Massively - Daily News About MMOs

One Shots: Just when you thought the snows were over

by Krystalle Voecks Mar 10th 2010 ((X) ago)

With a recent patch offering some much appreciated code updates (including Win7 support) Ryzom is still rolling along, thanks to its devoted player-base. However, it would appear that much like the waves of winter in the Northern hemisphere, Atreys is experiencing snowfalls that keep coming back as well. Our Ryzom regular, Steven K., writes in to explain this wintry shot: Having my fill of another snowfall this morning, and not in the mood to brush the snow off the roof of my small home in Yrkanis, I went searching for some inspiration. I found it sitting in an unlikely spot. So I quickly plopped down my easel, and my bum, and scribbled this painting out before the sun melted the snowflakes off the overhanging trees.

One Shots is all about you -- so we need you to send in your screenshots. All you have to do is email them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post them out here on Massively and give you the credit. How cool is that!

Gallery: One Shots: Gallery II

Lego Universe beta codes are starting to roll out

by Krystalle Voecks Mar 10th 2010 (30 minutes ago)

It's time to gather up your brightly colored blocks and figure out just what kind of cool things you're planning to build. Why? Because we're getting reports from around the Internets that the first invites for the beta for Lego Universe are starting to roll out to some very lucky gamers!

Offering what looks to be tons of fun hearkening back to our childhood (or in some of our cases, our continuing childhood) the Lego Universe beta opened up for sign-ups just a month ago. Prior to that, we saw a pretty awesome pirate zombie trailer and even some pretty slick looking alpha footage. If you haven't signed up for beta as yet, you'd best head over to the Lego Universe site now. (What are you waiting for!) If you already signed up, be sure to check those spam folders -- your invite could be waiting for you already. Meanwhile, we'll be over here, obsessively checking our mail for any sign of some brightly-colored Lego brick love.

GDC10: Massively's day 1 roundup

by Jef Reahard Mar 10th 2010 (1 hour ago)

DC Universe Online

Massively staffers descended on GDC 2010 yesterday like a horde of....well, Horde. Our intrepid reporters are slaving away with microphones, tape recorders, and keyboards in hand to make sure you get all the latest MMORPG tidbits directly from the folks making the games.

We'll be bringing you a ton of content over the next few days, so fear not if your favorite forthcoming game hasn't received the red carpet treatment. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled throughout the remainder of the week, and in case you missed it, here's a brief rundown of yesterday's coverage.

Can't get enough of our GDC 2010 coverage? Check out our Sword of the New World GDC 2010 gallery below, and be sure to return throughout the week as we continue to bring you all the latest on your favorite games and developers.

Gallery: GDC10: Sword of the New World

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Tripping the XP fantastic

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 10th 2010 (1 hour ago)

CoH

CoV

City of Heroes has the best pseudo-seasonal event anywhere: the double XP weekend. Forget holidays that you're usually sick to death of in which you can get some arbitrary gimmick powers, it's cold hard character boosting that really gets everyone excited. And if those of us that play the game weren't swimming with enough alts, we also had our chance to scream up with dual pistols. In summary, it was poised to be the best Christmas ever, except for the minor detail of not being Christmas.

Going into the weekend on Friday. I had three major priorities. I wanted to level one of my two "mains" which had been suffering from some neglect, I wanted to bring a villain to 20 or as close as I could manage, and I wanted someone with paired handguns. A tall order, even for a doubled-up weekend, but I live for challenges. Or I'm a glutton for punishment, one or the other. Read on past the break for the path of events and some observations about the leveling game, and perhaps even a bit of enlightenment.

Star Trek Online Executive Producer discusses game creation

by Rubi Bayer Mar 10th 2010 (2 hours ago)

STO

Cryptic

Star Trek Online Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich has been busy lately, and not just with working behind the scenes at Cryptic. Last week he found time for two interviews covering where Star Trek Online has been and where they're going.

He spoke with MMOHub and Altern8 at length, discussing the ideas and thoughts behind many of the decisions made when creating the game. As a long-time Star Trek fan, Zinkievich "jumped and did a little dance" when the opportunity to get the license came through, and it's no secret that he's been having a great time producing the game.

From the overall feel of the Star Trek Online world right down to small details such as the realism of stellar phenomena in the background, the entire STO team has definite ideas on how they want the game to work. Both interviews give a good look at the inner workings of the team.

