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Free for All: Becoming a mediocre trader in several free titles

Beau Hindman — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Humor, Free for All, Crafting

I often find myself achieving little things in many different games while other gamer buddies of mine are busily conquering actual gods or dragons within one or two particular titles. Sure, I would love to join a group of battleworn adventurers as they took down one of the final bosses in almost any game, but I rarely find the time to work a character into the ranks of the ascended.

OK, so I have time, but not if I wanted to do what I do here. That is to say, I am not dedicated to one game because it is my job to tell you readers about several games. About every game. About as many games as possible. I can't do that while maintaining a high DPS score. It's a give and take, but I love to explore, fortunately.

Let me tell you about how I love to trade or craft in some of my favorite titles and why it's important to me.

Continue reading Free for All: Becoming a mediocre trader in several free titles

Free for All: Becoming a mediocre trader in several free titles originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remanum launches first international server, tweaks ports

Jef Reahard — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Historical, Economy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Browser, Crafting

All roads lead to Rome, even in the world of browser MMOs. Travian Games is trumpeting its commerce-based Remanum title, which puts the player in the role of a merchant-politician at the height of ancient Roman civilization.

Travian has just launched the game's first international server, and now English-language players can vie for the rank of Roman emperor while trading goods and engaging in various political machinations. Travian, a Bavaria-based browser game outfit, has also launched a new German-language server for Remanum's open beta.

The firm is also updating the game's UI and increasing the range on the game's ports, which will ease the acquisition of scarce resources, according to a Travian statement.

[Source: Travian Games press release]

Remanum launches first international server, tweaks ports originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallen Earth devs answer your F2P questions

Jef Reahard — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Dev Diaries

You've got questions about Fallen Earth's free-to-play conversion, and the dev team's got answers. The latest Fallen Earth blog entry spills the beans on everything from what happens to existing subscriptions to character slots to various functionality limitations.

Surprisingly, GamersFirst is allowing free-to-play customers to make use of the auction house, mail, and trading systems, but this may change "if gold farmers get totally out of control." There's also good news for pre-existing Fallen Earth subscribers who would like to convert to a free-to-play account but are worried about losing access to their alts. "If you had ever bought the game or paid for a subscription, those character slots were included with your game, so they belong to you regardless of the change in business model," writes Joseph "Linus" Willmon. Head to the official Fallen Earth dev blog for more.

Fallen Earth devs answer your F2P questions originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RuneScape: Sixth anniversary retrospective

Brendan Drain — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser

When it first launched back in 2001, RuneScape was a primitive beast. Its blocky three-dimensional world was littered with hand-drawn two-dimensional sprites, and most of its sound effects could have been created by whacking random objects with a hammer. Only a handful of quests and skills existed, and there wasn't much land to explore. After over a decade of development, the RuneScape we have today bears little semblance to its primitive ancestor. The map is an order of magnitude larger, the list of quests has grown immensely, and there are countless things to do in the world.

With several million actively playing free accounts and over a million paid subscribers, RuneScape has risen from its humble beginnings to be one of the world's most popular free-to-play MMOs. It's been a long road, with a few important milestones along the way. Today marks the sixth anniversary of the date that the RuneScape 2 beta was officially completed and the game's first major overhaul was launched live to players. Anyone who played back then will remember the beta fondly as the rebirth of a game they loved. Since then, regular game updates have added a huge amount of depth and content every year.

In this retrospective article, I look back at RuneScape's past to see how it got to where it is today and what's new to the game over this past year.

Continue reading RuneScape: Sixth anniversary retrospective

RuneScape: Sixth anniversary retrospective originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's guide to RuneScape's wilderness and free trade

Brendan Drain — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, PvP, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Guides

Back when the open-world PvP of Ultima Online was more than just a memory for most people, it just seemed natural for a game to let players beat each other to death. Having open-world PvP in an MMO checked off another item in the list of things that attracted people to the genre. RuneScape's wilderness area was Jagex's compromise between letting players smash each other's heads in and not alienating players who don't want their heads smashed in. While most of the game remained PvP-free, the wilderness to the north was an open PvP bloodbath complete with corpse-looting and rude language.

