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Eternal Blade posts a teaser site and class Facebook pages

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, New titles, Previews, News items, Free-to-play

Eternal Blade, if you hadn't heard, is a free-to-play action MMO due out later this year from gPotato. We had a chance to preview the game briefly at GDC, and the team behind the game has stepped up promotions with the addition of a new teaser site for the game. The developers have also finalized the class lineup, but the classes aren't getting pages on the teaser site; instead, each class now has its own individual Facebook page.

The Soul Summoner, the Knight, the Archer, the Mage, the Thief, and the Berserker pages each have some photos of the relevant class in action as well as a description of why it's the best out of the six classes. If that doesn't get you interested in the game, the teaser site also features a video showing off cinematics and gameplay. More news on beta testing and launch as it develops.

[Source: gPotato press release]

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Eternal Blade posts a teaser site and class Facebook pages originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phantasy Star Online 2 posts a benchmark and character creator for all [Updated]

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, New titles, Previews, News items

If you're an American fan of Phantasy Star Online 2 -- or heck, just a non-Japanese fan -- you're kind of out of luck at the moment. The game is currently not anywhere near a translated state, and testing has thus been mostly limited to Japanese players. If you're in that unlucky boat, however, things are getting at least a little bit better now. The game's character creator and benchmark has just been released for all, whether or not you're testing the game or even able to read the language.

A fan blog for the game features both screenshots of the character creator and corresponding benchmark as well as a guide to getting the program to work on your machine. While it's not quite the same as being able to log into the game and enjoy the testing sequence, it's at least a chance to get a taste of what the game will be like when (and if) it comes to our shores.

[Update: Thanks to Venova for the original tip as well as the news that there's an unofficial English patch for this benchmark toy!]

Phantasy Star Online 2 posts a benchmark and character creator for all [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's WildStar interview with Jeremy Gaffney

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, Previews, WildStar

Now that Gamescom and PAX Prime are fading into memory, the rush of information we received on WildStar has slowed once more. But that certainly hasn't driven the game from anyone's memory, considering the unique visuals and gameplay previewed at both events. There are still a lot of questions to be asked about the game, and as the game is still fairly early in development, a lot of time for those questions to be answered... starting now.

Jeremy Gaffney was kind enough to answer several of our questions about WildStar, giving us a look at the time Carbine Studios has spent on developing the game and what sort of gameplay we can expect when the game is available for everyone. Even beyond the already-previewed Path system, there's a great deal of interest for excited fans to see, so take a look past the break for our questions and Mr. Gaffney's answers.

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Massively's WildStar interview with Jeremy Gaffney originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Massively: You're missing the best part of the appearance tab news edition

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, Previews, Opinion, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous

I've made no secret of the fact that I've long since fallen out of love with World of Warcraft, but I think people are missing the best element of the whole addition of an appearance tab. Sure, it's something that players have been asking to get for years on end without receiving a response, but the best part is that its addition essentially invalidates every single answer we've received to date about why it can't be done. That amuses me to no end.

This week's Ask Massively has nothing to do with that news, however; instead, it covers the excitement of upcoming games, the lack of upcoming games, and the relevance of functions within games. I'd promise a zebra as well, but he had places to go. As always, you can leave your questions for a future installment in the comment field or mail them along to ask@massively.com, whichever you prefer.

Continue reading Ask Massively: You're missing the best part of the appearance tab news edition

Ask Massively: You're missing the best part of the appearance tab news edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New interview highlights the development of Otherland

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, News items, Free-to-play

Otherland was an ambitious project that had fallen off the radar for quite some time, but it looks like the project is back on track. Based on the novel series of the same name, the game is set to place players in the eponymous multi-world simulation, a surreal network of virtual worlds filled with inhabitants that believe themselves to be people. Players will not only interact with the otherworldly environments, they'll be tasked with trying to uncover the powers attempting to manipulate the simulation behind the scenes. A new interview sheds some light on what developer RealU is hoping to achieve within the universe.

As fits the setting of the book, Otherland is a game with a great deal of player customization, ranging from customizing the appearance of a player's individual simuloid to customizing one's own space on the virtual web. Fans of the books will also be happy to learn that the game continues the storyline of its predecessors, with the offspring of the Grail Brotherhood working behind the scenes to regain control of the unearthly fantasy worlds. The game is currently aimed for a 2012 release, but it looks as if the foundations are being laid solid to start.

