Massively

Age of Conan adding more RMT items

Jef Reahard — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Business models, News items

More microtransactions are making their way to Hyboria, and while Funcom doesn't have a full-blown item shop as of yet, the Age of Conan account page is starting to come pretty close. The game launcher features an introductory paragraph explaining the new items, which include both social pets and limited use consumable packs, and Funcom is looking to provide newer players with access to some of the exclusives previously available only via special subscription offers.

New item packs feature various XP buff potions, temporary and permanent teleportation abilities, and social pets like the owlet, loyal crocodile, and fearless crab. All items and item packs are purchased with Funcom points, which are available in various bundles starting at $10.00 (1200 points) and going up to $50.00 (6000 points).

Age of Conan adding more RMT items originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Behind the Mask: High speed, low drag

Patrick Mackey — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Champions Online, Behind the Mask

It's not like Champions Online is the first MMORPG with travel powers. Back in the ancient days of Ultima Online, we had things like boats and teleporting spells. Getting a mobility boost to get from point A to point B is nothing unique or special.

CO has something a little different, though. Travel powers are as much a thing of individual expression as they are a transportation method. Sure, there's something to be said for riding a semi-transparent sparkling blue horse, but when you can wrap yourself in a shroud of blue fire and streak through the skies, it says a little more about your character. There's a reason I think people who still go AFK to ride griffons from zone to zone are chumps. Hopping over buildings to get to your next quest objective or sprinting at ludicrous speed into a group of foes and using the momentum to start up your attacks is the epitome of personal expression.

It's all about what you drive, and my ride is Teleportation.

Continue reading Behind the Mask: High speed, low drag

Behind the Mask: High speed, low drag originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively Exclusive: Dilov & Hristov on the systems of Earthrise

Krystalle Voecks — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, New titles, Massively Interviews, Earthrise, Post-Apocalyptic

With an open PvP model, a rich crafting system, and a sumptuous art style, Masthead Studios' upcoming sci-fi post-apocalyptic game, Earthrise, has been gaining more and more interest from our readers. From everything we've seen of the game to date, this title will offer some interesting options in terms of how one chooses to play through the world. That's why, when we were given the chance to ask some questions of Momchil Dilov, Lead Writer and Plamen Hristov, Senior Game Designer on Earthrise, we were happy to do so.

For those not familiar with the game, you'll want to check out the interview noted yesterday, then join us behind the break as we ask about different systems such as crafting, PvP sieges, the importance of guilds, customization, character penalties, and more!

Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Dilov & Hristov on the systems of Earthrise

Massively Exclusive: Dilov & Hristov on the systems of Earthrise originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Captain's Log: A non-trekkie guide to Star Trek Online

Kyle Horner — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Guides, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Captain's Log

Perhaps you've been hearing a lot of buzz about Star Trek Online lately. Or, perhaps you're reading this article in the year 2018, after the robots have begun their bloody revolt. Either way, you've never been way into Star Trek, but find yourself curious about this new MMO based on the franchise. In that cast, this iteration of Captain's Log is just for you.

As a side note, this will be the last week you'll find this feature going live on Friday. Henceforth, a new Captain's Log will appear every Thursday -- so keep an eye out!

Continue reading Captain's Log: A non-trekkie guide to Star Trek Online

Captain's Log: A non-trekkie guide to Star Trek Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Go out and steal oil in Planet Calypso's 10.1 update

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Sci-fi, Entropia Universe, Economy, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP

In a move to make our virtual lives eerily more like our real ones, the First Planet Company has re-opened the oil pumping station on Planet Calypso with patch 10.1, offering all players the chance to make a quick profit by grabbing oil from the pump -- if you can make it out alive, of course.

The pumping station is not only in the middle of the wasteland, but it's also surrounded by angry NPCs (the wastelanders) and it's right in the middle of an open PvP area. Sure, you can make a tidy profit by grabbing oil from the station, but you have to be efficient and sneaky about it. Otherwise, you'll just end up with a bullet in your back and your blood mixed with the oil.

Continue reading Go out and steal oil in Planet Calypso's 10.1 update

Go out and steal oil in Planet Calypso's 10.1 update originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earthrise dev blog shows off the beauty and horror of the Cascade Mountains

James Egan — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Lore, New titles, Earthrise

The first MMO we're going to see from independent game developer Masthead Studios is Earthrise, a post-apocalyptic title that's bringing some new things to the table in the sci-fi/post-apocalyptic genre. If you've played games like Fallout 3, the setting of Earthrise will be quite different from what you might be expecting. The game will take place on a sprawling island called Enterra, with regions and environments ranging from lush jungles to futuristic urban centers. Of course Earthrise will have the requisite shattered city environments we'd expect of a post-apocalyptic backdrop, as well.

Masthead Studios recently explained how terrain will impact gameplay, having written about some of the game's man-made environments like the Industrial Area. Now they're ready to discuss more about Enterra's natural environment with the Cascade Mountains, the focus of the latest Masthead Studios dev blog they've written for MMORPG.com.

Continue reading Earthrise dev blog shows off the beauty and horror of the Cascade Mountains

Earthrise dev blog shows off the beauty and horror of the Cascade Mountains originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Teleportation/flights versus other travel

William Dobson — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind

The trend with online games has been to loosen up on some of the more hardcore traditions of previous generations. The endless grinding of older MMOs is nowhere near as prevalent as before, with full quest progression offered in many current titles. Another area that's seen a change is the way we travel around our online worlds. In the early days of EverQuest if you didn't have a friend to port you, you might have walked through countless massive and often highly dangerous zones to get to a boat, then actually sit through a whole boat ride (don't go AFK and forget to disembark, or you'll do the trip twice!), simply to travel to another continent.

These days you've probably set up a bind point in a central location, with easy access to flights or ports. EverQuest itself later introduced a hub zone that offered free ports. A game like Free Realms even allows players to just click on any major area on the map to instantly teleport. This ease of access has its benefits -- it undoubtedly saves time and boring repeat journeys. But is there something to be said for the lost immersion that was once had when traveling the world on foot, learning the geographical features and absorbing the environments? Does it take away from the scale of the world for you? Give us your thoughts on travel in MMOs in the comments section.

The Daily Grind: Teleportation/flights versus other travel originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earthrise devs on how terrain will impact gameplay

James Egan — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, PvP, Earthrise

Earthrise is the first massively multiplayer online game from Masthead Studios, an independent game developer in Bulgaria. The game has a dystopian setting, a single (but vast) island refuge is all that remains of the human race after the world was bathed in nuclear fire. As expected of a post-apocalyptic MMO, there will be areas of the game that are comprised of blasted out buildings and various gutted structures, but the island setting of Enterra will offer a wide variety of terrain for players to explore and exploit.

Moll, Earthrise's community manager, explains in a recent blog post: "As we developed Earthrise, we made sure that the world is tailored in such a way so it provides different game experiences - the whole island is divided almost equally between plains, hills and mountains."

Continue reading Earthrise devs on how terrain will impact gameplay

Earthrise devs on how terrain will impact gameplay originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earthrise developers explain how teleportation will affect gameplay

James Egan — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Guilds, New titles, Earthrise

Last week we wrote about the upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO Earthrise and how players will be able to use mechas to establish trade and supply routes or, conversely, to hijack them. This brings up another transportation-related question, or several really. How will teleportation work in Earthrise? What limitations will be put on it? Is teleportation accessible to individuals or is it a guild-level ability? The latest Question of the Week entry from the Earthrise devs at Masthead Studios answers these questions and more.

The game's sandbox setting of Enterra is a massive island with many zones. Conventional modes of transportation may not always be the best option for players who need to get from one place to another, hence the developers have included teleportation (travel, not combat) game mechanics, but characters seeking instantaneous travel will need to pay fees for the privilege. There will be two simple types of teleportation -- short range for within zones, and long range, which can be a jump from one end of Enterra to another. The further you travel, the more you pay. Teleporters will be run by NPC factions, available to players aligned with that faction or neutrals, but Earthrise's guilds will also be able to establish their own teleporters.

Continue reading Earthrise developers explain how teleportation will affect gameplay

Earthrise developers explain how teleportation will affect gameplay originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Programmer Jason Weimann discusses his work on Vanguard

William Dobson — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, Patches, Vanguard

Further to their chat with Lead Designer Salim "Silius" Grant last week, Allakhazam has posted an interview with another Vanguard staffer. This time it's Jason "Ikik" Weimann, a programmer that joined the team in April of 2007, long after what we'll tactfully refer to as a very unfortunate launch period. Fans of Vanguard will happily tell you how much better things are nowadays, and Weimann has had a part to play in these improvements, both in things that the players can see, and in behind-the-scenes refinements that have helped other members of the development team in performing their roles.

One of Weimann's most noticeable contributions to the game is the current iteration of the riftway teleportation system, which he had found to be unsatisfactory before he flew in and tidied things up. Some of the things he's working on right now were in fact mentioned by Salim Grant in his interview, such as the alternate advancement and item enhancement systems that will go live in the coming months. His dream project for Vanguard would be a little different though; he'd love to design and code a brand new class for the game. May we put in a request for some kind of pirate/ninja/zombie combination? No? Why not?

Programmer Jason Weimann discusses his work on Vanguard originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XI collectible confers unique in-game ability

James Egan — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, News items

Final Fantasy XI players who are into collectibles have a new item to lust over. There's a new addition to the Final Fantasy XI Player's Collection, which is available for a limited time only: The Tidal Talisman. It's a $43 silver-plated pendant with a side-benefit that's the real selling point. It comes with a virtual counterpart, which could prove very useful. The in-game version of the Tidal Talisman allows a player to teleport to locations previously visited in Vana'diel. Or, as it's described over at FFXI's site, it confers "the ability to project phantasmal robes over the wearer's body and enabling the wearer to teleport to distant lands in the blink of an eye."

For those who are on the fence about shelling out $43 for a FFXI pendant, Square-Enix appeals to a gamer's sense of urgency regarding scarcity of virtual goods: "We have no plans to bring this item back in the future, so all players are encouraged to take advantage of this unique one-time opportunity!"

Continue reading Final Fantasy XI collectible confers unique in-game ability

Final Fantasy XI collectible confers unique in-game ability originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life Jira issue highlights new Search/teleportation problem

Akela Talamasca — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Bugs, Game mechanics, News items, Second Life, Free-to-play, Virtual worlds

Coyote Momiji alerts us to this issue, where teleporting to a Second Life sim with no point-to-point tp means that you emerge at a telehub. The previous version of Search provided a red beacon to appear at your actual destination, allowing you to complete your journey, but the new Search leaves you beacon-less, with no way to easily find where you need to go.

This is currently JIRA issue #SVC-1125, and it needs attention! Go vote for this, and let's hope it gets resolved quickly ... or at least, as quickly as such things get fixed. I'm hopeful, but not silly! Well, I'm silly, but not ridiculous. Well, I'm ridiculous, but ... nevermind.

[Thanks, Coyote!]

Second Life Jira issue highlights new Search/teleportation problem originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verbing a noun: introducing new powers

Jonathan Northwood — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: City of Heroes, Game mechanics

When thinking about game powers, developers have to consider four primary questions: what do the players want, do those desires fit reasonably within the framework of the game, how can the powers be balanced for the game, and how can they be coded? For example, when NCsoft's City of Heroes introduced Flight, it was competing with Super Speed, Teleportation and Leaping. How could they build it out to where it was neither overpowered nor useless? Through a series of trial-and-error efforts -- and thankfully providing an additional 10% bump in hover speed in Issue 8 -- they loaded a power set into the game that gave heroes a new way of seeing the city without unbalancing other transportation powers currently in place.

As to verbs that may be more common throughout MMOs, we've all had the opportunity to "run" -- either into battle or away from almost certain peril -- and I doubt there's many here who haven't wished for the ability to "turn invisible" in order to stealth through a difficult mission, but what about some of the more exotic verbs out there? Oh, sure, in most games the alts can backslap one another, gesture angrily, and dance, but these are powerless emotes: they don't actually impact the game play. Take your favorite MMO, though, and think about what game-impacting verb or verbs you'd like to see added. Perhaps it might help to take a look at the thought process currently pushing World of Warcraft's new Death Knight and ask yourself this: if you were a developer, what would you add to the build, and how would you balance it?

[Via Elder Game]

Verbing a noun: introducing new powers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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