Aika open beta starts March 16

by Jef Reahard Mar 10th 2010 (2 hours ago)

Gala-Net has announced that their upcoming free-to-play MMORPG Aika Online will enter Open Beta on March 16. The PVP-centric title will feature six classes, a leveling curve initially topping out at 50, and a player-run political system consisting of a forever war fought among five factions.

Post-launch plans include regular PVP events similar to those introduced in the closed beta testing. Weekly castle sieges, 1000 vs. 1000 relic theft battles, and traditional battlegrounds are all on the docket. Additionally, class-specific mounts including the War Hamster and the Dual Gunner's Hoverbike will be available upon reaching level 40.

PVE fans won't be left out in the cold either, as we recently noted in our first impressions. Aika's lore, expansive world, and a large assortment of quests look to offer something for everyone.

A significant update on Jumpgate Evolution's progress

by Kyle Horner Mar 10th 2010 (4 hours ago)

Jumpgate Evolution

NetDevil's Scott Brown has emerged from the black depths of development on Jumpgate Evolution to give an update to the commmunity. In fact, he's given quite a substantial -- if not brief -- update about the various game elements being hammered into proper working order.

The topics covered are Battlespace, mission structure, faction definition and improvements being made to the previously lackluster enemy AI. So basically, NetDevil has been working to revamp the game ever since its June 2009 release date was changed into a To Be Announced state, leaving fans wondering when they'd be able to get their space fighter action on. We've posted Scott's bullet point update beyond the break, for those interested.

Funcom Community Managers talk about upcoming projects

by Rubi Bayer Mar 10th 2010 (5 hours ago)

AoC

FunCom

Julie and Fran of the No Prisoners, No Mercy podcast had some special guests on their most recent show, to the delight of the Funcom fans in their audience.

Funcom Community Managers Glen "Famine" Swan and Oliver Kunz visited the podcast to discuss The Secret World as well as Rise of the Godslayer, the upcoming expansion for Age of Conan. The duo talked about their responsibilities within Funcom, and gave some details about what they're working on these days.

Rise of the Godslayer, of course, is the big project. With five new regions, a new race, twelve new factions, and all the bells and whistles that go with them, Swan promised that the expansion won't disappoint fans. They also gave an overview of The Secret World as well as their other upcoming project, Pets vs. Monsters.

It sounds like a good time was had by all -- the podcast is fun and informative, and definitely worth listening to. For even more information, keep an eye out for our interview with Ragnar Tornquist at GDC later this week as well!

The Daily Grind: I would like to have been there

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 10th 2010 (6 hours ago)

Launch day, whether it's for a new game or just a new expansion, is usually a pretty crazy time. Everything is new and untested, which means that some builds and classes will be overpowered, some elements of the game aren't working as intended, and there are going to be bugs. But even with all of that, there's something that only can be found in that rush toward the new classes, new level cap, new areas, or even just to see the most of the world in a short span of time. The game is never new again, after all.

With our current amount of knowledge about every facet of a game's release schedule, not to mention plenty of open and closed betas to get pre-launch information, we're generally able to be there for any game we want on the ground floor. Still, there are probably games from yesterday that you missed for whatever reason, or games that you didn't play then that you can't play now. What game do you wish you had been involved with from the beginning? Is it a game whose updates massively changed how it worked, a game that didn't last as long as you'd like, or one that's still going but just wasn't on your list back then?

Star Wars Galaxies outlines the road ahead

by Eliot Lefebvre Mar 9th 2010 (15 hours ago)

SOE

Amidst all the fuss about the new kid in town (or due to arrive in town in a year or so), it's easy to forget sometimes that Star Wars Galaxies has been running for seven years, even with its ups and downs. The game's most recent update brought the Galactic Civil War to the forefront, the ongoing conflict between the Empire and the Rebels forming the centerpiece for large-scale PvP. A recent producer's letter goes into further detail as to what the game can expect for its next major patch, Update 16, which promises to expand the Civil War mechanics as well as adding new tweaks besides.

Region Defense is the next major change to the PvP side of things, allowing guilds and cities to hold regions of space for the Imperials or the Rebels, earning rewards and titles for successful defense of the territory. For players looking for something in a PvE vein, Nym's Theme Park is being revamped and expanded, both for players still leveling up and those at the top of their game. There are also a number of incoming bugfixes and balance tweaks, showing part of why Star Wars Galaxies has endured for so long and shows no sign of dropping.