New interview highlights the development of Otherland originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jagex shares more details about Transformers Universe

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Interviews, New titles, News items, Browser, Kids

Amidst all of the toy previews and Hall of Fame inductions at this year's BotCon, there's another element for fans -- an early look at Transformers Universe, the upcoming MMO developed by Jagex. And while the game is certainly not in a playable state just yet, the fine team at Tformers.com has put together a video interview with executive producer Kris Jones, showing off the early stages of character creation and discussing the game's future for development.

Transformers Universe is confirmed to take place within the current "Prime" continuity, but as Jones explains, the staff has been working closely with Hasbro to try to include as many signature characters as possible from the franchise's 27-year history. There's talk about hundreds of different parts for characters to choose between for customization as well as the possibility of fans uploading parts and decals to help personalize individual Transformers. Prospective fans should take a look at the full interview -- it's an early look but the sort of thing that should be of significant interest to longtime franchise enthusiasts.

Jagex shares more details about Transformers Universe originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World PvP, dungeon experiences, and quality of life in Guild Wars 2

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, News items, Guild Wars 2

Guild Wars 2 is a game that seemingly everyone is anticipating, helped along by the fact that very few people have gotten to play it and even fewer have played it extensively. So it's understandable that incGamers' recent interview with Eric Flannum and John Peters covers a lot of ground, ranging from dungeons to PvP to environmental interactions. While some of the questions posed by the interviewers aren't answered, there's a great deal of information for fans, starting with the clarification that dungeons do not have a specific "story mode." There's a series of events the player experiences with important world NPCs followed by the option to explore the dungeon.

PvP is discussed a bit, with the free admission that while players in competitive arenas will be evenly matched, it's possible to be simply outgunned in open combat. The role of guards and other NPCs in the open combats is also clarified; NPCs act essentially as speedbumps rather than serious targets for player consideration. Guild Wars 2 fans should read through both pages of the interview to get a better idea of what's coming in the game as well as another confirmation that a closed beta is due before the end of the year.

World PvP, dungeon experiences, and quality of life in Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 May 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The MMO Report: Newstastic edition

Krystalle Voecks — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, News items, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

Welcome back! This week on The MMO Report, Casey Schreiner and the team at G4TV are serving up a heaping helping of highlights, as the news has been crazy busy during the last week. Up first, Casey points out the sales numbers for DC Universe Online, which has been flying off shelves. From there, it's on to Bigpoint Games' upcoming free-to-play browser-based Battlestar Galactica Online, which will either enthrall space-drama fiends, or just give people a reason to say "frak" a lot. Zipping along, it's on to Eskil Steenberg's LOVE, which went through an upgrade while narrowly avoiding a random Craigslist hookup.

Also included are tidbits on an upcoming short documentary on the making of Minecraft, as well as an interesting piece on the MMORPGRTS alphabet soup of Reverie World Studios' upcoming game Dawn of Fantasy. Finally, this week ends out, as most weeks do, with Casey rifling through the best (or worst; we're not quite sure) to be found in Uncle Casey's Mailbag. For all the excitement and more, you can check out this week's episode of The MMO Report embedded for your ocular and aural pleasure behind the break, or catch it every Thursday on G4TV.

Continue reading The MMO Report: Newstastic edition

The MMO Report: Newstastic edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An animated video diary from the team behind Super Hero Squad Online

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Video, Previews, News items, Kids, Super Hero Squad Online, Dev Diaries

Animation is responsible for a lot in an MMO. A lot of the visual personality of the game is conveyed through animations, both the mechanically important ones for special abilities and the ubiquitous flavor emotes such as dancing. So Super Hero Squad Online has both an advantage and disadvantage for the development team -- they're working with characters who have a lot of established personality, but that means there's even more emphasis on getting everything just right. A new video development diary from the team shows off the process of bringing a character to life in the game, with Wolverine getting the starring role.

The video moves step-by-step from the initial modeling and texturing process through the skeleton modeling and manipulation, while also showing off several of the animations that Wolverine will (presumably) be sporting in the final game. There's a great deal of attention to detail and the fine points of what makes each character tick, so if you're looking forward to Super Hero Squad Online, click on past the break to see how the team is putting a lot of expression into little movements.

