Massively

Enter at Your Own Rift: Handy tips for fishing and survival in Telara

Karen Bryan — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, RIFT, Guides, Enter at Your Own Rift, Crafting

In my last column about RIFT, I looked at a few highlights that were coming with Update 1.8, but because of the buzz surrounding the two new skills of fishing and survival, I wanted to delve into both a little more closely and perhaps even give a few tips I picked up so far that might be helpful if you're thinking of giving it a try.

Whether you're an old salt or a greenhorn, and if you're curious about what exactly it takes to fish in Telara or what you need to build yourself a nice camp and a warm meal, this week's Enter at Your Own Rift might help!

Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Handy tips for fishing and survival in Telara

Enter at Your Own Rift: Handy tips for fishing and survival in Telara originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fishing, survival, and dragons: The Trion Team talks about RIFT's 1.8 update

Karen Bryan — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, RIFT

As the Carnival of the Ascended draws to a close and the last of the piñatas and balloons are put away from RIFT's first birthday, Update 1.8 is just around the corner. It's full of new content, including the new raid zone Infernal Dawn, fishing and survival skills, and lots of game improvements. Massively took part in a roundtable discussion with Trion CCO and RIFT Executive Producer Scott Hartsman, Design Producer Hal Hanlin, and Producer Adam Gershowitz to get all the details on Update 1.8 and more. Read on for highlights!

Gallery: RIFT 1.8 screenshots

Continue reading Fishing, survival, and dragons: The Trion Team talks about RIFT's 1.8 update

Fishing, survival, and dragons: The Trion Team talks about RIFT's 1.8 update originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Enter at Your Own Rift: Fishin' and survivin'

Karen Bryan — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Hands-on, RIFT, Enter at Your Own Rift, Crafting

One of the parts of the recent RIFT producer's letter that caught my eye was the hint that there will soon be more to do in game besides "stab" stuff. Maybe I'm mellowing in my old age, or perhaps it's because of my inner Bartle explorer player-type, but I'm enjoying activities in MMOs that don't involve mass slaughter all the time. Usually, that means crafting, but the inventory management that's required often leaves me cross-eyed by the time I'm done.

With Update 1.8, RIFT will add two new skills to the game: fishing and survival. Non-combat activities have already been introduced in past updates, like the wedding instance, but these two new skills look to be fun games within the game, so I was eager to check things out. Join me as I don some hip-waders, pack up some flint, and head to PTS for a peek at fishing, survival, and a quick peek at the looking-for-guild tool.

Continue reading Enter at Your Own Rift: Fishin' and survivin'

Enter at Your Own Rift: Fishin' and survivin' originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lay waste to the wasteland in new Grimlands shooter

Jef Reahard — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic

Game publishers (and a few game news sites) have a funny habit of applying the term MMO to anything and everything under the sun. We've been keeping an eye on Grimlands for a while now, and while we're still not sure whether it's an MMO, it basically had us at post-apocalyptic.

Free-to-play publisher gamigo says its upcoming wasteland shooter comes complete with "a comprehensive crafting system, guild towns, vehicles, and PvP content." Regardless of whether it is or isn't a full-fledged MMO in every sense, it looks like a good time, particularly in light of the new trailer that shows off a bit of ambiance and a bit of gameplay footage.

Grimlands is a third-person shooter being developed by Drago Entertainment, and you can watch the full clip after the cut.

[Source: gamigo press release]

Continue reading Lay waste to the wasteland in new Grimlands shooter

Lay waste to the wasteland in new Grimlands shooter originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Xsyon architecture gallery shows off unique player-made structures

Jef Reahard — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Xsyon, Post-Apocalyptic, Sandbox, Crafting

Xsyon's PR machine is shifting into high gear of late, and the post-apocalyptic sandbox title from Notorious Games has released another batch of screenshots. This isn't your typical 10-screenshot blast, either, but rather an entirely new gallery section on the official website devoted exclusively to user creations.

Notorious is intent on showing off what it calls player architecture, as Xsyon is one of the few games on the current MMO market that actually allows for unique creations in terms of buildings, structures, and even town layouts. You can see a few of the choice shots in our Xsyon gallery below, but you'll need to head to the game's official website to see them all.

