Massively - Daily News About MMOs

Need For Speed World goes free-to-play

by Rubi Bayer Sep 9th 2010 (20 minutes ago)

Need For Speed World launched at the end of July with a business model that many MMO fans like to call "free-to-try." Players could zoom around for as long as they wanted at no cost, but with a level cap of 10. Paid players could reach level 50.

The NFSW team members have had some time to settle in, watch player reaction, and discuss where they want the game to go from here, and today they announced their decision: the level cap is off and Need For Speed World is free-to-play! We chatted with Producer Jean-Charles Gaudechon about the change shortly before it happened, and he had some exciting things to tell us.

Follow along after the jump for all the details and a first look at some of the new content.

Captain's Log: Did Cryptic betray the spirit of Star Trek?

by Ryan Greene Sep 9th 2010 (1 hour ago)

STO

Cryptic

Star Trek Online is terrible. Ground combat is tedious and messy. Space combat is repetitive. Missions are boring. The game engine is clunky and cartoony. The developers at Cryptic Studios are smelly doo-doo-heads. In short: STO is the worst.

Or so people would have you believe. In its seven or so months of life, STO has attracted an impressive collection of detractors, naysayers and Debbie Downers. For this week's Captain's Log, let's discuss the phenomenon of anti-STO fervor. We've touched on certain aspects of it before, but the time has come to examine what I think is the biggest claim by those who really loathe STO.

Does STO really betray the spirit of Star Trek? Read on as we play a little point-counterpoint, then feel free to add your two cents in the comments.

One Shots: Friend or food

by Krystalle Voecks Sep 9th 2010 (2 hours ago)

While Ryzom didn't take the top vote spot in the last Choose my Adventure vote, they did put in a very solid showing. We may yet wind up in the world of Atys in a future edition if they keep mobilizing their community! In the meantime, we have a screenshot from Ryzom that shows off an interesting mob from this unique world. Today's One Shots was sent in to us by Quisi, who writes in to explain: "What do we see here? I was digging for materials to craft some ammunition with a guildie when it started to rain. Then a Gubani (the cute creature) came over to check me out. Animals in Ryzom like to check out players before they decide if they want to eat us."

Have you and your friends gotten a fun shot while you were playing together? If so, we would love to see it. All you have to do is email it to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. (Guild and server are welcome too!) We'll post your screenshot out here for everyone to check out and give you the credit for sending it in.

Gallery: One Shots: Gallery II

Quaggan sad: A look back at the Guild Wars 2 Dynamic Events panel

by Rubi Bayer Sep 9th 2010 (3 hours ago)

NCsoft

At the top of my to-do list for Saturday morning at PAX was Designing Dynamic Events, a Guild Wars 2 panel with designers Eric Flannum and Colin Johanson. Talk and video of the panel have been everywhere this week, and I wanted to take a little bit of time to give my thoughts on what they did and how it was received.

The panel was billed as a discussion about "how Guild Wars 2 designers create events in the dynamic, living game world and the many factors to consider when designing any kind of MMO content."

It sounded interesting, but it was a ticketed event with limited attendance, which seemed strange to me. I managed to get a ticket and was even more confused when I walked into the relatively tiny room. Why such a small place for something that would certainly have drawn a huge crowd?

It all became clear very soon, so follow along after the cut to hear more about my take on the new things we learned in Designing Dynamic Events.

Dig for Free Realms treasure on Facebook!

by Justin Olivetti Sep 9th 2010 (4 hours ago)

Free Realms

SOE

Free Realms is already a pretty social game, but SOE thinks it can do even better. Capitalizing on the trend of social networking, Free Realms has launched a Treasure Trader application on Facebook for players to earn sweet, sweet loot even when you're not in the game (or especially when you can't be in the game).

The Treasure Trader has a dual purpose: To give gifts to friends or steal items from them. If an item is stolen -- and really, who in this day and age would do that? -- then the robbed party has 24 hours to defend his loot by correctly answering a trivia question. Of course, it might take more than 24 hours to repair a friendship due to this unwarranted mugging. The more loot that is taken and given, the more players earn codes for rewards in-game.

If Treasure Trader isn't your cup of Earl Gray, you may be interested to learn that a new racetrack is coming to the game. The Diamond Back racetrack is the winner of a racetrack design contest, and will be coming to Snowhill for everyone to enjoy.

Massively goes a little crazy with LOCO

by Beau Hindman Sep 9th 2010 (5 hours ago)

As I ran up to the disgusting-looking tower, several floating squid monsters attacked me. No worries -- I hit a number key corresponding to one of my special abilities and filled the monsters with hot lead from my twin six-shooters. They were dead in seconds, and I took the opportunity to help out my teammate as he attacked the tower with a pair of swords. I punched my uber-ability into action and riddled the fleshy tower with beans of death until it exploded.

We moved on to the inner areas of the enemy territory, destroying defenders as they appeared. Soon, we were pressing down on the main building -- the headquarters of the opposite side. Our foes attempted to stop us, but we were rolling downhill, straight at 'em -- our inertia was too great. We destroyed the building and the giant that defended it. We had won, but not without facing a challenge.

This is what a game of LOCO feels like to me. It's fast, strategic and fun. It looks amazing and is free-to-play -- that's a winning combination right there.

Kitsu Saga marches into closed beta

by Justin Olivetti Sep 9th 2010 (6 hours ago)

You've been eternally patient, young grasshopper, but now your wait is over. After several years of nail-biting anticipation, Aeria Games' Kitsu Saga is finally in closed beta, and you're invited to join in on the adventure -- if you have the right stuff to save the world, that is. So take the next week off school or work, and prepare to play until your eyeballs explode with joy!

OK, we've never heard of this game either, but that doesn't mean it's not worth a bit of MMO recon work. So go forth, Massively scouts, and let us know what this Asian martial arts title is like!

Kitsu Saga is being developed by X-Legend, which also made Grand Fantasia. Players join a faction and train as fledgling martial artists under the care of their masters. They also are befriended by a Kitsu -- a mischievous fox spirit of sorts that travels with adventurers and lends a hand (or at least color commentary). Aside from the Kitsu companions, the game also features little bonuses like being able to choose your character's age. You can enter the beta over at Aeria Games.

The art director speaks in the latest video for Final Fantasy XIV

by Eliot Lefebvre Sep 9th 2010 (7 hours ago)

One of the defining elements of Final Fantasy XI was the attention to detail, with every area of the world carefully crafted for maximum verisimilitude. It's a tradition that has been carried on to Final Fantasy XIV, with the game's art direction as one of its primary selling points. Akihiko Yoshida, the art director for the game, shares his thoughts on the design of the game and his hopes for the player experience in the newest Making of Eorzea video, embedded after the cut.

Yoshida discusses the added challenges experienced with the game's dynamic format, as well as the many ways that the team has tried to expand upon the lessons learned from Final Fantasy XI. Players of the open beta have no doubt noticed the amount of detail going into each environment, and it helps make even mundane tasks more enjoyable. See what Yoshida has to say about designing Final Fantasy XIV's visuals after the cut, and keep your eyes open as the open beta continues (Square-Enix has been rolling out a new patch nearly every day).

The Daily Grind: What was your favorite PAX revelation?

by Jef Reahard Sep 9th 2010 (8 hours ago)

Star Wars: The Old Republic

While many of the Massively staffers weren't able to make it to Seattle for the recently concluded PAX Prime event, all of us followed the coverage smorgasbord in anticipation of learning just a little bit more about all of the new MMORPGs coming down the pipe.

Whether it was Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, TERA, or Rift: Planes of Telara, the convention featured a little something for all of us. The question of the day, dear readers, is all about you. Were there any juicy PAX revelations that tickled your fancy? Did anything change your mind, make you more or less excited, or come completely out of left field?

Inquiring Massively minds want to know.

September version update live for Final Fantasy XI

by Eliot Lefebvre Sep 8th 2010 (19 hours ago)

It's a good day to be in Vana'diel, as Final Fantasy XI's much-awaited September version update is now up and running on the live servers. That means another increase in the level cap, new missions for Wings of the Goddess, and many other improvements to the game. The full list of changes may be found in the official patch notes, which also include a few pieces of information not previously disclosed.

As expected, the majority of the changes center around the increase of the level cap to 85, complete with levels for the previewed new abilities and traits. There are also several smaller quality of life improvements, and the usual array of bug fixes across the board. Players waiting for the update to download (which can take quite some time, as any Final Fantasy XI veteran can attest) can peruse the full list of changes and get ready for some interesting new experiences.

Massively Features

Events Calendar

Name	Date
Clone Wars Adventures Launch	Sep 15, 2010
Final Fantasy XIV Launch	Sep 30, 2010
GDC Online	Oct 5-8, 2010
NY ComicCon	Oct 8-10, 2010
LEGO Universe Launch	Oct 26, 2010
DCUO Launch	Nov 2, 2010

Massively Staff

Name	Title
Shawn Schuster	Editor-in-Chief
Seraphina Brennan	Senior Editor
Brianna Royce	West Coast Editor
Brendan Drain	Contributing Editor
Eliot Lefebvre	Contributing Editor
Jef Reahard	Contributing Editor
Justin Olivetti	Contributing Editor
Krystalle Voecks	Contributing Editor
Rubi Bayer	Contributing Editor
Tateru Nino	Contributing Editor
Beau Hindman	Columnist
Edward Marshall	Columnist
Greg Waller	Columnist
Jeremy Stratton	Columnist
Larry Everett	Columnist
MJ Guthrie	Columnist
Patrick Mackey	Columnist
Ryan Greene	Columnist
Lisa Poisso	Columnist