn't rulesets be used to create fascinating variations on these games? It turns out that yes, yes they can.

While the vanilla rulesets are the vast majority, there does exist a group of fringe rulesets that dared to walk the different patch, er, path and made versions of MMOs that are a bold and refreshing flavor. Like blue! Sometimes these new rulesets were whipped up to inject new life into an aging title, giving players a valid reason to come back and see the game from a different perspective.

In this week's Perfect Ten, we're going to check out just how wild 'n' wacky server rulesets can get!

Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Non-vanilla server rulesets

The Perfect Ten: Non-vanilla server rulesets originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wurm Online to open new PvE server 'Deliverance' -- commence land rush!

Shawn Schuster — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Wurm Online, Free-to-play

Wurm Online, the classic sandbox MMO partially crafted from the mind of Minecraft's Notch, has announced today that it will open up another Freedom PvE server on September 6th. This server will be the first time new virgin land has been available in the game for years, setting the stage for an exciting land rush.

The server will be named Deliverance (oh, now you get the header image), and will only be accessible through the tutorial portal or the southern edge of the existing Freedom Independence server. So if you're interested in scoping out the newest and best land for your Wurm Online village, get your settlement token ready at 12 p.m EDT on the 6th and good luck!

Wurm Online to open new PvE server 'Deliverance' -- commence land rush! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP partners with Nexon to release EVE Online in Japan [Updated]

Brendan Drain — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, Launches, MMO industry, News items, DUST 514

The Japanese games market can be difficult for western companies to break into, with accurate client localisation and translation acting as a huge potential roadblock. In an unexpected press release today, EVE Online developer CCP Games announced a strategic partnership with Japan-based MMO publisher Nexon to bring both EVE Online and DUST 514 to the Japanese market. EVE is currently available in English, German and Russian, and Japanese players have so far found considerable difficulty in playing the game.

Unlike EVE's Chinese release, the Japanese client will connect to the main Tranquility game server. Nexon will add the game to its portal website and use its own billing system for Japanese subscribers. As we've seen with EVE's sizeable Russian playerbase, it's likely that entire alliances and communities will build up within the game once it hits the shelves in Japan. While the language barrier between players from different parts of the world can limit social interaction, it turns out that everyone understands the language of smashing internet spaceships to bits with lasers. The PC release of EVE Online in Japan will appear later this year.

[Update: CCP has informed us that this deal with Nexon does not apply to anything DUST-related.]

CCP partners with Nexon to release EVE Online in Japan [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Perpetuum receives influx of EVE players

Brendan Drain — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Perpetuum

Amidst the recent EVE Online controversy, thousands of players declared their intention to cancel subscriptions and leave for another game. As Perpetuum Online is built on the EVE-inspired principles of a single-shard universe and takes a sci-fi sandbox approach to content design, players began posting that they were picking up the trial and giving the game a shot. Until now, we didn't really know if those players were honestly giving Perpetuum a try or if it was part of an epic rage-quit bluff.

On the Perpetuum Online forum, developer BoyC alerted players to a server load problem and at the same time welcomed the influx of players that began 48 hours prior. A login limit had to be placed on the server to balance the load, and the increased number of players trying to access the game has even highlighted a bug in the relay servers to which players connect. "The sheer number of new players caught us by surprise," said DEV BoyC, "and we're working around the clock to accommodate each and every one of you."

It's worth noting that EVE Online has in the past used the same strategy that Perpetuum is currently benefiting from. By providing the players of Earth and Beyond and Star Wars Galaxies with a similar alternative game, CCP drew in a huge number of players when those games rapidly shed customers. The shoe appears to be on the other foot this week as Perpetuum seems to be the closest alternative to EVE on the market.

But will EVE players stick with Perpetuum? Will the game that's so often been called "EVE in Mechs" really hold their attention? That's the part we're most curious to find out.

Perpetuum receives influx of EVE players originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not So Massively: Dreamhack tournament edition

Brendan Drain — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Culture, New titles, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Not So Massively

Welcome to Not So Massively, our weekly roundup of the top news from popular multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs) and other multiplayer online games that aren't quite MMOs. Published every Saturday, the column covers games such as League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Rise of Immortals, Bloodline Champions, and more.