[Source: Notorious Games press release]

Gallery: Xsyon

Xsyon architecture gallery shows off unique player-made structures originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Allods Online's Undaunted update coming October 11th

Jef Reahard — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Allods Online

The latest Allods Online press release features the words "more dangerous enemies" in both italics and a big, bold capitalized font. As such, we're thinking that gPotato is keen on highlighting the fact that the game's latest update is going to give players quite a challenge.

We'll find out for sure on October 11th, as Allods' Undaunted update brings new bosses, more astral demons, and "a harrowing survival mode" to Astrum Nival's $12 million free-to-play opus. The patch is geared toward high-level players, but never fear newbs, you haven't been forgotten. Undaunted features a "refreshed" new player experience as well as a streamlined UI that gPotato says makes it "easier than ever to take charge of the action."

[Source: gPotato press release]

Allods Online's Undaunted update coming October 11th originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: What was your favorite experience as a tank?

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Classes, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Maybe you have a sword and shield, maybe you have a really high Dodge rating, maybe you have durable force fields. Whatever your qualifications for the role, you take up the mantle of the tank to keep the rest of your party safe against your enemies, whether they're gang members in DC Universe Online, vicious beasts in Final Fantasy XIV, or enemy starships in Star Trek Online. Whatever your game of choice, if you've played MMOs for a long enough stretch, you've had opportunity to tank.

Of course, part of tanking is that you wind up with stories, in no small part just because it's such a vital job. You can't fake the experience -- you have to get in close and take the blows for the party members who can't survive them. So what was your favorite experience as the party's meat shield? Was it a specific run, a specific group, or was there an entire game that made tanking feel like the most enjoyable thing in the world?

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: What was your favorite experience as a tank? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Undead Labs talks about environments and the undead

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Post-Apocalyptic, Miscellaneous

The upcoming zombie games from Undead Labs are aiming to give players a feeling of genuinely surviving in a world ruled by shambling corpses. To make that work correctly, players are going to need lots of little touches here and there to reinforce just what has gone wrong and what sort of threat living humans are facing. In the most recent set of questions and answers from the development team, more elements of the environment and interaction with same are spelled out, giving prospective survivors an idea of what to expect.

While the game isn't planned to be an ornate physics simulator, there will be a practical limit to how much an individual can carry -- and while vehicles can carry more, the problems of noise and fuel will place some limits on stacking an SUV to the brim with heavy weapons. Hunting wildlife and handling aquatic environments will both be issues in the game, with the obvious caveat that humans drown far more easily than zombies. There are a lot of other interesting tidbits in the full rundown as well as some valuable takeaways that aspiring survivors would do well to internalize.

Undead Labs talks about environments and the undead originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Xsyon devs talk farming, crafting and PvE vs. PvP

Jef Reahard — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, PvP, News items, PvE, Xsyon, Post-Apocalyptic

If sandbox MMORPGs are more ambitious than their themepark counterparts, it follows that the former are also more susceptible to bugs, performance problems, and general player discontent. Xsyon is no exception, and the post-apocalyptic world-building title from Notorious Games has traveled a rough yet familiar road since its March release.

According to a couple of recent posts on the Xsyon boards, better times are in the offing. Notorious is in fact expanding its dev roster, and new game designer/programmer Danathur throws the community a few bones in his introduction post. Aside from providing a bit of detail on his new duties, he also addresses the ongoing war of words between PvE and PvP supporters vying for the future of Xsyon. "We do not want to create a massively multiplayer first person shooter. On the other hand, conflicts and managing them (not only by violence) [are] the real challenge and where the most fun will come from in the long term," he explains.

Danathur goes on to say that both crafting and combat will become more expensive in short order due to the enabling of item stats and decay. His sentiments echo those of lead designer Jordi Grau-Davis, who posted earlier this week to announce the new dev hires and to give the community a feel for Xsyon's development roadmap. "We are going to evolve Xsyon to include farming, contested expansion totems and revamped combat. The goal is to provide more daily activities to tend to and something to fight over," he wrote.

