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The Daily Grind: Should internet trolls be policed?

Jef Reahard — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Arizona state lawmakers have introduced a piece of legislation that seeks to muzzle internet trolls. No, really. House bill 2549 aims to amend the state's anti-stalking law to include cyber-bullying, according to the LA Times.

As you might expect, the wording of the bill is rather vague, so there's plenty of wiggle room for politicians and powerful officials to interpret it as they see fit. Due to the international nature of the internet, the law could conceivably have repercussions beyond Arizona's borders.

What say you, Massively crew? Should internet trolls be policed, and should local, state, or federal government representatives do the policing?

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 internet trolls be policed? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do developers troll their fans?

Jef Reahard — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind

Sometimes I honestly wonder what goes on in the minds of the decision-makers at Sony Online Entertainment.

Case in point is the recent decision to add wings to EverQuest II's cash shop. I'm not opposed to cash shops per se, and I'm not opposed to flying mounts or the formerly nifty race-specific quest that allowed Arasai players to earn a pair of functional wings at high level.

Now, though, any old ratonga, iksar, or troll can fork over 20 bucks and take to the skies with angel's wings on his back, and while the EverQuest universe has fairly inconsistent lore on occasion, I can only conclude that someone at SOE thought it would be funny to mess with franchise fans a little bit. If not, surely there are more fan-friendly ways to go about designing cash shop items or new means of transportation.

This isn't the first time SOE has indulged its baser shark-jumping instincts, either. Ask a Star Wars Galaxies vet about the infamous Ewok-themed Valentine's Day if you need another example. And therein lies today's Daily Grind. Do you think that developers troll their fans?

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: Do developers troll their fans? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wings Over Atreia: Top 10 of '11

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

Where in the Seraphim Lords did the year go? Daevas aren't the only ones who fly; time certainly has one powerful set of wings (though I haven't quite determined whether they are light or dark)! It's a bit hard for me to believe that a full year has come and gone. Yet even as I doubt, a cursory glance back over the past 12 months shows me I didn't Rip Van Winkle the time away.

In fact, much has transpired in Aion since 2011 rolled in. Between pining away for things to come and dreaming of things that may never be, chronicling the life and social scene of Atreia, offering guides and hints, and reporting on (sometimes surprise) announcements, Wings Over Atreia has covered a variety of topics over the past year. While each column is but one glimpse, together they show the evolution of our game.

Traipse past the break and down memory lane with me as we reminisce about Aion in the time-honored Massively tradition of top-10 lists.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Top 10 of '11

Wings Over Atreia: Top 10 of '11 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Captain's Log: The voices of reason

Brandon Felczer — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST

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

Captain's Log, Stardate 65284.2...

Hello, computer (and players)! It is often said that the voices of the gaming community are some of the loudest, and most passionate, around. This is especially true within the Star Trek Online community. While some may see particular posts made in Cryptic's forums as trolling or whining, others see passion and dedication for making the game they love the best it can be. There is no denying that there will always be those who love to hate and hate to love, but there are also community members out there who are the voices of reason -- they take their time to carefully examine something and provide appropriate and well-thought feedback on how to make something better.

As STO is preparing to re-launch with its F2P model, many changes are being pushed to the Tribble test server for players to playtest and provide feedback on. Before the test shards ever open, debates based on the patch notes begin. After a few hours of testing on Tribble, players make their feedback posts public in hopes that developers notice and hear their opinions. The great news here is that the developers are reading each post and have vowed that feedback does not go unnoticed. Since I have been following this feedback closely myself, I thought I should share some of it here.

Ensign, warp 10! Let's share some recent community feedback on two of the hottest topics out there...

Continue reading Captain's Log: The voices of reason

Captain's Log: The voices of reason originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the Trolls

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lore, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

The low-level gangs that heroes face in City of Heroes follow a pretty set pattern. At the absolute bottom are street thugs with a little bit of superhuman muscle at the very top, just enough to remind you that you are in a city swarming with mutants and magic and all of that fun stuff. One step up, however, and you start to find gangs that are just a little more vicious, ones that genuinely couldn't thrive at all outside of the superheroic milieu. That's where the Trolls sit -- as a group of legitimately superhuman street thugs mostly kept in line by their own issues.

