Filed under: Sci-fi

Patch day is an exciting time to be playing an MMO, assuming you can look past the various instabilities, server crashes, and inevitable bugs that come with a major update. Even then, there's still the sense of doing something new and different in a familiar game, however touch-and-go the new content might be. Fallen Earth is not too far from their next major patch day, but if you can't wait for the patch to go live, there's a new developer diary and Q&A from Dev Team Lead Marie Croall and Live Team Lead Ian Lemke.

The patch's major focus was a thorough revamp of the area around the starter towns, and between those towns and the central cities. It might seem odd to add such a large patch to improve the first few levels of the game, but from the developer's point of view, it's those levels that really first get a player hooked on the game, so they wanted to make it as memorable as possible. There's also some information on Deadfall Point, a new encounter area in Sector Three, offering the higher-level players something new to experience. Be sure to take a look at both features to get a picture of what's coming in the near future for your clone in Fallen Earth.

If ever there was a person that could be called the cornerstone of EVE Online's blogging community, it would be CrazyKinux. His gargantuan efforts to get the EVE community blogging have been met with continual success. In his monthly "EVE Blog Banter" segment, CrazyKinux presents readers with a topic to blog on and starts off in-depth discussions. On occasion, the EVE Blog Banter becomes a competition with a few prizes provided by CCP. CrazyKinux and other judges peruse submissions to bring us the best of the month's blogging efforts and reward their writers deservedly. Our own contributing editor James Egan and EON Magazine Editor Richie "Zapattero" Shoemaker have been judges in previous contests.

The latest edition of the EVE Blog Banter was a bumper contest with prizes for the top ten writers supplied by the EVE merchandise store. A record 56 participants wrote their take on why they love EVE Online and what makes it special for them. Amongst some of the more impressive entries, CrazyKinux whittled his choices down to his top 10 favourite entries. The first prize of $100 to spend in the EVE merchandise store went to "Wench with a Wrench", second place went to "Don't Fear the Mutant", third to "Into the unknown with gun and camera" and fourth to "Sered's Lives". If you're interested in seeing what makes EVE special to a variety of players, the six remaining finalists and the other entries in the contest are certainly worth a read. For a full list of winners and participants, swing by the winner's announcement at CrazyKinux's Musing.

Whether you play EVE Online or not, the chances are you've read a lot about the harsh, cut-throat universe of New Eden. Alliances routinely clash over territorial disputes, spies work to destroy organisations from the inside and death is an inevitability. While dying in most MMOs means respawning at some far-away camp and having to repair your gear, death in EVE is a somewhat more vicious affair. When your ship is destroyed, whether it's by NPCs in a particularly tough mission or pirates hunting in a low security system, it's gone for good. While insurance will provide a sum of ISK to help with the loss, you'll need to re-buy a new ship and all the equipment that went on it. This would be like having to buy a new set of armour every time you die in World of Warcraft; a scary notion.

For the denizens of New Eden, losing a ship is a strictly in-game financial loss but for those that don't play EVE the scale of those losses can be hard to grasp. Jump On Contact tackled this issue head-on recently with a handy chart showing the rough value of EVE ships in both ISK (the in-game currency) and US Dollars. The prices show the sheer scale of the losses incurred in large battles and are based on a player buying game time codes for cash to be sold in-game for ISK. A fully geared battleship, one of the most common types of ship for players to own in the game, comes out as being worth approximately $10 US Dollars. Most ships fall somewhere between $1 and $13 but perhaps most shocking is the price of a fleet-ready titan, which is estimated at $7600. The next time you hear about a titan being killed or a fleet of capital ships being wiped out, perhaps this chart can help show the sheer scale of that loss.

When it comes to action-based shooters like Global Agenda, gear is good but skill is better. Way better. Even the most technologically endowed enemies can come crashing down with a little teamwork and creative ingenuity.

But if you're new to the game, new to action-based shooters, or just not doing so hot in your PvP matches, then you might need some help. That's where we come in.

After playing a huge amount of PvP, PvE, and a decent amount of AvA in Global Agenda, I've found that many players make a few common mistakes. So, while I know this article will result in more deaths for me, I want to help all of you avoid these common mistakes and play a better game.

As Eliot pointed out yesterday, when Cryptic announced that they had reached one million registered accounts, it paid to look at the announcement a bit more closely. What exactly is a registered account? Does a registered account mean that someone purchased Star Trek Online? Is it a beta tester? Maybe just a forum account?