Xsyon devs talk farming, crafting and PvE vs. PvP originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Voting underway to restore RuneScape's wilderness PvP and free trade

Brendan Drain — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, News items, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser

Last week, we reported that RuneScape developer Jagex had taken the unusual stance of giving players a say in some major game design decisions -- namely, the restoration of the wilderness as an open-PvP area and the revival of free trade. Over 1.2 million names signed the petition in just 24 hours, proving without a doubt that players want the opportunity to vote on the decision. Jagex has now moved onto phase 2 of the referendum, opening a vote to any player with a RuneScape account. If you have an account and want to vote on this important issue, head over to the wilderness referendum page to have your say. Over half a million players have already voted, with about 90% voting yes for the restoration of the wilderness and free trade.

For those old enough to remember the old days of RuneScape before the wilderness and trade restrictions came in, there's a lot to look forward to if this motion passes. Back when RuneScape was young, the wilderness was an open PvP area full of dangerous challenges and worthwhile rewards. The further a player got into the wilderness, the higher the level difference could be between him and another player for PvP to still be possible. It was a place for gang warfare, battling the game's toughest creatures and ad-hoc survival challenges.

Several years ago, Jagex took some serious steps to curb the growing RMT and botting problems. Direct trading was heavily restricted, with a block on trades where one player puts up a significantly different value of items or gold than the other player. The auctioneer-style "Grand Exchange" became the only reliable way to trade, but even it has limits on item value. To avoid RMT salesmen bypassing the trade system to deliver gold, limits were placed on the stakes in item duels and PvP was completely removed from the wilderness. The PvP provided by the wilderness was replaced with Bounty Hunter servers and PvP minigames. If this vote passes, all of that will be reversed and players will be free to experience a part of RuneScape's history that has been lost for years.

Voting underway to restore RuneScape's wilderness PvP and free trade originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Undead Labs talks about surviving the zombie social scene

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, MMO industry, Previews, Post-Apocalyptic

James Phinney believes in the power of a persistent virtual world, and he's not shy in sharing his excitement when it comes to the landscape that Undead Labs is building for its new zombie-themed MMO:

"We believe a persistent world should be living, dynamic, and evolving. We believe your decisions should affect the state of the world and the state of the world should matter to you. We believe you should get to be the hero; not because you were able grind your way to some artificial achievement that everyone else will eventually grind for too, but instead because you achieved something unique and heroic -- something that people actually care about because it has an impact on the world."

In this post on Undead Labs' site, Phinney talks about how the company isn't trying to build a shell of an MMO around a mere action game, but is actually working hard to build a connected, persistent place where players have meaningful choices that could lead them to being heroes. His vision for this post-apocalyptic world is one that is "living, dynamic, and evolving" instead of remaining static.

And while the MMO will contain zombies, Phinney stresses that the core is about survival, not just a headcount. He sketches out some of the choices that will need to be made, including finding power, scrounging for food and developing safe zones. You can read more about this vision over at Undead Labs.

Undead Labs talks about surviving the zombie social scene originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Waging WAR: A healer's survival guide

Greg Waller — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, PvP, Warhammer Online, Opinion, Guides, Waging WAR

This week, Waging WAR steps back from all the news and hype of Gamescom and GamesDay and focuses in on the healing archetypes in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. As we all know by now, Greg plays a healer and he's put together a guide for those who kill by mending the wounds of those who kill by bludgeon or blade.

In my time in WAR I've learned a thing or two. No, I'm not writing about my extensive knowledge of how various terrains taste (the sand on the beaches of Nordenwatch and the cobbled brick streets of Praag have become favored delicacies). I'm writing about how to be an effective healer in WAR. While I am by no means invincible or infallible, I do consider myself a decent, relatively resilient and capable PvP tank (let's not kid ourselves here -- who needs plate when you can wear robes, right?). I have some advice to share with those who are interested in endgame PvP/RvR healing, or even those who are already there but seek to add an edge to their game.

To achieve enlightenment, click the Read More button.

Continue reading Waging WAR: A healer's survival guide

Waging WAR: A healer's survival guide originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Fallen Earth's huge Blood Sports patch dated

Jef Reahard — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Patches, News items

Icarus Studios, makers of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi MMORPG Fallen Earth, have announced the release date for their Blood Sports content patch. The update, version 1.4 of the game client if you're keeping score, is heavily focused on player versus player conflict and includes four new PvP areas, over 500 related achievements, a Clan War system, and the updated region of Deadfall.