The Trolls are most likely the first villain group out of the starter areas that you'll encounter in numbers, if for no other reason than the simple fact that they're swarming the Hollows. You're also likely to start running into them if you deal with the Skulls long enough because the Skulls are what keeps the Trolls up and running. Trolls aren't like their lower-level counterparts -- they suffer from a disease, and feeding that ailment is the source of their power and reputation.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the Trolls

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Spotlight on the Trolls originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Anvil of Crom: Blood, glory, and some Deathwish impressions

Jef Reahard — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST

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

Oy, Funcom, you're absolutely killing me here. Last week I had a column written prior to a guess-what-we're-launching-Unchained-today announcement. This week I was typing away on a review of some of the new instance content that showed up alongside the F2P update when the hey-Blood-and-Glory-launches-tomorrow bomb dropped.

A veritable mad scramble ensued here at The Anvil of Crom offices, and as the piles of wadded up loose-leaf and discarded notes fluttered about, I was left wondering when my previous two pieces were going to see the light of day.

If I sound somewhat perturbed, I'm not really, as this is a fantastic spot for any game columnist -- or Age of Conan fan -- to occupy. There's a lot of new content and not enough time to write about it; really we should all be so lucky. Sooo, that's my lengthy way of saying won't you join me after the cut for some initial impressions of hardcore PvP, AoC-style.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Blood, glory, and some Deathwish impressions

The Anvil of Crom: Blood, glory, and some Deathwish impressions originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist sees The Shadow of Yserbius

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 31 May 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Virtual worlds, Humor, The Game Archaeologist

Really, I blame my parents for not being filthy rich. If they were, we could've afforded the $130/month unlimited subscription fee to the ImagiNation Network (INN) back in the early '90s. Just think! All of the gaming, the socializing, and the roleplaying that you could handle -- for such a low price! I mean, sure, there were hourly options, but who'd want to play for a mere five hours a month?

So instead of becoming part of a growing online community, I had to be content with my SNES and copy of Chrono Trigger -- hard times, indeed. Sometimes I think how my life would've been different if we had subscribed to Sierra's colorful online world, because I would've had a chance to get in on one of the first graphical MMOs: The Shadow of Yserbius.

It was a step forward in graphic quality from the text-only MUDs of the day but perhaps a step backward from the complexity that many MUDs brought to the table. Still, for a few shining years, it entranced thousands who lined up to delve dungeons deeply alongside their friends (and a couple of complete strangers with odor disorders).

Today we're going to take a quick peek at one of the first MMOs that stepped into the realm of lush color and animations and see what made The Shadow of Yserbius so enduring.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist sees The Shadow of Yserbius

The Game Archaeologist sees The Shadow of Yserbius originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 May 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Free for All: A few tips for the indie developer

Beau Hindman — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Free for All

I am no developer, nor do I have dreams of one day becoming one. I absolutely love having the ability to write about what I like and to interact with those who enjoy (or hate) what I write. Developers have their hands and tongues tied much of the time, and often the indie developer gets no credit whatsoever. Granted, if artistic release or programming is your thing, I say go for it. But I will absolutely admit to wanting attention most of all -- it's what I like to do.

Over the years, I have visited more independent MMO sites and played more independent MMOs than I care to recount. Still, not a week goes by when I do not find a new one to look at, and so I file it away for future use. I am often amazed at some of the mistakes indie developers make -- such obvious ones, too. I try to remind myself that the garage-coder is not always the best choice for graphic designer, so sometimes the websites and logos of these tiny companies look like they were hosted on Geocities.

I decided to have some fun and throw down some general rules that I apply to indie developers. Take them or leave them, but I think that they are based on quite a bit of observation. Feel free to add any of your own. Click past the cut and let's get to them!

Continue reading Free for All: A few tips for the indie developer

Free for All: A few tips for the indie developer originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 May 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Anvil of Crom: Time to move on?