Last week was massive for gaming, with a ton of exciting news pouring out of E3. We shared news of the next three champions coming to League of Legends and got talking to developers at Riot Games to find out what's on the game's horizon. We also got an in-depth look at Vorp!, the Asteroids-esque shooter by END Games. We heard about plans to add a new DotA mode to Vorp! and found out that the game could feasibly be ported to smartphones and other platforms in the future. We also looked at Realm of the Titans' crystal upgrade system and showed a MOBA Champions interview with Rise of Immortals' community manager Matthew Anderson.

Following last week's deluge of news, this week's Not So Massively offerings are a little more muted as most of the current MOBAs prepare for competitive tournaments at Dreamhack 2011 in Sweden. Competitive online gaming as a profession is an old idea, but it's one that has seen growing support in the West over the past few years. Dreamhack is the world's largest LAN party and possibly the biggest event in the competitive gaming calendar, with dozens of companies sponsoring tournaments with massive cash prizes. We also get a look at Aida Arenas' Arena Hustle gameplay mode and new online World War II RTS Operation Gamma 41.

Continue reading Not So Massively: Dreamhack tournament edition

Not So Massively: Dreamhack tournament edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online server offline due to DDOS attack

Brendan Drain — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, News items

Just over an hour ago, the EVE Online login and website servers became unresponsive and went offline. A Twitter user purporting to represent the group responsible for the major PSN outage earlier this month is claiming credit for the EVE server outage. According to the user, the DDOS is part of a series of attacks today that has also shut down the Minecraft login servers and The Escapist magazine's website.

CCP released an update on Facebook and Twitter stating that the issue is currently under investigation. "EVE Online and related services are currently offline and will return as soon as possible following investigation of some issues." CCP was unable to comment further on the outage but urges players to watch the EVE Facebook and Twitter feeds for further updates as they become available.

EVE Online server offline due to DDOS attack originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Anvil of Crom: Server merges, separation, and why both are potentially swell

Jef Reahard — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Anvil of Crom

Last week I mentioned that the Age of Conan Unrated announcement has given us a lot to talk about. There's the 800-lb. free-to-try elephant in the room, there's a bunch of new content that's both coming soon and already here, and there's also an endlessly fascinating quote from Funcom game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison that is, well, endlessly fascinating.

This last bit got lost in the big announcement blitzkrieg, and because it was buried in the depths of a thread about roleplay on the EU boards, it's safe to assume that 99.99% of Age of Conan players didn't read it. Regardless, it may well be one of the more interesting and exciting developments in Age of Conan's short history. What was it about? Well, it involves servers, server merges, and new technology that could change the way we think about MMORPGs and server populations.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Server merges, separation, and why both are potentially swell

The Anvil of Crom: Server merges, separation, and why both are potentially swell originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Enter at Your Own Rift: Rethinking server transfers

Karen Bryan — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Opinion, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift

Last week's big RIFT news was that free server transfers were on the way with the next major game update. Players who have been stuck on lower population servers have been clamoring for the ability to join up with higher population servers, and now they'll finally have the ability to do just that.

But any time things like free transfers and server mergers are brought up, the immediate conclusion is that it's a sign that a game is losing players, and as a result, is failing. Free transfers are usually only seen as an act of desperation, and they usually come on the heels of drastic server mergers, as we've seen in games like Vanguard, Warhammer Online, and Age of Conan. But if a game is believed (by the masses) to be doing OK, transfers are seen as a service that comes with a price, as in games like World of Warcraft or EverQuest II.

So how do we interpret the news of free weekly transfers in RIFT? Read on for a look at why it's actually great for the game and why they're more than just a shrewd marketing campaign.

Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Rethinking server transfers

Enter at Your Own Rift: Rethinking server transfers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Eight years of EVE Online

Brendan Drain — Sun, 01 May 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Lore, MMO industry, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

In last week's EVE Evolved column, I celebrated the third anniversary of the column with a competition to win one of three prizes worth over 500 million ISK. Congratulations go to Uniqdragon, mdubs28 and Thorium88, who will be contacted via email to arrange receipt of their prizes. In a bizarre twist that I can't believe I haven't noticed for three years, it turns out that the anniversary of my column occurs just over a week before EVE Online's own birthday on May 6th. With that in mind, this week's column is dedicated to the game's anniversary and to looking back at another successful year.

The past eight years have been a wild ride for EVE Online and its developer CCP Games. EVE has grown from a fledgling niche game with under 40,000 launch subscriptions to a global melting pot of over 360,000 actively subscribed accounts. The company itself has seem similar expansion, starting from humble beginnings as a small independent studio in Iceland and growing into a multinational monster with offices in China, Iceland, North America and the United Kingdom.

In this huge two-page anniversary edition of EVE Evolved, I look at how EVE Online has kept up with the industry over the years and then go on to examine this past year in detail, from the highs and lows to all the scams and awesome events.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Eight years of EVE Online

EVE Evolved: Eight years of EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 May 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: The industry's obsession with shards

Brendan Drain — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

The MMO genre is now over a decade old, and in that time we've seen countless innovations in game design, graphics technology and hardware infrastructure. Some of these innovations have become so essential that without them a game looks cheap, old or backward. A functional market or auction mechanic now replaces the old meet-and-trade style barter of some early MMOs, for example, and an MMO without copious map or chat tools is seen as grossly incomplete. The limits of what is possible have been pushed gradually forward, and yet certain ideas that were formed in the genre's infancy still seem to stick to new titles like glue.

Sharded server models made a lot of sense in the early 2000s, when server hosting was expensive and the teams working on the server code were small. Those limitations have been rapidly shattered in recent years, but still new MMOs shard their communities into small groups. There are even alternative server models out there that are just as cost-effective as the sharded model but are devoid of the negative side-effects of smashing the community into hundreds of pieces.

Read on as I take a look at why developers rely on the sharded server model, the problems surrounding splitting communities and what alternative server models are out there.

Continue reading The Soapbox: The industry's obsession with shards

The Soapbox: The industry's obsession with shards originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trion Worlds posts RIFT's official server list

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, RIFT

With a little over a day until RIFT's head start kicks off the live version of the game, community anticipation is high for Trion World's dynamic brainchild. Players have been waiting for specific details of the list of server names and rulesets to pick their in-game home -- details that are now answered.

On the RIFT forums, Community Manager Abigale finally posted a full list of the servers available for the game's launch. The list includes 17 US and 12 European servers, associated with PvE, PvP, PvP-RP and RP types. The European servers also are categorized according to language: French, English and German.

The team is planning to release specific forums for each servers, but in the meanwhile you can check out the full list after the jump.

Continue reading Trion Worlds posts RIFT's official server list

Trion Worlds posts RIFT's official server list originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warhammer Online offering free server transfers as prelude to two server shutdowns

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Warhammer Online, News items

If you're playing on the Iron Rock or Volkmar servers for Warhammer Online, it's time to get ready to say goodbye. The development team for the game has just announced that free server transfers are being unlocked for both servers, allowing players to transfer to Gorfang to help bolster the population. That in and of itself wouldn't be all that unusual, except that when the transfer starts, both Iron Rock and Volkmar are being flagged as Legacy servers to prevent any new characters from being created.

Starting on February 9th, transfers will be enabled and the Legacy flag will go into place. After three weeks of open transfers, both Iron Rock and Volkmar will be flagged as "Retired," meaning that any characters not transferred off the server will have to be transferred to Gorfang (or Badlands via a paid transfer). That means that two of the game's remaining four American servers will be removed in the near future, and while the population boost will no doubt help Warhammer Online's RvR battles, it's still a shutdown for two servers.

