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[Perpetuum dev blog talks new features, Interference system]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/13/perpetuum-dev-blog-talks-new-features-interference-system/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/13/perpetuum-dev-blog-talks-new-features-interference-system/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/01/13/perpetuum-dev-blog-talks-new-features-interference-system/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Wondering what's going on in the world of Perpetuum? Wonder no more, as the official Perpetuum dev blog has been updated with news of today's patch as well as a number of both client and gameplay tweaks. First on the agenda is the fact that Avatar Creations is now offering two new languages for its sci-fi sandbox, and we're sure both the Slovenian and French-speaking communities will appreciate it.

The patch also features the introduction of a new heavy mech robot (the Lithus), which "can be thought of as the big brother of the Sequer, and will satisfy all your hauling needs" according to Avatar's BoyC. Next up are a couple of additions to the character screen in the form of trophies and losses followed by the coup de grace of this particular patch: the Interference system.

In a nutshell, Avatar is attempting to address the fact that players are clustering together in PvP and one-shotting opponents due to a mass of concentrated firepower. The designers intentionally avoided implementing friendly fire and robot collision detection in Perpetuum, and the Interference system "simulates the effects safely fighting in a close group would have on the combat effectiveness of the group in the real world. Basically members of the group would have to be more careful not to shoot any of their comrades, and thus be slower to fire and would have to devote a lot of their attention to working together with their unit."

MassivelyPerpetuum dev blog talks new features, Interference system originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>avataravatar-creationsboyccollision-detectiondev-blogdev-diaryfriendly-fireinterferenceinterference-systemlithusmechnew-robotpatchesperpetuumperpetuum-blogperpetuum-onlinesandboxsci-fizergThu, 13 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Waging WAR: The new RvR... Are we there yet?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/09/waging-war-the-new-rvr-are-we-there-yet/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/09/waging-war-the-new-rvr-are-we-there-yet/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/09/waging-war-the-new-rvr-are-we-there-yet/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

This past week was an exciting week for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning as the new RvR systems were released for testing on the public test realm of Warpstone. Greg took part in both the Wednesday night and Friday afternoon sessions, and writes about his experiences and impressions in this week's Waging WAR.

When Mythic said that testing would begin in October, I don't think anyone expected to get his hands on the new changes to the RvR system so soon. Wednesday night was the first focused test, and I made it a point to take part. I also took part in the European-friendly session scheduled for Friday afternoon. Both events took place in the Tier 3 (Chaos vs. Empire) pairing across the zones of High Pass and Talabecland. There are certain issues that I feel are important enough to discuss regarding the way the new battlefield dynamics will bring about a golden age for melee careers, but this week, I want to focus on the RvR itself. Things have well and truly been shaken up, and this fresh experience is going to take some serious adjustment for veteran players as well as newcomers to the game.

Continue along after the break for more discussion on the topic.

Continue reading Waging WAR: The new RvR... Are we there yet?

MassivelyWaging WAR: The new RvR... Are we there yet? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I'm sure many players are applauding the fact that Mythic has systematically eradicated gank groups from the RvR experience in WAR, however, it is saddening for many others. Gank groups were the elite of the elite in DAOC, and whether you liked them or not (or died to them or not), they played a huge part in the RvR scene.

Put aside for a moment all the crashing cities and fortresses, overpowered crowd control abilities, class balance issues, and general bugs and performance problems in WAR. Does it not seem that for a game that was supposed to take RvR to the next level, it actually seems to have devolved it? If the holy trinity of class-balance is healing, tanking, and DPSing, it is my humble opinion that the holy trinity of RvR is the zerg, PuG, and gank group. I'm simply left wondering, where have all the gank groups gone?

The previous paragraphs illustrate what is hindering gank groups from gaining traction in WAR. With a few minor shifts in design, I believe it is possible to reunite the RvR trinity.

Step one is to overhaul crowd control. Every class should not have an arsenal of debilitating CC abilities like they currently do because combat becomes less about strategy and more about button-mashing CC when many players gather together. Step two is to place fewer rewards on objectives and more rewards on player kills. Step three will arrive with Land of the Dead if properly implemented. Hopefully, the zergs and PuGs fight over the main RvR campaign and there will be incentives for gank groups to do well in Nehekhara. Either way, the dual-endgame focus should split up the zergs substantially.

The final step lies with the players. Mythic can only guide us so far and unless more guilds are willing to organize 6-12-man gank groups, they simply won't happen in WAR. A PR push from Mythic might help but the best chance for this to blossom will come when a few pioneering guilds take up the mantle and own it. Open challenges on server forums are highly encouraged!

MassivelyWarhammer: Where are all the gank groups (part 2)? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dark-age-of-camelotgame-designgankland-of-the-deadmythic-entertainmentorganizationpick-up-grouppvprvrwarwarhammer-onlinezergTue, 28 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Warhammer: Where are all the gank groups?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/28/warhammer-where-are-all-the-gank-groups/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/28/warhammer-where-are-all-the-gank-groups/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/28/warhammer-where-are-all-the-gank-groups/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


You will commonly find gank groups in many PvP games. Gank groups are simply organized, pre-made groups, usually formed by members of the same guild that work extremely well together. Usually, a gank group will destroy a pick-up group (PuG) and zerg because they employ smarter tactics, keep cooler heads, and communicate more effectively.