Jef Reahard — Sun, 01 May 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Anvil of Crom

Welcome back to The Anvil of Crom, Conan fans. This week I'm going to tackle something a bit off the beaten path. I've been messing around with the Refuge of the Apostate on various toons, and our Choose My Adventure Bear Shaman is holding in his late 30s as I attempt (so far in vain) to get some dungeon time in before moving on to the Field of the Dead.

Something's been on my mind lately, though, something that's not entirely unique to Age of Conan but is nonetheless a significant part of the overall fan experience. In a nutshell, I'd like to discuss AoC's community, and at the risk of offending (or more likely, inciting) portions of it, why it's so unfortunate.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Time to move on?

The Anvil of Crom: Time to move on? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 01 May 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wings Over Atreia: What's in it for me?

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

That does it. No more Ms. Nice Wings. This time I am just going to unleash! Let my rant all hang out. Admittedly, I am not normally one to complain; I can see the good in most every situation, and I can roll with the punches like it's an Olympic event. But even my feathers get ruffled sometimes. It's true! And sometimes you just can't bite your tongue anymore or all you will have is a very sore tongue.

Now I know I am not a rant-master like Jef, but even fledgling ranters must begin somewhere. And this week, I found just such a place: immature, self-serving, can't-pull-their-thumbs-outta-their-ears-unless-there-is-something-in-it-for-them-gamers in Aion. You know the type -- those who think the world revolves around them. Those whose spoiled-rotten antics ruin groups and legions alike and who are the reason why many a block list is so full. They without whom drama would die a quick death and be a forgotten plague. They're the bane of chat channels everywhere -- they are the trolls.

Throw yourself past the cut for a look at some recent Aion tantrums and sure-fire ways to minimize the effects of blatant immaturity. Careful, though -- I cannot be held responsible for any resemblance to gamers near you.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: What's in it for me?

Wings Over Atreia: What's in it for me? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wings Over Atreia: Endgame = end of game?

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

It happens. All good things must come to an end... except (hopefully) your favorite MMORPG. After all, the whole idea of the MMO is to keep going endlessly, right? To supposedly ever-evolve -- there is no final "win" that concludes the story as in single-player RPGs. However, what do you do when you hit the level cap and have "been there and done that" with everything in game? I guess that's the disadvantage of not having a sandbox; as much I love the graphics and my friends in NCsoft's Aion, there really is just a finite list of things to do.

Now before anyone gets up-in-arms or sneers "I told you so," no, I am not quitting and I haven't given up on the game. I still enjoy it. It just so happens that my mind zeroed in on the topic this week as I logged in over the course a few days and just stared at my screen, wondering what I wanted to do. While I was feeling under the weather a bit (which dampened my endurance and enthusiasm to complete any major dungeons), I started wondering about what there actually is to do in Aion after you reach and sit at maximum level for a while.

For me, the two things that keep me interested in my virtual worlds are the community and friends that I find in game as well as exploring and experiencing new things. One involves the company providing regular content updates; the other allows for player-created content. But once there is nothing left to explore or experience, friends can drift away... so what does that leave? Pondering this subject and watching the community around me actually brought up some expected -- and some not quite expected -- answers.

Join me past the cut to look at different ways Daevas spend their time in Atreia and how they keep their interest sparked.

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Endgame = end of game?

Wings Over Atreia: Endgame = end of game? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wings Over Atreia: Feeding trolls

MJ Guthrie — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia

"WoW was the first MMO."
"WTF you --------- [bless the filter]."
"Your mom just left here."

Channel /3 will be the death of me. Or perhaps just my sanity. If not, then it may be the cause of some random homicides soon.

Although I had another topic all planned out (and already mostly penned), I had an about-face for this week's article. This subject is something that is always on the edge of my mind, and as of late, it has been more front and center. In fact, this week has seen discussions on the matter with friends, colleagues, legion-mates, and even my munchkins. The hot topic? Trolls.

Aion players know that /3 is the LFG (looking for group) channel, and occasionally you can actually find people looking for groups there! However, because it is the only server-wide channel, people mostly use it for any type of random chatter. And by chatter, I mean a range of sexual comments, preening, raging, and flat-out trolling. Granted, sometimes following along with /3 chatter is simply amusing, but oftentimes it becomes annoying or even outright offensive. In any case, it's hard to pick out anything of value through the fast-paced spam.