PvP was removed from this area several years ago as part of a major effort to beat the RMT business. At the same time as wilderness PvP was removed, limitations were placed on the amount of gold a player could gain or lose in player-to-player trades every 15 minutes. Trading was migrated largely to a new Grand Exchange system with built-in price limits. This all but killed the game's emergent trading professions, severely limiting the scale of shops and making life harder for the wheelers and dealers out there. Both the trade and PvP restrictions were lifted just over a month ago, and players are quickly learning to take advantage of all that's been brought back to the game.

Skip past the cut for Massively's look at how you can take advantage of free trade and wilderness PvP and how RuneScape's community has reacted to the revival of these long-lost features.

Continue reading Massively's guide to RuneScape's wilderness and free trade

Massively's guide to RuneScape's wilderness and free trade originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RuneScape's wilderness PvP and free trade have returned

Brendan Drain — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST

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

At the end of December, developer Jagex put the fate of its browser MMO RuneScape in the hands of its players. Several years ago, in an effort to combat the game's growing RMT problem, Jagex placed severe restrictions on PvP and the trading of items. To make transferring gold harder, Jagex made changes to deny trades in which one party gained a significantly higher value of items and gold than the other. Limits were also placed on the stakes players could fight over in one-on-one duels. The biggest changes came to the wilderness, RuneScape's open PvP area. Wilderness PvP was completely removed in order to remove the possible use of PvP looting mechanics to trade large quantities of gold.

Jagex opened a public referendum and vote to ask players if they wanted wilderness PvP and free trade to return, and over a million players answered with a resounding "YES!" Just over a week ago, we interviewed RuneScape's lead designer Mark Ogilvie on the details of the changes and how they'll affect players. In an announcement today, Mark confirmed that those changes are now in effect, along with some tweaks to the gravestone and drop party systems. If you're a fan of RuneScape, stay tuned to Massively's RuneScape coverage for our upcoming guide on making use of the new free trade and wilderness PvP options.

RuneScape's wilderness PvP and free trade have returned originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's exclusive interview with RuneScape's lead designer Mark Ogilvie

Brendan Drain — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, Patches, PvP, RuneScape, Free-to-play, Browser

Last month, Jagex did the unexpected when it opened up a major game-changing decision on its popular MMO RuneScape to a public vote. As part of RuneScape's 10th anniversary this year, Jagex gave players the chance to vote on whether they want PvP in the wilderness and free trade between players to be restored. These are two key features that were removed from the game around three years ago as part of an anti-RMT campaign. Over 1.2 million votes were cast in the public referendum, with over 90% of them asking for the revival of wilderness PvP and free trade. The much-loved game mechanics should be returning to RuneScape in early February. At Massively, we took the opportunity to interview RuneScape's lead designer Mark Ogilvie on the upcoming changes and what the future has in store for this popular browser MMO.

Massively: When you initially put out a vote on the restoration of wilderness PvP and free trade, did you expect the response to be as overwhelming as it turned out to be?

Mark Ogilvie: We really weren't sure. I spend a lot of time talking to my players, but you often find that PKers are a vocal minority. We wanted to run a referendum to see what the truth was, but we really weren't sure what was going to happen. We had a bit of a friendly sportsman's bet to see where the percentages would be, and I'm quite proud to say my guess was pretty spot on. I was really pleased when my bosses said, "let's ask the players and see what they think." Taking the risks to do something like that, putting a decision that big in our players' hands -- that's quite brave.

Skip past the cut to read the rest of our exclusive interview with RuneScape's lead designer Mark Ogilvie.

