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Order Fallen Earth via Steam and improve your attire

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 26th 2009 (1 hour ago)

Just because the world has come to an end and society is left to scramble around in the ruins doesn't mean you can't look dashing in the process. Fallen Earth has been on a bit of a kick lately of giving away clothing to purchasers of the game, starting with an astonishingly fetching hat, and now extending via the popular digital service Steam. Until December 3rd, those who purchase the game via Steam will receive a voucher good for a special t-shirt representing one of the game's factions -- CHOTA, Enforcers, Lightbearers, Techs, Travelers or Vistas.

Each shirt qualifies as a piece of level 10 armor, with other stats that are appropriate to the faction in question. (Expect the Techs shirt to offer bonuses to crafting rather than combat bonuses, for example.) The vouchers can be turned in at any time, and should the player later decide they'd prefer to represent someone else, a shirt may be turned in and exchanged for another shirt as well. It's nothing game-breaking, but yet another added incentive to pick up Fallen Earth and see what all the fuss is about. Still not quite as good-looking as the hat, of course, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Anti-Aliased: Boobs and you

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 26th 2009 (2 hours ago)

Well Happy Turkey Day everyone! It's Thanksgiving Thursday, but it's also that time of the week again -- the time where Sera gets to rant in her opinion column to her heart's content. Yes, that's right, it's time for Anti-Aliased.

This week's topic is one that's near and dear to my heart. Well, it's near to my heart, at least, and I mean that quite literally. It's also a perfect topic for today's holiday! I mean, who doesn't like to talk about large breasts on Thanksgiving? (Score one for the terrible synonym.)

During last week's column on Blade & Soul, the main topic that came up time and time again in the comments wasn't the game's combat, or the game's engine, or anything really related to the game at large. No, it seems that many of you were turned off of the game by the fact that the screenshot I used had a woman with huge boobs. That was the deal breaker for the game.

One Shots: Tyger tyger burning bright

by Krystalle Voecks Nov 26th 2009 (3 hours ago)

While we're not quite sure what to make of this mount with the lion's head, antlers and odd electrical charges seeming to jump off its body, we can say it's a fairly pretty beastie - and it matches her outfit too. Add in a cliff overlooking the water with the purple mountains off in the snowy distance and you've got a nifty Runes of Magic screenshot. This picture postcard comes from Aetheress, who writes:This is my first time sending in a screenshot and I thought this was cool. I started playing Runes of Magic and it is incredibly enjoyable. This is a screenshot of me on a cliff in Ystra Highlands with an awesome costume, mount, and wings.

We love to see screens from MMOs both big and small, but we need you to send them in! It's really easy to do - just drop an email to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and a quick description. We'll post it out here for everyone to check out, and give you the credit.

Gallery: One Shots

Black Prophecy dev diary gives peek at game's physics

by James Egan Nov 26th 2009 (5 hours ago)

Now that the sci-fi MMO Black Prophecy is free to keep moving forward, the game's developer Reakktor Media is revealing more about the title. Recent dev diaries focused on Black Prophecy's art direction but now Technical Director Cyrus Preuss is kicking off a short series on the game's physics. The physics in any game can be important, perhaps moreso in a space-based MMO where players can move about in any direction and potentially interact (and collide) with many other ships in a single area.

Cyrus boils a complex subject down to some easily understood explanations of how game physics work in the first installment, and will explore more on the topic in the coming weeks. He writes, "But you don't need to be afraid that I will confront you with highly complex equations or formulas. With this diary I also want to provide a look behind the scenes to those who didn't take the advanced physics or mathematics courses in school."

Fans of Black Prophecy or those curious about the underlying game physics in an MMO can follow along with Cyrus' dev diary on the official game site.

Massively's Black Friday MMO sales guide

by Kyle Horner Nov 26th 2009 (7 hours ago)

NCsoft

Turbine

CCP

The holidays are officially here (if you're a retail chain, then they've been here for about a month) and so it's time to start looking for deals to give to either your MMO-playing loved ones or, well, yourself! Shopping can be a pretty big hassle, especially if you're not accustomed to hunting for the best deals. So, we've gone and outlined the season's new releases, as well as some places you can hope to find sales in the coming weeks.

