Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[The United States Army moves into Battleground Europe]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/21/the-united-states-army-moves-into-battleground-europe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/21/the-united-states-army-moves-into-battleground-europe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/21/the-united-states-army-moves-into-battleground-europe/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

First person who mentions Private Ryan has to swim home.
If you've played a first-person shooter, watched a movie, or even turned on the History channel over the past decade, you're probably very familiar with the iconic image of the United States military forces storming the beaches of Normandy. It's an appropriate image to keep in your head today, as Battleground Europe (also known as World War II Online) has introduced the American forces to the game's mixture. The latest patch, 1.34, adds a variety of American vehicles and troops for players to access in the war between the Axis forces and the Allies.

Of course, the addition of the American forces isn't the only feature of the new patch. Several long-standing bugs have also been addressed, as well as several balance changes aimed at specific troop types. It should be a welcome patch for fans of the game, especially since it will finally be possible to take up the role of another nation in the fight.

MassivelyThe United States Army moves into Battleground Europe originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>battleground-europed-dayhistoricalpatchesunited-statesupdatesusaworld-war-2-onlineworld-war-2-online-battleground-europeworld-war-ii-onlineworld-war-ii-online-battleground-europeww2-onlinewwii-onlineMon, 21 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Virtual Whirl: Death and taxes]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/01/the-virtual-whirl-death-and-taxes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/01/the-virtual-whirl-death-and-taxes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/01/the-virtual-whirl-death-and-taxes/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

"Nothing is certain but death and taxes"; a rather sardonic and bleak proverb, quoted and paraphrased by a number of famous figures over the years. The earliest on record was Daniel Defoe, in The Political History of the Devil in 1726.

Well, this week the death part doesn't concern us so much as the taxes.

Many Americans have spent this month scrambling to get their taxes filed, and for many of the rest of us our own turn comes due in just a couple of months. With that in mind, I thought I'd talk about the taxation status of virtual assets.

Continue reading The Virtual Whirl: Death and taxes

MassivelyThe Virtual Whirl: Death and taxes originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 May 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>australiadaniel-defoefeaturedirslegallinden-dollarsopinionsecond-lifeswedentaxtaxesthe-virtual-whirlukusavirtual-worldsworld-of-warcraftSat, 01 May 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A look at leveling in World of Tanks]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/12/a-look-at-leveling-in-world-of-tanks/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/12/a-look-at-leveling-in-world-of-tanks/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/12/a-look-at-leveling-in-world-of-tanks/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

World of Tanks is in a class by itself -- if you want to play a vehicle-based MMO focused around motorized armor units, there simply isn't another option available. And while there were more than a few jokes at the time of its announcement, successful games with a strong vehicle focus exist already. But the core of a game like this is going to be the vehicles themselves, both their diversity and their interesting traits to set each one apart from its peers. The developers have released the access trees for all three main nations in the game -- Germany, the USA, and the USSR -- giving hopeful players an idea of what they can use to thunder about the countryside.

Spanning the period between World War II and the Korean War, the list is fairly exhaustive, showcasing the diversity of tanks on the battlefield. The German progression path even includes the Maus, an experimental tank of absurd size that should please fans of bizarre WWII machinery. And if rolling around in a two-story tank doesn't get you excited, well, you're probably not the target audience. All three progress charts can be found on the official site for World of Tanks.

MassivelyA look at leveling in World of Tanks originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>germanylevel-progressionmachinerymaustier-chartsusaussrwarwargaming.networld-of-tanksworld-war-2world-war-iiwotww2wwiiFri, 12 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Champions Online has no server shards]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/06/champions-online-has-no-server-shards/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/06/champions-online-has-no-server-shards/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/06/champions-online-has-no-server-shards/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Nearly every MMO on the market has them: server shards. Whether they're named after game characters or places they all present the same problem -- limiting a player's options. Whenever a new MMO comes out, friends must discuss and agree upon which server to choose and it's not always the smoothest discussion. Enter Champions Online, who is going the way of Guild Wars: No servers, but instead a large list of all the current instances of the particular zone you're attempting to enter.

Suddenly, the other reasoning behind the new naming system tied into player's account names becomes clear. It's nice to know -- via the same Dev Diary -- that the game UI will auto-complete names based on accounts you've spoken with prior. We're going to need all the help we can get there, considering the thousands upon thousands of players we could potentially be IMing in-game.

Continue reading Champions Online has no server shards

MassivelyChampions Online has no server shards originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 06 May 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ataribreakingchampionschampions-onlinecrypticcryptic-studiosdev-diaryserverserversshardingunited-kingdomusaWed, 06 May 2009 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Spellborn launches in the US; subscriptions free for 2 weeks]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/23/spellborn-launches-in-the-us-subscriptions-free-for-2-weeks/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/23/spellborn-launches-in-the-us-subscriptions-free-for-2-weeks/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/23/spellborn-launches-in-the-us-subscriptions-free-for-2-weeks/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


Acclaim has officially launched The Chronicles of Spellborn in North America, and to mark the occasion, premium subscriptions are totally free for people registering before the 7th of May (and for existing accounts). The issue of needing "Acclaim Coins" to purchase subscriptions has been fixed in time for the launch, and when the free subscriptions run out, players will be able to keep them going using their credit cards directly.

As we had confirmed for us last month, Spellborn will be using a monthly paid subscription business model, however, a small portion (three areas) of the game's content will be available for free in perpetuity. Upon reaching a certain level, all further character progression is blocked. This is really more of a free trial than an actual "free-to-play with premium for-pay bits", so to see what the full game is really like, the best option would be to try it out now while the flood gates are opened all the way. If you decide to give it a go, be sure to let us know what you think about it.

MassivelySpellborn launches in the US; subscriptions free for 2 weeks originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>acclaimacclaim-coinschronicles-of-spellbornfree-subscriptionslaunchnorth-americaspellbornsubscriptionsususaThu, 23 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Avatars outnumber people in the USA]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/06/avatars-outnumber-people-in-the-usa/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/06/avatars-outnumber-people-in-the-usa/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/06/avatars-outnumber-people-in-the-usa/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Did you know that there are now more avatars than people in the United States of America? We think that's a pretty cool statistic, even if it takes into account our many alts over the last few years. The number is only going to grow as virtual worlds and massively multiplayer online games continue to evolve over the coming years. The article this little fact-slice comes from also discusses the walled garden issue, by where avatars are stuck in their respective world and cannot explore other worlds.

That kind of misses the point though, as many of us enjoy the difference each avatar brings from different worlds. Then again, it could be argued that having one avatar to build upon would be much more ideal. Either way, the possibility that avatars may some day outnumber the entire world is still an intriguing thought.

MassivelyAvatars outnumber people in the USA originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>avataravatarssmart-mobsunited-states-of-americausawalled-gardenSun, 06 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EST