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An animated video diary from the team behind Super Hero Squad Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XIV fatigue format fully put forward

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

Ever since the beginning of the third beta phase, "fatigue" has been a hot topic among Final Fantasy XIV fans. In a move familiar to longtime Square-Enix players, the system was put into place without a great deal of description, with players left to speculate as to how the system worked. But a very uncharacteristic move comes from director Nobuaki Komoto with an open statement on what the system is, how it works, and what it's meant to do. Many answers are given, albeit not the answers that all players would want.

The short version is that for each class and character, you will get normal experience for eight hours, followed by a slow drop-off over the next seven hours that ends at no experience gain. This goes for both class levels and physical levels, which means that after 16 hours of play your character's physical level cannot advance further until a week has passed from the start of leveling. Komoto mentions the reasoning behind the system in the full letter, as well as the several ways that the team is working to adjust it. Although it's nice to have the system spelled out in full, "you can only level so much" won't sit well with a large part of Final Fantasy XIV's expected playerbase.

Final Fantasy XIV fatigue format fully put forward originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What will make you stay?

Jef Reahard — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Aion, New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, Final Fantasy XIV, TERA

Wow, there are so many MMORPGs coming out in the near future. Whether it's because of full games like Final Fantasy XIV or expansions like Aion's Assault on Balaurea, September is shaping up to be a busy month. Further on in the fall you have DCUO, rumors of WoW's Cataclysm, and then on into 2011 you've got TERA, Rift: Planes of Telara, and of course SWTOR.

With all the new blood coming soon, some hard choices will need to be made regarding our current games, some of them favorites and some of them mere diversions on the road to something new and shiny.

Today's question is two-fold, Massively readers. One, does any of your current games tickle your fancy enough to remain faithful when the deluge of AAA titles hits in a few months? And two, what is it about your favorite game that's likely to make you stay?

The Daily Grind: What will make you stay? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dungeon Fighter Online previews class awakenings

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Trailers, Video, Classes, Previews, Free-to-play, Dungeon Fighter Online

When Nexon isn't busy buying up smaller companies by the truckload, they've been putting quite a bit of effort into making Dungeon Fighter Online the best game it can be. The sidescrolling brawler format as an MMO is itself fairly unique, but it's sweetened a little with a trailer showing off the next three "Awakenings" for subclasses. At level 18, characters pick their subclass, and that subclass can "Awaken" into a more powerful form at level 48. Soul Reapers, Hellcats, and Machinists are on display in this trailer, each showcasing wonderfully animated attacks of devastating potential.

The Hellcat is the Awakened form of the Brawler, focusing on melee-heavy area damage from all appearances. Machinists come from Mechanics, working with an army of mechanical servants, and Soul Reapers are magical swordsmen derived from Soul Benders. If the trailer lights you on fire, of course, and you can't wait another minute to start playing Dungeon Fighter Online, you're in luck. The game's official launch is on June 9th, but the beta is going on straight until then and characters will not be wiped. Take a look at the trailer (with the pre-Awakening class names rather than the post-Awakening names) past the cut, and see if it doesn't prove a bit awakening all by itself.

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Dungeon Fighter Online previews class awakenings originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA welcomes you to the northeast

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lore, Previews, News items, TERA

There are a lot of things about TERA that have helped push it to the forefront of people's minds without having seen much of the game, but the lore is certainly a big part of it. Aside from being a fine way to wave away fantasy inconsistencies, there's something infinitely unique about a world being dreamed into existence. But life in Northern Shara (with Shara being the eastern continent) is anything but a peaceful dream, as it's the site where the unnatural Argon first burst into the world. A new lore entry on the official site goes into detail about just what is happening in the besieged environment.

Argon forces are both the core threat of TERA and the biggest danger to the region, but they're not after simple conquest. They've imported vast machinery to help them terraform the world into a more fitting environment, crawling across the landscape and distorting it. Still, within the city of Kaiator, the Valkyon Federation (presumably including the player characters) works to stem the flow of invaders and disrupt their efforts. Take a look at the full description for a better picture of the world's first battlefield against what seems to be utter annihilation.

TERA welcomes you to the northeast originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 May 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Excited for Star Trek Online?

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Previews, Opinion, Star Trek Online, The Daily Grind

Admit it -- when you first saw the trailers for Star Trek Online, you started reading the opening monologue in your head. Or maybe that was just us. Either way, there's a lot of cultural weight and expectation going into the game, as you'd expect for a series with thirty-four years of fandom and material. With the doors open and more information becoming available about the game, there's a lot of space (pun intended) for you to start filling in the adventures of the USS Whatever. Not to mention that launch is less than a month away, which always makes it that much more exciting.

