Spy posts

The challenges and rewards of espionage in EVE Online

by James Egan Nov 20th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Interviews

Goonswarm spymaster The Mittani took a different approach with his latest EVE Online column at Ten Ton Hammer, and conducted an interview with a corporate saboteur titled "The Most Dangerous Agent". While it should be stated that most players in EVE do not engage in espionage, it's a career path of sorts that any player could potentially engage in, provided they have the combination of intelligence, social skills, and dedication needed to succeed. It's that aspect of dedication which often goes unmentioned -- the challenge of maintaining long-term duplicity.

The Mittani's interview with a player anonymously referred to as "Darwin's Accelerator" explains how a player with destructive aims greater than simply engaging a few enemy ships at a time can use intel to devastating effect, wiping out entire fleets. Maintaining a persona that fits in with the target organization and thus won't arouse suspicion, however, can be difficult if the infiltrator genuinely dislikes the members that comprise the corporation or alliance.

Tags: ccp, ccp-games, corporate-espionage, darwins-accelerator, deception, espionage, eve, eve-online, goonfleet, goonswarm, interviews, sandbox, sci-fi, sins-of-a-solar-spymaster, spies, spy, the-mittani

Jedi Knight officially steps into The Old Republic spotlight

by Kyle Horner Oct 30th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Classes, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Rumors and speculation have been floating around this week about the Jedi Knight, so no big surprise when BioWare reveals that, yes, Knights of the Jedi persuasion are in fact a player class in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The news comes with all the expected class page accoutrements such as screens, concept art and a few videos showing off three Jedi Knight attacks. It's all standard practice information release at this point, which only slightly dilutes the excitement of the announcement.

The videos all show the proper level of Jedi powerhousing that you'd expect, although we're not entirely cool with all the droid destroying that's happening. Sure, we're aware that unlike Sith, Jedi are limited to disabling droids and pushing things around but that's no excuse to pick on the little helpless mechanical people. Yes, we said people -- robots are people too!

In all seriousness, this is probably the class reveal everyone has been waiting for and/or expecting all along. Jedi and Sith were a given, so from here on out it's almost entirely anyone's guess. Spy? Rogue? Droids? Wookiees? Albino Ewoks? Okay, that's a little silly, nobody wants to play a rogue over a spy.

Gallery: Star Wars: The Old Republic Concept Art

Gallery: Star Wars: The Old Republic Screenshots

Tags: bioware, class, ea, electronic-arts, ewok, ewoks, jedi, jedi-knight, jedi-knights, lucasarts, rogue, sith, spy, star-wars, star-wars-the-old-republic, swtor, the-old-republic, tor, wookiee

Major EVE Online alliance CVA disbanded: espionage or hack?

by James Egan Oct 28th 2009 at 7:30PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, Guilds, News items

Major EVE Online roleplaying alliance Curatores Veritatis Alliance (CVA) disbanded today, possibly the result of a traitor within their ranks, leaving a power vacuum in the Providence region they once held. It's possible for high-level directors of an alliance to disband the organization, and this is exactly what happened today to Curatores Veritatis Alliance. CVA was an alliance loyal to the game's NPC faction the Amarr Empire and had a long history of enforcing rule in lawless space and resisting rival player organizations of Minmatar freedom fighters -- notably Ushra'Khan -- who they branded as terrorists. In short, CVA has played a significant role in the player-driven setting of EVE Online.

At this point, speculation as to how CVA was disbanded is rampant. The concept of a mole using high-level access to destroy an alliance from within is not unprecedented in the game, although some players are asserting an account hack took place. EVE pilot "BULLETPROOF 50CENT" of the corporation Traceless Representatives of Anonymous Players (TRAP) has claimed credit for the disintegration of CVA. He stated: "I am known as bullet, just a small, relatively unknown member of a covert organization, created by and dedicated to the taking down of what we saw as the single largest evil in EVE -- CVA."

Tags: alliance, alliances, amarr, breaking, ccp, ccp-games, controversy, curatores-veritatis-alliance, cva, espionage, eve, eve-online, guilds, hack, hardin, new-eden, providence, revenge, sabotage, spies, spy, trap

Earthrise developers seeking community input on alts

by James Egan Oct 19th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Opinion, Earthrise

Earthrise is an indy-developed science fiction MMO on the way from Masthead Studios in Bulgaria. The developers have stated that Earthrise will be a sandbox game, with a large part of the player experience based on what guilds try to accomplish in the post-apocalyptic setting of Enterra. Given this emphasis on player-driven content, Masthead Studios has been running a Community Consensus over the past few weeks where the devs seek input from Earthrise fans on various aspects of the game's design.

Today Masthead Studios wants to hear what the community thinks about alts. In most MMOs having extra character slots is expected, but alt play in a sandbox game where players will engage in espionage could get out of hand. Would the ability to easily for any player to create a cell of spy alts unbalance the game, or should there be a tight limit on character slots per account?