Warhammer Online offering free server transfers as prelude to two server shutdowns originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE Online Incursion video devblog roundup

Brendan Drain — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Expansions, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, PvE, Dev Diaries

Having progressed from being a small independent studio in Iceland to a successful multinational industry leader, EVE Online's developer CCP Games has always had a reputation for being very close to the game's playerbase. Back in July, this view was soured when information from devblogs and the June CSM summit seemed to suggest that EVE would receive no bug-fixes or iterations on old gameplay features for at least 18 months. Players were in an uproar, and a growing perception began to spread that CCP was selling current EVE players short in order to focus on Incarna.

In the past six months, things at CCP have take a complete 180-degree turn. Planetary Interaction has received the iteration players were promised, with gameplay tweaks and user interface fixes being deployed at a rapid pace. CCP also instituted team GridLock, whose purpose was to wage an all-out war on lag and fleet issues. In a refreshing and extremely welcome turn of affairs, CCP has been making a gargantuan effort lately to communicate with the players about upcoming changes and collect feedback. Though regular technical devblogs and pre-released test-server patches, players have been kept more informed than ever about what's going on behind the scenes at CCP HQ.

Most recently, a series of 18 developer videos was released leading up to the Incursion expansion's final release today. Topics covered include battle reports from the ongoing war on lag, information on server optimisations that have been made recently, updates to planetary interaction, and other interesting topics. Skip past the cut for a detailed roundup of all 18 videos, all hosted on CCP's official YouTube page.

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online Incursion video devblog roundup

Massively's EVE Online Incursion video devblog roundup originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bring it on: DCUO launches new PvP servers

Brianna Royce — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Launches, MMO industry, PvP, DC Universe Online

We can only assume it's a good day for Sony Online Entertainment when demand for its new superhero MMO, DC Universe Online, creates a need for more servers. Starting tomorrow afternoon at approximately 6:30 p.m. EST, two new PvP servers -- appropriately titled "Cry for Blood" (PC) and "Blood Will Run" (PS3) -- will be available for bloodthirsty superpeople everywhere, bringing the total number of North American servers up to 16. That's not a shabby number for a new release or for SOE in particular, which has in recent years seen a slew of server merges and closings across some of its older games.

On PvP servers, villains and heroes are able to duke it out via open-world factional combat while blasting through storyline content as well as in special PvP arenas. Word to the wise: Red means dead!

Massively is interviewing DCUO's Game Director Chris Cao this very evening, so expect an exclusive interview on this and other new content goodies en route for DCUO players tomorrow!

Bring it on: DCUO launches new PvP servers originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE devblogs discuss developments in the war on lag and RMT

Brendan Drain — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries

With the Incursion expansion's second phase almost ready to deploy, it's been a busy few weeks for the developers at CCP Games. Work is well underway, but a few of the folks at CCP have taken time out of their busy schedules this week to explain some of the interesting developments that have recently gone on behind the scenes. GM Grimmi, well-known for his work battling EVE's RMT (Real Money Trading) problem, delivered an update on the problem and what CCP is doing to tackle it. Similarly, aptly named developer CCP Masterplan wrote two in-depth devblogs detailing the latest developments in the war on lag.

Lag has always been an issue in EVE Online's territorial warfare, as each side in a fight will try to bring as many ships as possible to major battles. The point at which the EVE server lags and server nodes begin to drop has been increased over the years through hardware upgrades and software performance optimisations, allowing much larger fights than were previously possible. With the playerbase growing every year, however, the number of players who can potentially meet in one place for a major battle has similarly risen and the issue of lag has persisted.

Skip past the cut for a roundup of three new devblogs detailing CCP's progress in the war on lag, recently deployed optimisations for fleet battles, and the progress made in the fight against RMT and botting.

Continue reading EVE devblogs discuss developments in the war on lag and RMT

EVE devblogs discuss developments in the war on lag and RMT originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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APB Reloaded blog talks hackers and cheaters

Jef Reahard — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Dev Diaries

Bjorn Book-Larsson has a lot to say about APB Reloaded, the forthcoming reanimation of APB's corpse, courtesy of free-to-play publisher GamersFirst. Book-Larsson, the company's COO/CTO, has been blogging about the resurgent title for a few weeks now, and veteran players and prospective newbs alike will want to take a gander at his latest entry.