We weren't the only ones wondering about this. More than one reader was curious about the phrasing the press release: "Already, over 1 million Star Trek fans have created accounts at the official websites." IncGamers was able to get a response from Cryptic regarding the specifics of the release, minus the lingo.

While the phrase "Star Trek fans" led many people to assume that the press release referred to Star Trek Online accounts only. The press release actually referred to Cryptic accounts -- which are required to play not only Star Trek Online, but Champions Online as well.

One million registered accounts is a milestone worth mentioning in any situation, but it's always helpful to know for certain what we're congratulating.

[Thanks Bill!]

One of the biggest differences between EVE Online and most other MMOs is the lack of a humanoid avatar. Even when you're docked up in a station, you can't leave your ship and walk around. The detailed avatars we create on starting the game are not so much avatars as passport photos; seen only as little square mug shots in chat channels and the official forums. In their never-ending quest to make EVE the definitive Sci-Fi simulation, this is something the game's developers CCP have always endeavoured to change. The introduction of a full body avatar feature, code-named "Walking in Stations", "Ambulation" and now known as "Incarna", has been undeniably the most anticipated feature since EVE went live. It's been in development since 2006 but has proven a much larger task than CCP originally anticipated. With the expansion tentatively slated for winter this year, new information on it is still harder to find than a sober Icelandic game developer.

In this week's EVE Evolved, I take a look at Incarna's development so far and why it hasn't been released yet.

Not everything in Star Trek Online is fighting when it comes to space. Sometimes, you turn and a lovely sight such as the one captured above will greet you. While this image was captured during the open beta, these types of stunning views are still there, waiting to be discovered by Star Trek Online's players.

Today's One Shots comes to us from Sjohn, who writes in to give us some context: I was doing a mission in the Pico System where I was patrolling the mines located in the rings around one of the planets. Saw this view and couldn't help but save it for later!

Are you exploring the final frontier? If so, why not send along a screenshot of your recent travels. Email it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and a quick description. We'll post it out here for everyone to look at and give you the nod.

If it's not too dated, you can feel free to do the Dr. Evil voice as you read the announcement in your head. Star Trek Online has reached one million registered accounts, an impressive milestone for any game. The announcement follows in the vein of Cryptic's announcement that players had created over one million characters in Champions Online, which was also an impressive milestone... well, until you started to do the math and ask why they were counting the number of characters created rather than players.

There are similar questions to be asked about the latest Star Trek Online announcement, if you're the suspicious type. In short, we don't know the criteria that is being used to get the figure being thrown around. One million accounts could refer to open beta and head start accounts, or it could refer to everyone registered on the forums, even if they've long since stopped posting. It's an odd metric to use.

Still, it's a sign of how strong the IP of Star Trek still is after all these years, and as one of the few major launches planned for the year it's bound to attract quite a bit of attention. Congratulations to Cryptic, and here's hoping that those million accounts stick with the game after a few months.

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	Enter the Star Trek universe with Cryptic Studios' Star Trek Online. From hands on reviews of the early levels and space combat, through noob questions and developer interviews, we've got everything you need to know about the game trekkies are dying for. Check out Massively's Star Trek Online page for the latest!

With GU15 hitting the servers recently, and the Ewok Love Festival coming on the 9th, those fiercely loyal to Star Wars Galaxies are enjoying the choices of different things to do. Add to it the fact that Sony Online Entertainment has reactivated the accounts of previous Star Wars Galaxies players until March 1st, and we can see why some would be heading back in to check out all the new stuff since the last time they played.

Today's One Shots shows off a screenshot taken by a very nervous (and thankfully non-squished) Jonathan C. who writes in: [Here's] my character Smarty Jones outside of cnet. [I was] coming back from some missions when I ran into [an] ATAT.

Are you back in a game you haven't played in a while? Taking advantage of some free time? If so, we'd love to see what you've found in going back. Just send in a screenshot along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description to oneshots AT massively DOT com. We'll post it out here and give you the credit.

The Sith Inquisitor is not meant as just another Force-using class. That's one of the central themes behind the most recent developer blog from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Saying even that the Inquisitor is meant as a Palpatine to the Sith Warrior's Darth Vader is only a fraction of the whole story. No, the Inquisitor exists as someone whose diet of dark secrets and forbidden knowledge is as much a survival mechanism as anything, the manipulator and scholar, the calm and reason to balance against the Warrior's bravado and power.