Continue reading Massively's exclusive interview with RuneScape's lead designer Mark Ogilvie

Massively's exclusive interview with RuneScape's lead designer Mark Ogilvie originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

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Improvements on the way for EVE Online's contract system

Brendan Drain — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Expansions, Game mechanics, Professions, Dev Diaries

There are many professions open to players in EVE Online, but it's the trading that often draws players to the game. Due to the number of players buying and selling on EVE's single server and the fact that items are destroyed on death, a savvy player can find countless opportunities for profit. To avoid overloading the market window with thousands of items most players will never need to buy, CCP limits rare and unusual items to being sold on the contract system. Items can be listed as auctions or direct sales, and players can search for items by name.

The system has been working amicably for years, but recently several back-end performance issues were identified in it. As part of CCP's on-going war on lag, major back-end optimisations were made. Due to this restructuring of how contracts are handled on the EVE server, several new features have suddenly become possible. In a new devblog, CCP Atlas explains the back-end improvements and what they mean for the average player. Several features players have asked for over the years are on the way, such as the ability to put damaged items into contracts.

Ammo in the guns of a ship being contracted will now be moved into the ship's cargo hold rather than the item hangar, and ship insurance will no longer be voided when a ship is contracted. A whole host of improvements are also on the way to make the terms of courier missions more obvious. Players will be informed of the dangers of a contract before they accept it, including dangerous systems en-route and whether the destination station might refuse them docking rights. The upgrades are already live on the EVE test server and will be hitting the live server as part of the Incursion expansion's third phase in January.

Improvements on the way for EVE Online's contract system originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jagex offering fans a chance to shape the future of RuneScape

Jef Reahard — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST

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

Outspoken fans of RuneScape (and more specifically, the game's former Wilderness implementation) are being given a unique opportunity to shape the future of the title. Jagex has just announced a public vote to determine whether the old mechanics will be restored.

"We have released a host of new content which provides a comparable PvP experience to the old Wilderness, and mechanics to allow increased trade limits with long term friends but we are still regularly told by players that they want more. We want to find out whether the passionate voices we hear on this topic are truly representative of entire community or just a vocal minority. If the vast majority of our players support the campaign then we will restore these features to the game as quickly as possible," says Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard in a press released dated yesterday.

So, whether you want to score one for virtual worlds with consequences or you'd prefer your online games (or at least RuneScape) be safe havens and relatively free of risk, Jagex is offering you the chance to shape an MMO that is quite rare, if not unprecedented.

Jagex offering fans a chance to shape the future of RuneScape originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Does EVE make players better at other MMOs?

Brendan Drain — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Economy, Opinion, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

Every now and then on the EVE Online forums, someone will make a post about World of Warcraft. Sometimes a player will ask why CCP doesn't adopt an idea or two from the industry giant, or sometimes he'll just announce that he's quitting as soon as the next WoW expansion comes out. Recently, I saw a rather inflammatory statement in one of these threads that made me think. Someone wrote that "When a player quits EVE and goes to WoW, the average IQ in both games increases," implying that only stupid people quit EVE and that even the stupidest EVE player is smarter than the average WoW player.

It's an absurd and really quite offensive statement to make, but the above quote did get me thinking about whether playing EVE actually helps players to be more effective in other MMOs. Having gone from EVE's harsh world to more forgiving lands, I've definitely found that my experiences in New Eden have taught me to play MMOs more effectively. From the situational awareness that EVE's PvP forces on players to the organisation required for co-operative ventures and the complex trading experience EVE provides, there are definitely lessons to be learned that can apply to other MMOs.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at a few of the ways playing EVE can make someone more effective in other MMOs.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Does EVE make players better at other MMOs?

EVE Evolved: Does EVE make players better at other MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Amarr and Gallente

Brendan Drain — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Economy, Guides, Lore, EVE Evolved

Last week, I took a look at a few of the biggest Caldari and Minmatar trade hubs in EVE Online and how to best put them to use. I examined the phenomenon that is Jita and how Motsu persists as a trade hub due to the presence of mission-runners. I went on to look at Hek and Rens, trade hubs which service the two most populated Minmatar regions and provide a handy trade route for pilots to make a profit on. This week, I complete the picture with a look at four of the biggest Gallente and Amarr trade hubs.

Knowing all of the major trading stations can be of benefit to any pilot, whether you're just looking for a good deal on a new ship or trying to forge profitable trade routes. For traders, listing products in an alternate hub needn't take much extra time or effort. With good trade skills, you can adjust market orders remotely from several jumps away. You can make a short autopilot route that goes close enough to each station you're trading in and adjust your prices frequently.

In this final part of a two-part series on EVE's biggest trade hubs, I look at the biggest Amarr and Gallente trade hubs, what can be found there and how to use them to your advantage as a trader.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Amarr and Gallente

EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Amarr and Gallente originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Caldari and Minmatar page 2

Brendan Drain — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Caldari and Minmatar page 2

EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Caldari and Minmatar page 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Caldari and Minmatar

Brendan Drain — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Economy, Guides, Lore, EVE Evolved

A natural consequence of EVE Online's sandbox style market system is that eventually the players will form trade hubs around the most heavily used areas. Before the four empires began gearing up for war, the main trade hub of New Eden was in Yulai, the CONCORD headquarters system with super-highway stargates into the heart of each empire's space. When the super-highways were dismantled, Yulai became more difficult to get to and its popularity as a trade hub dissolved. It was eventually superceded by Jita, a Caldari system in The Forge region. But while Jita is EVE's biggest and most notable trade hub, it's not the only one by a long shot. Smaller hubs have always tended to erupt around centres of population and activity such as popular mission-running systems or the borders of warzones. Understandably, it's traders who reap the largest benefit from knowing all the best trade hubs. Trading in multiple regions can reduce the risk of competition and increase the volume of their sales.

In this two-part series, I look at some of EVE's biggest trade hubs, what can be found there and how to use them to your advantage as a trader. In today's first part I look at a few of the biggest Caldari and Minmatar trade hubs.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Caldari and Minmatar

EVE Evolved: Trade hubs of New Eden - Caldari and Minmatar originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Trading: Tips and tricks, part 2

Brendan Drain — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Trading: Tips and tricks, part 2

EVE Evolved: Trading: Tips and tricks, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Evolved: Trading: Tips and tricks

Brendan Drain — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics, Guides, Professions, PvP, Making money, Tips and tricks, PvE, Opinion, Hands-on, EVE Evolved

So far in this guide to trading in EVE Online, I've covered the jobs best suited to new players and some of the more advanced trading techniques like margin trading, market speculation and price manipulation. This is by no means the entirety of what can happen in EVE's marketplaces, but serves as a good foundation for those trying to break into the trading game. In the hyper-capitalistic world of New Eden, the markets are hugely competitive and any edge you can get will help. With that in mind, this final part of the guide will cover a few of the tips and tricks I've learned over the years that have given me an edge in the marketplace. Some are common sense rules that most traders will learn eventually and will be invaluable to newer players. Others are more closely-guarded secrets that I've gleaned from years of gameplay.

What is a cyclic product and what do you do when you spot a price manipulation? In this final part of the trading guide, I dish out some of my personal top tips for budding marketeers.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Trading: Tips and tricks

EVE Evolved: Trading: Tips and tricks originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quarterly Economic Newsletter for EVE Online released

James Egan — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Forums, MMO industry, Crafting, Professions, PvP, News items, PvE

EVE Online is unique among MMOs in that its economy is so complex and dynamic that CCP Games hired an economist, Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, to keep track of how the market evolves. One would imagine this is no easy task, with an overall trade value of all EVE markets ranging between 2 and 2.5 trillion isk per day. Lead Economist CCP Dr. EyjoG released a Quarterly Economic Newsletter (QEN) for EVE Online today, which is 18 pages full of data which should keep EVE's market and industry-oriented players happy (and hopefully make up for the delayed QEN, which Dr. EyjoG addresses in his announcement).

The Q1 2008 QEN kicks off with an editorial, and here are some brief highlights of what follows:

Demographics (number of accounts, most and least populated regions)

Price Level Changes (Mineral prices, Primary Producer Price Index, Secondary Producer Price Index, and Consumer Price Index)

Mining ship production and losses (with the venerable "Hulk" exhumer losses accounting for a staggering 6 trillion isk in destroyed property in Q1 2008)

Market Snapshots

Five years of EVE Market history

If you're interested in reading the Q1 2008 economic newsletter, you'll find the download link to the PDF in Dr. EyjoG's dev blog. A discussion of his findings is already underway on the EVE forums.

Quarterly Economic Newsletter for EVE Online released originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A brief overview of EVE Online's trade and industry

James Egan — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Game mechanics, Crafting, Professions, PvE

Every time a player in EVE Online loses a ship in a fiery explosion, along with its modules and cargo, they turn to the market or look through contracts to replace what they've lost and stock up for the next time. EVE Online's sandbox and the inevitable PvP conflict that results when players can do what they choose in that sandbox provides economic opportunities for some. Combat burns up ships, and players heavily into the manufacturing side of the game are happy to supply the endless demand for new equipment, be it an unassuming frigate or a massive dreadnaught.

In EVE, items aren't supplied by NPCs, they're created by other players (or bought in quantity and resold at a markup by traders). Aside from certain items like skillbooks and blueprint originals, most of the items a player can possess in the game have been produced by other players. Thus, EVE's setting of New Eden has a true economy, providing a great amount of depth for those who are willing to learn its complexities.

Continue reading A brief overview of EVE Online's trade and industry

A brief overview of EVE Online's trade and industry originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A trader's mindset in EVE Online

James Egan — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Economy, Game mechanics, Guilds, Crafting, Professions, PvE, Opinion, Education

In EVE Online, it's usually the harsher side of the game that gets the most attention and has the greatest allure. Piracy, large-scale alliance warfare, and in general the dark side of EVE are what most players find interesting. But still, there are many players who engage in non-violent gameplay and find it rewarding. While hardcore PvP-ers lambast them as carebears, some corporations and individuals have attained considerable wealth and influence in the game through their own form of PvP applied to finance -- market warfare.

Among the player-created corporations and alliances in EVE Online that are devoted to helping newer players attain their goals in an often complex system, EVE University and Agony Unleashed are the most prominent. However, there are other corporations in the game that help their members along the way, which are more focused in their pursuits. One such corporation is Trader's Academy, corp ticker: [TRACE], formed in 2005 and devoted to helping pilots maximize profits from trading, mining, and mission running.

Continue reading A trader's mindset in EVE Online

A trader's mindset in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP dev blog addresses lag issues, new features

James Egan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST

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

The latest EVE Online dev blog comes to use from CCP Atlas, and deals with some sweeping changes to that most problematic of systems in the game: Jita. In "A Tale of Two Cities," CCP Atlas makes an analogy between the conveniences of city life and the similar situation of pilots seeking convenience in EVE, often needing to cross through the busy system to reach a destination. CCP's solution is to decentralize Jita from routes between solar systems. In effect, limiting the non-commerce presence in the Jita system, so it can -- hopefully -- continue in its established role as a market hub in New Eden without being a detriment to the players in terms of lag.

Once the changes go into effect, players will no longer need to navigate through Jita to reach their destination (namely the Ruomo constellation), nor run agent missions in Jita. That is to say, Jita, as previously announced, will be a dead zone for mission agents; mission runners given missions from agents outside of Jita will not be sent into or through Jita as part of their mission completion.

Continue reading CCP dev blog addresses lag issues, new features

CCP dev blog addresses lag issues, new features originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Making/Money: Virtual Red Paperclips

Alexis Kassan — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: City of Heroes, Game mechanics, Making money, Tips and tricks, Making/Money

A few years ago now, I heard a news story about a man who traded one red paperclip for a house. There were several intermediate trades, but the basic gist of it was that he started with a paperclip and traded up from there until, eventually, he was offered a house in Saskatchewan in exchange for a movie role.

I remember thinking then what an interesting concept it was (and wishing I had thought of it first). He really did not need any particular skills except maybe negotiation. He did not need any money. In the early stages, he probably didn't even need a lot of buzz. Just some connections and a dream.

In more recent times, I have seen similar things done in games. Using the auction house and connections with guildies, friends, or just willing participants in the streets, it is entirely possible to trade your way to fame and fortune without ever picking up a trade or completing a quest.

Continue reading Making/Money: Virtual Red Paperclips

Making/Money: Virtual Red Paperclips originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Main Man

James Egan — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, Professions, Tips and tricks, Opinion

EVE Online is a game where collective action trumps individual action. It's certainly a game that can be played solo although nowhere near as effectively as when your main's activities are supported or enabled by an alt. CCP provides 3 character slots per account, but skillpoint training can only progress on one character at a time. So where the real alt-play comes in is with dual boxing -- running two accounts at once to facilitate an activity. The main/alt duo can take a number of forms, by no means limited to the following basic examples:

Continue reading The Main Man

The Main Man originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Someone just blew Chunks

Eli Shayotovich — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Dungeon Runners, Expansions, Launches, Free-to-play

Clean up on isle 5!

That's the same kind of irreverent humor laced throughout the extraordinarily fun (and free to play) Dungeon Runners. Last night more of this same type of hilarity was let loose onto the DR world with the release of Chunk 2. "Chunk" is the term NCsoft uses for their blocks of new DR content. Veeeeeery cute.

Chunk 2 drops a whole lot of stuffing and sweet potatoes onto players plates, including more bank space for paying members (a meager monthly fee of $4.95 gives players unlimited access), easier trade system, increased access to the prime loot, and balance refinements for both Player versus Environment (PvE) and Player versus Player (PvP). According to Stephen Nichols, the producer and lead programmer for Dungeon Runners, Chunk 2 opens a more content for non-members that they didn't have access to previously because of in-game advertising."

Whaaaaat? In-game advertising? Before you toss your cookies, remember this is a free to play game. And while a pittance of a monthly fee will open up the world, not everyone can or wants to fork out an extra Lincoln. The in-game adverts, which are visible only to non-members on loading screens and in a banner above the game window, help fund future development of this game and keeps it free for players. Free is good.

I'm a big fan of this game and gave the new content a brief whirl last night. Aside from access to new content like dungeons and more valuable bling, additional bank slots have been added. Non-members get one full page, while members get three. A new trade system has been implemented allowing players to trade stuff (except gold) through a much simpler interface. Rare item drops have been increased and stackable potions have been added for both members and non-members alike. The in-game adverts aren't a big deal, and as long as it keeps Dungeon Runners free... I can live with an ad here and there. I think you will too.

Someone just blew Chunks originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO's official forums just got more efficient

Samuel Axon — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:37:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Economy, Forums, Guilds, News items

You asked, they delivered; it's nice when that happens once in a while.

Turbine has opened up server-specific Kinship and Trade forums for The Lord of the Rings Online on their official community site. Up to this point the general topic forums for the different servers have been filled to the brim with posts by people recruiting into or looking for kinships. Many servers attempted to clean up the clutter by sticky-ing threads dedicated to kinship recruiting, but it didn't solve the problem completely.

Now you can advertise your outrageously priced Tolkien-ganja on the forums while also looking for a hobbit-only RP guild dedicated completely to farming and smoking said pipe weed. No, really, that sort of stuff actually exists in LotRO.

LotRO's official forums just got more efficient originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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