Now don't get me wrong; I am all for quips and banter and building a community, but it seems that the folks with any amount of consideration and class stay quiet for the most part. If we were to judge society off of universal chat channels, I think I would be all for large-scale nuclear annihilation; people treat others in virtual worlds like they wouldn't dream of vis-à-vis. Why is that? And what can we do to increase civility, decrease trolling, and improve gaming experiences overall?

Cross the bridge (don't stop to feed the trolls!) to explore these points with me and share some amusing trolling moments from your server! (Please keep it clean folks!)

Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Feeding trolls

Wings Over Atreia: Feeding trolls originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What game do you play even though you suck?

Jef Reahard — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Global Agenda

"Bad players."

It's a label thrown around quite a lot in global chats, Vent channels, and forums nowadays. With the influx of warm bodies to the online gaming space, there's bound to be some separation (whether it's perceived or actual) between the wheat and the chaff.

The funny thing is, a lot of us know that we "suck" in advance of the reminders from folks who feel the need to constantly point it out. What a few of the more vocal "bad players" trolls fail to realize is that enjoyment derived from MMORPGs isn't limited to a game's competitive aspects. As an example, Global Agenda would have to qualify as one of my favorite MMOs from the last half decade, but judging by my ASM score, I'm one of the worst Robos on the North American shard.

That doesn't stop me from logging in and thoroughly enjoying myself on a daily basis, though. What about you, Massively readers? What game(s) do you consistently (proudly?) play at a less than proficient level?

[Thanks to the Massively IRC channel for inspiring the topic!]

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 game do you play even though you suck? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play, The Road to Mordor

This past week in LotRO's been a bit like riding river rapids: There's been a lot of rapid ups-and-downs, violent lurches to avoid dangerous objects, and a whole lot of noise that's drowning out the calmer waters ahead. For every piece of good news and positive word-of-mouth, there's been a lot of unfortunate bumps, such as server queues, dynamic layers, mouthy trolls and Codemaster's launch delay. However, I believe it's all going to settle down in a couple more weeks, and LotRO will emerge the better for it.

So if this is your first week in Lord of the Rings Online, welcome! Find a great kinship, take time to smell the flowers, and hunt some orc for me.

Today I'd like to take a look at one of the unsung heroes of the recent content patch -- the ability to create and use plugins (also called mods and addons) to enhance your user interface. While the system is still in beta and has a rough-around-the-edges feel to it, it's already shown great potential, particularly though the creativity that mod designers are pouring into it. While there are only a small number of plugins available as of right now and Turbine has yet to expand the scope of these Lua scripts beyond constrained limits, it's not too early to beef up your UI with these spiffy additions. Read on, free peoples of Middle-internet!

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins

The Road to Mordor: Pippin's top five plugins originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Official or unofficial WAR forums?

Krystalle Voecks — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Forums, News items, Opinion, The Daily Grind

With the recent announcement that Mythic would be bringing the Warhammer Online forums in-house, the topic of the pros and cons of official and unofficial forums have been brought out again. Ryan Shwayder argued very eloquently that developer interaction, ownership, and support for integrated features, and we've now heard from some of the forum managers who will be affected by Mythic's decision to put out their own forums. There are great points across the board, but this morning we thought we'd ask you - in specific relation to Warhammer Online - do you think that Mythic should (or should not) be opening forums at this (post-launch) stage? Perhaps you think they should limit them to only customer service and developer interaction and leave the more free-form discussions elsewhere? Or do you think that the fully-featured forums they're planning is absolutely the way to go - if only to (hopefully) have a moderated forum to discuss all things WAR on? How about those indie forums; what could they do to keep readers coming there? What balance of official and unofficial forums would you like to see for Warhammer Online?