Gank groups were very common back when I played Dark Age of Camelot from 2001-2004. These 8-man special-ops teams would sweep in at high speed, disable as many enemies as they could with crowd control, and then quickly pick off targets one or two at a time. Most PuGs and zerglings would panic, which made the job that much easier.

The true challenge would come when your gank group met an enemy gank group in the open field. The outcome would come down to a combination of skill, gear, timing, communication, ability timers (realm and master level), and even luck. Taking part in a gank group vs. gank group skirmish was probably the most adrenaline-inducing MMO experience I have had in an MMO and one I have been searching for in every new PvP MMO I try.

Continue reading Warhammer: Where are all the gank groups?

MassivelyWarhammer: Where are all the gank groups? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dark-age-of-camelotfeaturedgame-designgankjoystiqfeaturesland-of-the-deadmythic-entertainmentorganizationpick-up-groupPvPRvRwarwarhammer-onlinezergTue, 28 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[WARbander's Handbook: oRvR methods, maneuvers, and philosophy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/16/warbander-s-handbook-orvr-methods-maneuvers-and-philosophy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/16/warbander-s-handbook-orvr-methods-maneuvers-and-philosophy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/16/warbander-s-handbook-orvr-methods-maneuvers-and-philosophy/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Fear not, armchair general! There's a new strategy guide out there called the WARbander's Handbook that just might help your smaller force take on the zerg in Warhammer Online!

"Zerg" is probably one of the more common words that come up when you talk about large-scale PvP in MMOs. Other words synonymous with "zerg" are "swarm," "overkill," "mindless," "%#@#$!" and "what a bunch of lamers." Okay, the last two were expressions, but they're probably the most accurate.

When you call your enemy a "zerg", it almost always means they have more people than you, and if you're angrily calling them a "zerg," it probably means they're kicking your heiny. There are occasionally intelligently organized zergs, but most often they're mindless groups of players trying to overwhelm you by sheer numbers (not skill). They can be outclassed if you know what to do and this guide gives you the strategies to do it.

Zergs are common in WAR because the RvR-centric game is built for tens to hundreds of people to try kill each other out on the battlefield. Group sizes are small (6 people), however, you can combine up to four groups and make a warband (24 people). Oftentimes you will encounter several enemy warbands when they are trying to lock a zone.

MassivelyWARbander's Handbook: oRvR methods, maneuvers, and philosophy originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>mythic-entertainmentRvRstrategywarwarhammer-onlinezergMon, 16 Mar 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Digital Continuum: It won't be World of Warcraft 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/14/the-digital-continuum-it-wont-be-world-of-warcraft-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/14/the-digital-continuum-it-wont-be-world-of-warcraft-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/14/the-digital-continuum-it-wont-be-world-of-warcraft-2/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


I love Blizzard, and not just for creating World of Warcraft. I've loved them since they were called Silicon & Synapse and created Rock 'n Roll Racing. But if there's one thing I've learned about the developer, it's that when making games they prefer to improve upon established models more than anything else. That statement may seem to run counter to my title, but stay with me here.

When Jeff Kaplan announced his move to the company's next-gen MMO, I didn't wonder if World of Warcraft would suffer. I also didn't ponder why Blizzard and Jeff made that choice and if it would mean their second massively multiplayer online entry was going to effective be a sequel to their first. All I considered was which MMOs they were going to pluck ideas from this time, and how cleverly they'd could be implemented.

Continue reading The Digital Continuum: It won't be World of Warcraft 2

MassivelyThe Digital Continuum: It won't be World of Warcraft 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activision-blizzardage-of-conanarenanetblizzardfeaturedfuncomgod-of-war-3guild-warsjeff-kaplanjoystiqfeaturesncsoftprotossrock-n-roll-racingstreet-fighter-ivtabula-rasaterrantigoleworld-of-warcraftwowwow-2zergSat, 14 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[How would a Starcraft MMO work?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/how-would-a-starcraft-mmo-work/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/how-would-a-starcraft-mmo-work/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/how-would-a-starcraft-mmo-work/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Speculation over Blizzard's upcoming MMO continues unabated, even with the lack of anything new to feed upon. The biggest hope, I dare to say, is that it's going to be Starcraft that gets the treatment, even if it's still a long way away from release. Starcraft holds fast in many gamers' hearts, including mine, so it's only natural to want more. But when actually considering the possibility, how would it play out?

Our Krystalle has already given this a glance over on WoW Insider, and our recent Ask Massively asked a similar question, but I'd like to take it deeper. Let's take World of Warcraft as a point of comparison and see if we can run down this mythical beast.

Continue reading How would a Starcraft MMO work?

MassivelyHow would a Starcraft MMO work? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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