The blog focuses on APB's anti-cheat protections and, while it doesn't go into great detail for obvious reasons, Book-Larsson does make a decent case for APB Reloaded's level playing field. First off, he points out that the server-driven game is "more resilient to cheaters than most other F2P MMOs" due to the fact that F2P titles generally don't spend the same kind of money on infrastructure in comparison to your average P2P title. "In APB we are going to run a giant experiment to basically determine if hardware costs/specs have progressed far enough to make F2P server-driven games financially viable," he says.

Book-Larsson goes on to discuss the aim-bot problem, as well as various denial-of-service attacks that GamersFirst has dealt with over the past few years. It's an interesting read for anyone curious about APB Reloaded or MMO security, and also offers a humorous bit of insight relating to the over-reporting of cheaters.

APB Reloaded blog talks hackers and cheaters originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIFT's first closed beta produces "a hell of a sight"

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, RIFT

This past weekend, RIFT played host to thousands of brand-new testers with its first closed beta event. The three-day event featured the first 20 levels of the Defiant experience and wrapped up early Monday. According to a forum post by Trion World's Executive Producer Scott Hartsman, the team couldn't be more pleased with the way things panned out.

RIFT's team received over 20,000 pieces of feedback from the event and learned quite a few things, including, as Hartsman put it, "answers to some critical questions." These answers included how the servers would hold up with so many people in so few zones, if they could deliver quick patches, and how rifts would happen with the crowd density. In fact, there were so many people that the team had to double the amount of servers almost immediately, although fortunately the servers held up under the strain.

Hartsman identified a number of problem areas that would be addressed, such as mob respawn rate. Because of the massive population, RIFT's titular feature had a difficult time being a challenge until the team made some adjustments: "Where we had hoped and expected to see invasions rampaging across the countryside, instead the population density had become far too high, such that invasions weren't even getting off the ground. We updated the game with even more insanely active tuning on Saturday night to give the invaders a chance to come out and play too, and the response in chat and submitted feedbacks was overwhelmingly positive once that started. By the time it worked, it was a hell of a sight -- Huge invasions finally freed up, setting up footholds, wiping out the local populace, and eventually being repelled by defenders."

Trion is working on a number of improvements as it prepares for its second closed beta event, which is prepped to start December 17th. Stay tuned to Massively for a special upcoming post-beta interview!

RIFT's first closed beta produces "a hell of a sight" originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lost Pages of Taborea: What's in a server?

Jeremy Stratton — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Lost Pages of Taborea

Welcome back to another week of Lost Pages of Taborea. I'm switching gears and answering some reader mail. I'll answer the question to the best of my abilities, and then I want to expand the topic to cover server density and personality. Roger Ringo has returned to Reni from a hiatus which prompted the following question.

Roger Ringo asks: I was wondering if you could give me a rundown on the population and community of the servers you have played on. I would really appreciate it.

This is a great question about server populations. How populated are the Runes of Magic servers? For that matter, how do we go about finding the number of people on any MMO's server? It never seems to be a cut-and-dried answer with one almighty server-status site to feed us the numbers. A lot of our own perceptions can sway answers to these questions too. What days and times a person logs in, his playstyle, and what he pays more attention to in-game can all affect an opinion of whether a server is a ghost town or a small but happy community. Do my conclusions match with yours? Find out after the break!

Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: What's in a server?

Lost Pages of Taborea: What's in a server? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XIV beta gets new servers and a roleplaying home

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Culture, News items, Consoles, Roleplaying, Final Fantasy XIV

If you weren't lucky enough to get into the Final Fantasy XIV open beta right away, it's been an interesting couple days, with beta keys being given out briefly, disabled briefly, then given out once again ad infinitum. While the cycle continues unabated, it's telling that Square-Enix has released a new quintet of servers for the beta, bringing the current total to 15. While that doesn't mean the distribution of beta keys has returned to full operation, it's clear that Square is working overtime to address the demand.