The Daily Grind: Official or unofficial WAR forums? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Don't look now

Krystalle Voecks — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Screenshots, One Shots

One thing that the World of Warcraft designers seem to like doing is pitting WoW players against Trolls. There's Zul'Gurub, Zul'Aman, Zul'Farrak, Jintha'Alor, the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, and more. Of course, this love of Troll NPC bad-guys carried over into Wrath of the Lich King with even more Troll ruins to explore, such as today's One Shots location. Johanis, regular World of Warcraft contributor sent along this note to explain: Here's Johanis doing some weekend exploring in the Drakil 'Jin Ruins in the Grizzly Hills. Something tells me that tunnel isn't exactly friendly...lol.

Why not join the fun and send in your own screenshots to be featured here on One Shots? We can always use more to pick from. Just email them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the game its from, and whatever other information you'd like to give us. We'll post it for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit.

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: Don't look now originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AdventureQuest Worlds wedding attracts 11,000 guests

William Dobson — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Events, in-game, Free-to-play

How many people would you choose to attend your wedding? Some go for a smaller and more intimate setting with just a handful of people. Over at the other extreme, some folks shell out for 1000+ of their closest friends to enjoy their special moment. Want to take it even further? You could be like the couple from Missouri that just tied the knot and had 11,000 people sitting in on the ceremony. Of course, the catch is that the wedding took place in AdventureQuest Worlds, and their guests attended virtually. Their private wedding room was cloned, which allowed for thousands of gamers to experience the celebrations along with then.

The event was a success overall, and undoubtedly a lot easier to organize than a wedding of that scale would be in the real world. Weddings are notorious for the meticulous planning that comes before them, and equally for the little (hopefully inconsequential) things that tend to go wrong on the day. If we had to make a list of things we'd like not to happen during a loved one's wedding, "Troll raid" would be somewhere near the top. As fate would have it, Trolls did show up to raid the AQW wedding, but thankfully the guests took it in their stride, and cake was enjoyed by all.

AdventureQuest Worlds wedding attracts 11,000 guests originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things heat up in new Mines of Moria screens

Kyle Horner — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Screenshots, Lord of the Rings Online, Expansions, News items

Turbine has released a new batch of screens featuring the Forges of Khazad-dum for the upcoming Lord of the Rings Online expansion Mines of Moria and they're tempting us to use the "boy are they hot" pun, because they're literally filled with lava. Come to think of it, first it was fire and now we've upgraded to lava. Even some of the Trolls (we're pretty sure they're Trolls) are lava-infused. Ah yes, we dub thee Lava Trolls! Don't get us wrong though, we love the idea of dungeons and zones full of hot, bubbling lava.

Give the image above (or gallery below) a click to check out the screens and all that burning liquid. There's also a pretty cool armor set, some impressive architecture and various vanity shots of those Lava Trolls. The more we look at them, the more we're diggin' their spiky-yet-bulbous design.

Gallery: Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria Gallery

Things heat up in new Mines of Moria screens originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Funcom seeks volunteer forum moderators

Samuel Axon — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Forums, Launches, New titles, News items

Funcom posted a bulletin seeking volunteers to moderate the official Age of Conan forums. The game will be launching in just over a week, so if you're a particularly passionate member of its community, this is probably a good time to jump on board.

All you need: strong English language skills, an infraction-free couple of months of history on the AoC forums, "organization skills," and a little bit of forum moderation experience. It's too bad it's not a paying gig, but there's no doubt that there are people out there who are committed enough to the game that they'll help out for free. So if you're one of those people, head on over; Funcom has provided a application for you to fill out.

Just don't be too shocked when you end up spending hours every day battling level 80 elite trolls.

Funcom seeks volunteer forum moderators originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 May 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: TGIF

Krystalle Voecks — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Screenshots, City of Heroes, One Shots

It's Friday in the virtual Massively HQ, land of ethernet, cheetos and way too many pop-culture jokes! That means it's time to make plans for the weekend's events. We figure a lot of people are going to be doing some of the same things that we'll be doing here -- checking out the new Iron Man movie, or perhaps playing GTA IV, or just relaxing in our MMOs of choice. As such, we have today's awesome One Shots, courtesy of Vital Spark who had been putting the smack down on some Trolls in City of Heroes, and realized this was a perfect shot to lead into a great weekend of fun!