The 1.4 update will launch on May 7 and will also feature an expanded level cap (up to 50), a one-time character respec option, and a boatload of refinements including animation tweaks, effect revamps, and of course the new Blood Sport PvP matches. These matches include Survival, Capture the Flag, Assault, and Deathmatch, and allow players to queue up for PvP action regardless of their world location. Participatory and victory points will also be awarded and can be used on end-game armor and assorted gear.

Current subscribers can access the live content on May 7, while new players can purchase Fallen Earth Blood Sports from retail and digital download outlets and receive a full copy of the original game along with the content update. "We are thrilled to be able to launch all of the new content in one major patch," said Colin Dwan, Fallen Earth Project Manager. "The team has worked very hard to make this happen and we're sure players will enjoy all of the new gameplay enhancements."

Check out the official site for more info, and be sure to sign up for the test server if you can't wait until May 7 to get your hands on the new content.

Fallen Earth's huge Blood Sports patch dated originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Free for All: A look at WURM Online

Beau Hindman — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Reviews, Wurm Online, Free-to-play, Casual, Virtual worlds, Free for All

WURM Online is no ordinary MMORPG. Sure, we have seen some systems like this in a few other games and are seeing more games come out that promise features like this, but WURM has a charm and a community that make it second to none. Essentially it is a game of survival, pitting the player against themselves. There are many ways to die but those can be avoided if you use your head and practice some patience.

I have a short history with the game, recently playing it with my social network site and for my blog, but after a few months break I decided to check out some of the changes that came along. There have been some tweaks to character models (which are essentially slightly animated dummies) and improvements to performance (the game runs in JAVA) but it was nice to see some of the same buildings still standing and to hear the familiar sounds of sawing and wolves howling.

Continue reading Free for All: A look at WURM Online

Free for All: A look at WURM Online originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Finding your place in Fallen Earth

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, Guides, Crafting, Opinion

Back just before the holidays, Fallen Earth joined the ranks of many other games on the market in offering a free trial. That's all well and good, but that leaves one to face the slight problem the game has. Once the tutorial is over, you get rather unceremoniously dropped off with a line pointing you toward... well, nothing. Like any true post-apocalyptic survivor, you have the clothes on your back, a couple of weapons, and no real goal handed to you beyond "don't get killed."

While Andy Breckman's advice is certainly a good overall goal, something specific is better. That's why Bio Break has recently compiled a list of tips on finding your place once you get done with your tutorial. The condensed version is simple enough: scavenge everything you can, because it can all be used to craft something, and buy nothing unless you absolutely have to do so. It's also recommended that you avoid spending any of your character's AP early on, instead saving it until you have a clearer picture of what you want to do. The list also includes some links to fansites that can provide excellent data for a first-time player, so if you're diving into the tutorial, it's a handy resource.

Finding your place in Fallen Earth originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Keeping yourself alive in EVE with safespots

James Egan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks, Maps

Learning how to create safespots in EVE Online is an essential survival skill, but it's one that takes some time to get the hang of. The Goonfleet video tutorial to safespotting is an excellent start, but other player resources are popping up and explain how important it is to have and properly use different types of safespots.

EVE blogger Manasi has written an excellent guide to safespotting called "Getting your A$$ out of the fire" that covers the different types of safespots a player in EVE can make use of. Namely, "gate" safespots (useful for watching a gate at range while cloaked), "deep" safespots (used most often, numerous such bookmarks are needed), and "station" safespots (within docking range of a given station, allowing you to evade attackers by docking up). Manasi goes into detail about how to create each type of safespot, and -- most importantly -- how to use them. Manasi's "Getting your A$$ out of the fire" paired with the aforementioned Goonfleet Safespotting 101 are all you need to get a handle on safespotting in EVE Online. Be sure to check them both out if you're a new pilot. Goonfleet's Safespotting 101 video tutorial is embedded below the cut.

Continue reading Keeping yourself alive in EVE with safespots

Keeping yourself alive in EVE with safespots originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments