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 Road to Mordor: Seven things to do in Ered Luin before you die]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/the-road-to-mordor-seven-things-to-do-in-ered-luin-before-you-d/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/the-road-to-mordor-seven-things-to-do-in-ered-luin-before-you-d/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/the-road-to-mordor-seven-things-to-do-in-ered-luin-before-you-d/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

LOTRO Ered Luin
As I moved on to my second starter zone in Lord of the Rings Online on my mission to complete every quest in every area of the game, I was in for a rude, if expected, awakening. In comparison to the Shire, LotRO's Ered Luin is lacking across the board. It's hard to imagine that the game's most eastern zone, which houses not one but two racial starting areas, could turn out to be a snoozefest, but I'll let the title of this article do the talking for me. I wanted to have 10 highlights of each zone for this series and could barely get to seven.

The problem here is multifold. In trying to cram both the Elves and Dwarves into a relatively small (if tall) zone, Turbine didn't allow for the space to develop either race's culture before throwing them together in the middle for an awkward social dance. The races aren't allowed to really establish their personalities, either, leaving the Elves to start shining in Rivendell and the Dwarves in Moria. Finally, many of the quests are so dull and forgettable as to prompt players to race through the area to escape to more interesting locales.

It's not all a loss, of course. Some of the areas are quite scenic, and I do actually approve of the concept of setting up the conflict between Dwarves and Elves. If anything, the taste of ideas here almost begs for the area to be significantly expanded so that these concepts could be played out and the respective Elf and Dwarf habitations could be given more life.

In the end, I recommend that visiting travelers, adventurers, and treasure-hunters pack a light lunch and plan to get the following seven activities done in a half-day's span.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Seven things to do in Ered Luin before you die

MassivelyThe Road to Mordor: Seven things to do in Ered Luin before you die originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bathobbitbatmandwarfdwarveselfelvesered-luinfeaturedGondamonguideindiana-joneslord-of-the-ringslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromapthe-road-to-mordorturbineturbine-entertainmentwinezoneFri, 16 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Fallen Earth Mac beta updates]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/08/fallen-earth-mac-beta-updates/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/08/fallen-earth-mac-beta-updates/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/08/fallen-earth-mac-beta-updates/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Heads up, all you Apple-obsessed wastelanders! Icarus has updated their OS X Fallen Earth beta client, and they want you to take it for a spin. Notable fixes for this version include a Wine core update to 1.2RC2 (which includes a lengthy list of technical optimizations), and a tweak for the updater executable file which corrects the "initiating download sequence" error that has hamstrung some testers.

If you're already using the Fallen Earth Mac Beta client, you can update by downloading new versions of the FallenEarth.app file as well as the FEUpdaterMac.exe file.

You can also peruse the Mac Beta FAQ on the official site, as well as pick up the new 500 MB download that includes the latest Wine binary and Mac updater. Additionally, you can check out the original press release and accompanying forum post.

MassivelyFallen Earth Mac beta updates originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>applefallen-earthicarus-studiosmacmac-betamac-clientmac-mmoos-xwineTue, 08 Jun 2010 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Fallen Earth gets a Mac client]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/fallen-earth-gets-a-mac-client/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/fallen-earth-gets-a-mac-client/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/fallen-earth-gets-a-mac-client/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Perhaps you've watched Shawn's recent Fallen Earth exploits in Choose My Adventure, or heard all about the post-apocalyptic fun on Massively Speaking. Well, the team at Icarus Studios have heard the call from the Apple-loving contingent for a client of their own -- and have just announced that they have a beta Mac-compatible client ready for you to download and try out!

The new client is made possible thanks to the open-source project, Wine, which helps to create cross-compatibility for different platforms. The Fallen Earth Mac beta client works on Intel Macs, and is optimized for systems running under OS X 10.5 Leopard or later that have dedicated graphics hardware. No word on a Linux client at this time, but a connection with Wine is certainly a very positive first step if they do choose to open up further cross-compatibility to Linux users in the future.

"The Mac OS X compatibility project is something we've been excited to see implemented for quite a while," said Brad Lineberger, Chief Technical Officer of Icarus Studios. "Our goal for the project is to allow Mac users to run all of our existing and future games in their native OS." All you have to do if you'd like to get in on the Mac beta is to head over to the Fallen Earth site and check out their beta FAQ page. Of course, you have to have an active Fallen Earth account, or sign up for a 10-day trial first, but for post-apocalyptic loving Mac fans, this is certainly some great news.

MassivelyFallen Earth gets a Mac client originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appleapple-mmobrad-linebergerbreakingcross-platformfallen-earthfallen-earth-llcfallen-earth-macfeaturedicarus-studiosleopardmacmac-mmomacintoshopen-sourceos-xwineWed, 10 Mar 2010 14:12:00 EST