The Daily Grind: Thanksgiving eating binge edition

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 26th 2009 (9 hours ago)

Everyone during Thanksgiving Day asks you what you're thankful for. It's a logical if somewhat bland question, given the nature of the holiday. But today, we here at Massively would like to celebrate something equally integral to the holiday -- stuffing yourself until you can no longer move under your own power. Today, we want to know what game you're going to be gorging yourself on today and with any further time off you get in the near future -- what you're going to just play until your eyes roll back in your head.

Really, what better way to celebrate a holiday where our biggest tradition is eating in excess? Perhaps you're going to enjoy some Allods Online in the closed beta, being lucky enough to be in the beta and enjoy a game that's getting some good press thus far. Maybe you'd prefer to wander the wastes of Fallen Earth and take in a full helping of niche gameplay and deep systems. Or perhaps you're just taking a spin through an old favorite like EVE Online and taking comfort in the familiar. When you have the time, what game are you devouring?

Lord of the Rings Online developer diary revisits the Lone-lands

by Rubi Bayer Nov 25th 2009 (21 hours ago)

LotRO

Turbine

The latest developer diary entry is from Lord of the Rings Online Senior Designer Allan "Orion" Maki, and takes us back to a very familiar area: The Lone-lands. While the region seems like a low-level walk in the park to the majority of players these days, Maki had always felt that there was a bit of a "disconnect" and that players were being sent to an area far above their level. The Lone-lands have been given what he describes as a "massive overhaul", bringing them more in line with low and mid level players abilities.

Players will find changes such as a solo version of Weather Top, a new horse travel mount to make the initial trip to the Forsaken Inn less dangerous, and some new faction and quest systems. Those, however, are just the beginning. With Siege of Mirkwood only days away, players eager to explore the expansion will find their path in the earlier areas considerably smoother.

The full entry is worth looking at, as it contains four pages of great information on the overhaul -- it's a valuable resource for anyone still hanging out around Ost Guruth.

Alganon's State of the Game address

by Rubi Bayer Nov 25th 2009 (22 hours ago)

Alganon is scheduled for launch in less than a week, and has already released its first State of the Game address.

The first piece of information is good news: they are set for the December 1st launch with no delays in sight. The Alganon team has been working hard lately, taking the servers down more frequently to patch and update, which should help to minimize problems at launch. The address did mention the postponement of the original launch date, citing a desire for the most polished game possible -- reasoning that we can certainly support.

The address sent out a big thank you to the Alganon community and beta testers, expressing appreciation for their enthusiasm in expressing feedback, opinions and suggestions, both in game and on the forums. Alganon didn't hesitate to tackle the tougher questions either, specifically those dealing with a rocky ride for beta testers, and the oft-asked question "Why does this game look so much like WoW?"

The full address can be viewed at the official site, and we wish Alganon the best of luck on next week's launch.

Space combat! Star Trek Online community Q&A answers

by Kyle Horner Nov 25th 2009 (23 hours ago)

STO

Cryptic

It's a little late due to the impending Thanksgiving day gorging, but we've got your second wave of community answers for space combat in Star Trek Online! As this week lands us on a holiday, we'll be putting up the next post for your third wave of questions on Monday, November 30th. For now, we hope you enjoy the answers given by Al Rivera, senior game designer on Star Trek Online.

Choose my Adventure: Sorrowdusk Isle

by Shawn Schuster Nov 25th 2009 (1 day ago)

Turbine

Join me as I brave my way through lands unknown in an adventure dictated entirely by you, the Massively readers! Vote for everything from game played to character creation to ultimate goal and watch it unfold in a series of journals and galleries here on the site. Then, as our two months is up, we'll do it all over again in a new game!

With a new Adventure Pack to explore, the Critical Mass guild faced their newest challenge head-on. Your votes last week chose the Sorrowdusk Isle Adventure Pack (400 Turbine Points) for us, and in this installment of Choose my Adventure, I'm happy to report back on my impressions.

Follow along after the jump for those impressions, Fahryn Brygo's in-character journal, another poll for next week and more!