Do you have any MMOing on tap for this weekend? If so, you should snag some screens and send them our way! There's a lot going on out there, and we want to see what you're up to! Pop them into an email to oneshots AT massively DOT com, and relax. We'll do all the work from there!

Gallery: One Shots

One Shots: TGIF originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 May 2008 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO lorebook update features T�l Bruinen

William Dobson — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Lore

Tâl Bruinen is the focus of a new article in the Lord of the Rings Online lorebook, and we get to find out why the area is so uninhabited. Once upon a time, there were many small settlements in Tâl Bruinen (which is located in The Trollshaws, south of Rivendell). Now only a few camps of fisherman and adventurers remain, but it's no great mystery -- ask yourself if you would stick around when your home is the subject of repeated Troll-raids.

These Trolls are still around, but there are other nasties now as well to make sure that no one feels like moving back -- Orcs, worms, and Gauredain stop most people from feeling safe enough to settle down in the area. However, it's not all bad, as those in the low 40's will find plenty to kill and a few quests to boot. View the lorebook entry for more screenies and the usual map.

LotRO lorebook update features T�l Bruinen originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: To forum, or not to forum?

Krystalle Voecks — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 08:02:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Forums, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind

It seems like no matter where you go on this World Wild Web, you can't help but stumble across all manner of trolls. Out of game, you can hear the echoes of "qq moar nub" as they rampage around. Indeed, this is why we suspect some games are loath to spend man-hours creating and manning forums, such as Tabula Rasa's stance on them. As routinely surfing forums on the lookout for news is part of our job, we can't help but notice that some companies do a fantastic job of keeping their forums under control, such as the CoX team. Other forums such as the WoW official forums are an absolute epidemic of trolls that seem to be far more pronounced than just about anywhere else.

Now while we would definitely agree that the WoW forums undoubtedly suffer from more trolls due to sheer population density in comparison to other titles, we can't help but wonder... What would it be like if game companies opted to move all official forums to player-run and maintained setups and just popped in like Tabula Rasa has? Would it make more sense to do so and let the communities police themselves? Some of the player-run forums we read, such as different EQ, EQ2, and even WoW resources, seem to do a very good job of policing themselves and keeping the trolls to a minimum. There also isn't backlash into the games overall as they're completely separate. If you do something stupid on a player-run forum, you simply get banned more often than not. The trolls can't argue that they're a paying subscriber and deserve special treatment. (Not that it tends to hold a lot of weight on the WoW forums when you throw that around after a CM has gotten to you.) There are also generally lots of folks who will volunteer time just from the sheer love of the game, getting nothing in return save for a troll-free environment in which to talk about their favorite games.

So this morning we ask you. Is it better to let the players run the forums, or the game companies? Do you think that player-run forums tend to be, on the whole, better than official forums, or do you really think it depends on the title involved? Are there any benefits you see with one over the other, or does it all perhaps just come down to a question of official forums needing more staff to deal with the trolls in their communities?

The Daily Grind: To forum, or not to forum? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LotRO: Troll and Ranger Session Play out for now

William Dobson — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, PvP, Races

Session Play in Lord of the Rings Online is a feature that allows you to take the form of a different character, and experience Middle Earth from a new perspective. From the official website, "You could play as a Ranger, a Troll, or... a chicken." Well, it looks as though your only option for now may be of the feathered farmyard variety, according to this post on Turbine's official LotRO forums.

The announcement from Turbine Community Specialist Saffron tells us little other than that there have been unspecified issues with Trolls and Rangers in Session Play, and that they will not be available until further notice. These two character types were formerly playable in the Ettenmoors Monster Play (PvP) zone, with Rangers for the Free Peoples and Trolls for the Monsters. A quick visit to the Monster Play forums shows that Trolls and Rangers have already been a topic of hot debate, with many feeling they were overpowered. Perhaps they will be tweaked along with other PvMP updates due with Book 12 -- we will have to wait and see what changes have been made when they are made available for play once more.

LotRO: Troll and Ranger Session Play out for now originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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