On the other hand, the evaluations have not been uniformly positive. Early previews might give you the impression that the game isn't polished, or isn't focusing on the areas you really want to see from the game. Perhaps you feel burned by Champions Online and worry that Cryptic isn't going to be able to deliver a better experience this time. Or maybe you're one of the people who just hates Star Trek for whatever reason. With a little less than a month to go, are you excited for Star Trek Online?

The Daily Grind: Excited for Star Trek Online? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic releases more intel on the Imperial Agent

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST

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

One of the frequently-voiced concerns about Star Wars: The Old Republic is the possibility that the non-Force classes will wind up becoming almost irrelevant. Who's going to pay attention to being a spy when you can wield an energy sword and fling lightning, right? As a matter of fact, the Imperial Agent would like very much if no one ever notices they exist. They're quite happy to stand in the background and never be observed, because as the latest developer's entry explains, that's precisely what the Agent does best. They exist in the shadow, the man of many faces and a hundred names, a presence whose influence is strongest when it isn't evident at all.

Star Wars: The Old Republic faces the difficult task of making the Sith -- traditionally the villains of the franchise -- into a playable and likable faction rather than monolithic evil. As the developer entry points out, the Imperial Agent is a major part of that, of giving the chance to look at someone who is quite possibly a proud citizen of the Empire and happy to serve in keeping the peace and bring down the Republic. It's also a look at the parts between the lines of the films, the spies and intel operators whose role was important but whose faces were rarely seen. But you might decide not to look at the full discussion of the class anyway -- and as we've mentioned, really, that's what the agent would want.

Star Wars: The Old Republic releases more intel on the Imperial Agent originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A big list of MMOs to watch in 2009

Michael Zenke — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Aion, Darkfall, Huxley, Jumpgate Evolution, MMO industry, New titles, Stargate Worlds, The Agency, Chronicles of Spellborn, Free Realms, Champions Online, LEGO Universe, FusionFall, DC Universe Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Over at The Vault, they've put up an exhaustive list of all the MMO titles you should have your eye on throughout the new year. While they sort of term it as thought it's a big list of games coming out this year, we think they know it's unlikely all of those games are going to be released in the next twelve months. With that in mind, if you aren't sure what games you should have on your radar (and you haven't clicked our handy "upcoming MMOs" widget above), this massive list will bring you up to date.

Here at Massively, of course, we've been doing our own level best to keep you updated on a lot of these titles, be they AAA superhero games like Champions Online or DC Universe Online. We've talked fervently about Star Wars: The Old Republic, and given you the skinny on under-the-radar titles like Aion, FreeRealms, and Jumpgate Evolution. We've even walked away from our precious fantasy to talk about games like APB or The Agency. The Vault's list is a great one to run down - check it out to see what game you should be obsessing over today!

A big list of MMOs to watch in 2009 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively interviews Netdevil's Hermann Peterscheck, producer of Jumpgate Evolution

Mike Schramm — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Jumpgate, Jumpgate Evolution, Economy, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, Crafting, PvP, Leveling, Massively Interviews

Netdevil is probably most known for Auto Assault, their (literally) car-driven futuristic MMO that was published by NCSoft but only lasted a year due to low player numbers, but before that, they created a game called Jumpgate, a very early 3D MMO that featured real-time space combat simulation inside a virtual world. Next year, they're headed back into the Jumpgate universe with Jumpgate Evolution, a completely new game based on the old one, and Massively got a chance to sit down with Hermann Peterscheck, lead producer of the upcoming game, to talk about what Netdevil is up to.

The game is still in fairly early development, so there aren't a lot of specific gameplay details to go around-- Netdevil is still working on most of the core development plans. But we did hear from Peterscheck about how Netdevil plans to bounce back from Auto Assault, how they'll make JE different from that other big space MMO everyone's already playing, and we even got a chance to toss a few questions at him from you, our readers-- a huge thank you to reader Excelsior, who was able to get us questions from current Jumpgate players to ask here.

The exclusive Massively interview with Jumpgate Evolution's lead producer starts right after the jump.

Gallery: Jumpgate: Evolution

Continue reading Massively interviews Netdevil's Hermann Peterscheck, producer of Jumpgate Evolution

Massively interviews Netdevil's Hermann Peterscheck, producer of Jumpgate Evolution originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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