In other server-related news, Final Fantasy XIV's official server list has sparked a number of community votes for movement, including one that will have a large impact on server atmospheres. The community-run FFXIV Roleplaying Coalition has designated the Besaid server as the unofficial RP server after a day-long vote, a fact which has been spread around to the general fansite community in hopes of promoting the destination. Roleplaying linkshells and communities have already begun establishing themselves on Besaid, both to reserve character names for launch and to begin building a future server culture.

Final Fantasy XIV beta gets new servers and a roleplaying home originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: The war on lag

Brendan Drain — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, Patches, News items, EVE Evolved

It seems as though everywhere I go to read about EVE Online, someone is complaining about lag. Throughout the game's seven-year history, developers and server engineers have waged a constant battle against the lag monster. Frequent upgrades and code overhauls have ensured that the capacity of each server cluster increased at pace with the growing subscriber numbers. When the Dominion expansion came, something in it caused lag to get a lot worse. The issue has yet to be corrected and has even spurred some players to put media pressure on CCP to correct the issue.

Until recently, the developers at CCP had been very quiet on the topic of lag and their efforts to combat it. Aside from the occasional fleet-fight mass testing event on the test server and the news that there was actually an entire team dedicated to lag, players were left largely in the dark as to what was being done to address the issue. In the absence of strong evidence to the contrary, many players began to assert that EVE's developers weren't working on lag at all. Earlier this week, we posted that CCP was planning a series of devblogs on lag to showcase the progress it's made. In a surprisingly rapid turn-around, four devblogs on lag and another on CCP's core technology groups have already been posted. They cover such topics as server scalability, the results of recent mass testing events, and CCP's new "thin client" testing tool.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I introduce each of CCP's four recent devblogs on lag with a quick summary.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: The war on lag

EVE Evolved: The war on lag originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Upcoming EVE devblog series to show CCP's lag-busting efforts

Brendan Drain — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry

With EVE Online's single-shard universe, the server hardware and game code have to be continually updated to cope with the game's constantly expanding playerbase. Each time the server is upgraded, node stability and lag in large fleet battles improves significantly. Unfortunately, this trend of periodic improvements took something of a wrong turn when the Dominion expansion came along. Before Dominion, fleet battles took place with over a thousand ships on each side and no crippling lag or node deaths in sight. Since the expansion's release, however, fleets of only a few hundred have regularly experienced unplayable conditions.

Frustrated by CCP's lack of visible progress in tackling lag, members of the EVE community have been making their outrage known. A recent appeal to the gaming media by a few players resulted in the issue getting very high exposure, which could be bad for CCP's public image. CCP issued a response explaining that lag is a high priority, and that there is even an entire development team dedicated to tackling it. Earlier this week, CCP Zulu expanded on CCP's lag-busting efforts in the first of a new EVE devblog series dedicated entirely to lag.

Continue reading Upcoming EVE devblog series to show CCP's lag-busting efforts

Upcoming EVE devblog series to show CCP's lag-busting efforts originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A look into the nuts-and-bolts of EVE Online's single-shard architecture

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics

Have you ever wondered why MMOs have multiple servers and limitations on the number of people that can be squeezed onto each? It's a good question, especially when you consider EVE Online's impressive single-shard (single-server) setup, where tens of thousands of concurrent players can log on in the same environment.

CCP's Kjartan Emilsson wrote an article for Gamasutra explaining why most MMOs choose to separate their population onto several severs. The main problem, Emilsson said, was the issue of avatar density. Too many players in too small of a space creates a miserable experience for all involved. So either the game has to put limits on how many avatars can be in an area, or create a playing field that is so large as to render this issue null.

Emilsson went on to argue the case for single-server games that create a united society instead of a fractured one. He detailed the setup of EVE's server architecture, which is held together by a single database at its nucleus and has been steadily growing and improving over time. If you love to read the nuts-and-bolts of the underlying technology that makes games like EVE run, then do yourself a favor and give this article your time.

A look into the nuts-and-bolts of EVE Online's single-shard architecture originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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