Where the Warrior begins as a member of high society, the Inquisitor begins life as a slave, sent to either become a part of the Empire's almost monastic order of Sith or die unknown and unmourned. Inquisitors face the difficulties of choice, not only of morality but of their personal desires weighed against the needs and demands of the Empire. And through it all, they are the keepers of secrets and mystical knowledge of the Force, learning and studying into the otherworldly aspects it posseses. While we're still more than a year out from the expected launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, fans should still enjoy this look at one of the game's most devious classes.

Global Agenda. This game has been successful in causing quite a stir on our website. It seems almost every single story we do on the game anymore turns into the inevitable "this isn't an MMO" debate. We've even tried to give the MMORTS part of it more of a perspective in past articles, but that's neither here nor there. This article isn't about the game or if it's an MMO -- it's about how this game plays.

So, is Global Agenda a worthy investment for the MMOer? Is it a worthy investiment for the FPS nut? Can a game that's a hybrid of so many genres work as well as its creators say it works? Those are all excellent questions and they're also questions that we're going to answer today.

Any time a new game comes out, many players feel the obligation to be the first to explore new areas, conquer new bosses or get their character to max level. This may not be everyone's play style, but it's usually important to note that these players do this with little or no guidance from guides or wikis, and they often end up doing something wrong along the way.

Fallen Earth is a game that is set up to trickle information to you slowly as you progress. Since the tutorial area was revamped just before launch, it's been easier to learn the right way to do things... that is, if you've read the pop-up tips. Even at 5 months after launch, there is still very little information out there about the specifics of the game. There are wikis and informational fansites, but in most cases, their owners seem to have caught a case of the Shiva virus themselves.

So in this week's Wasteland Diaries, I'm going to take a fun look at the top 5 things you probably did wrong on your first character. It might be too late for many of you, but that's why there are four character slots. Spoken like a true alt-a-holic.

In the sandbox of New Eden, rival alliances vie for control of vast swathes of star systems. The lawless nullsec regions of the EVE Online universe are home to violent alliances of all sizes and fleets with hundreds of ships clash on a daily basis. The political machinations of nullsec have produced many stories of wars fought over territory, stations conquered and fleets dismantled by force. Over the years, each story has become part of the game's living history. Recently, a new chapter in that history began as the nullsec sovereignty system governing territorial warfare received a complete overhaul in the Dominion expansion. The transition period has been rough on some alliances as a new sovereignty system requires new ways of thinking. Some alliances are falling, new ones are being forged to fill the power vacuum and the race is on for people to adapt to the new sovereignty system.

As we've been watching the EVE galaxy performing its Darwinian reshuffle, it came to our surprise that GoonSwarm, the game's biggest territorial alliance, had been disbanded. In the early hours of Wednesday 3rd February 2010, GoonSwarm CEO "karttoon" kicked almost every corp from the alliance, effectively disbanding it. There's more to this story than meets the eye and in this investigative piece, I delve into the thick of it to discover just what's going on with this troubled alliance.

So, wow, what a set the last week and a half has been. There seems to be a very strong theme going on in my inbox recently, and that's, without a doubt, Cryptic Studios. I've read unflattering comments about my integrity as a journalist, the usual statements of how this site is Cryptic's lapdog due to all of the Star Trek Online and Champions Online coverage, and, even more oddly, people want to know my opinion of Cryptic's recent actions -- specifically Star Trek Online and Vibora Bay.

Well, I was never one to shirk from the truth. I've been wanting to give my personal opinion on these events since Vibora Bay hit, so I might as well dedicate this column to my evaluation of Cryptic Studios. But, before we get to Cryptic, I have a few ground rules that I want to go over with you guys. Some facts that I'd like to set straight for, oh, I dunno, the fifth time.

Star Trek Online goes out of its way to make sure the player always has a bevy of mission choices at their fingertips. That makes a step-by-step guide on progressing through Lieutenant (i.e. the first ten "levels") somewhat worthless to write. So, I'm taking a different approach this week.

This guide is aimed at helping to quicken the pace of leveling towards your first new ship. The Miranda class ship is nice and all -- but everyone just really wants their first real ship. Plus, as an added bonus, you can use these tips throughout your entire Star Trek Online experience!