Tags: alt, alts, community-consensus, earthrise, enterra, espionage, masthead-studios, new-titles, opinion, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, spies, spy, spying

EVE Evolved: Corporate Infiltration for fun and profit

by Brendan Drain Sep 27th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Guides, Lore, Professions, PvP, Making money, Endgame, Tips and tricks, Hands-on, Politics, EVE Evolved

Of all the EVE Online stories I've heard over the years, none have impressed and inspired me as much as those detailing a well-planned corporate heist. These aren't your run-of-the-mill contract scammers or corp hanger thieves. A professional corporate spy can earn the deepest levels of trust, destroy a corporation from the inside out, rob its members of their most prized possessions and then disappear without a trace. They're the people that pull the strings of war in the background, pitting alliances against each other to meet their own ends. The Guiding Hand Social Club's famous 2005 heist remains to this day possibly the single most impressive story in EVE history and serves as a benchmark of value and style for a heist that has seldom since been matched.

When I'm not busy writing about EVE or running sleeper anomalies with my buddies, I find myself delving more and more into the dark side of EVE. From wormhole piracy and courier contract theft to full-blown corporate infiltration, this year has bestowed on me a great deal of experience in the dirty underworld of EVE. In this article, I explain how to infiltrate a corp successfully and capitalise on the opportunities it throws at you.

Tags: assassination, ccp, ccp-games, eve, eve-online, featured, gank, ghsc, guiding-hand-social-club, infiltration, ISK, istvaan shogaatsu, IstvaanShogaatsu, piracy, professionals, profit, spy, style, vector

EVE Evolved: Corporate Infiltration for fun and profit, part 2

by Brendan Drain Sep 27th 2009 at 6:00PM

Tags: assassination, ccp, ccp-games, eve, eve-online, gank, ghsc, guiding-hand-social-club, infiltration, ISK, istvaan shogaatsu, IstvaanShogaatsu, piracy, professionals, profit, spy, style, vector

E3 2009: Massively's day 2 roundup

by James Egan Jun 4th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, The Agency, News items, Consoles, Spy, Global Agenda, Free Realms, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Kids, Final Fantasy XIV

We thought the first day of E3 2009 turned out pretty well, with announcements for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Final Fantasy XIV, and All Points Bulletin. That's in addition to the packed interview schedule we lined up so we'll have plenty more to show you in the coming days. While the Massively team frantically taps their fingertips down into little bloody tater tots to bring you more fresh E3 goodness, have a look at some highlights of what day 2 of E3 2009 brought in MMO news.

Massively's day one video from the E3 floor

In-game footage from The Agency

Platform release info for Final Fantasy XIV

The Dares concert in Free Realms sets Guinness World Record

Hands-on with Global Agenda

Friends fix coming to Free Realms

Want to see more? We've got E3 galleries to flip through for these titles and events after the jump.

Tags: e3-2009, events, fantasy, final-fantasy-xiv, free-realms, global-agenda, guiness-world-records, hi-rez-studios, massively-event-coverage, mmofps, roundup, sci-fi, soe, sony-online-entertainment, spy, square-enix, squeenix, the-agency, the-dares

E3 2009: The Agency in-game footage

by Shawn Schuster Jun 3rd 2009 at 7:00AM

Filed under: Video, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, Previews, The Agency, News items, Massively meta, Spy, Massively Interviews

As part of our extensive E3 tour through SOE's newest games, launched and upcoming, we got a fairly good look at some gameplay footage in The Agency. Of course, you know The Agency as the spy MMO that had everyone talking at last year's E3. With this new gameplay footage, you lucky readers (or, viewers) get to see what to expect when the game launches.

Click through after the jump to see the game's lead producer, Lorien Gremore, show us around a bit with combat, stealth, minigames and even a bit of female persuasion tactics*.

* Not from Lorien

Gallery: E3 2009: The Agency

Massively is on the ground in Los Angeles this week and covering all the latest E3 MMO news coming from the convention. Check out our breaking coverage (or all the Joystiq network E3 reporting) and keep your eye on Massively's front page for the latest developments.

Tags: demo, e3-2009, soe, spy, the-agency

The Agency declassifies intel for revamped game site

by James Egan Jun 2nd 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: The Agency, Spy

One of the new titles on the way from Sony Online Entertainment is The Agency which promises to bring espionage into the world of MMOs. There were no announcements for The Agency at today's Sony press event at the E3 Expo, but we've noticed that there's new content to be found on the game's official site.

A quick search of The Agency site reveals some new screenshots and wallpapers, concept art, info about both playable factions -- U.N.I.T.E. (spies) and Paragon (mercenaries) -- and a tongue-in-cheek 'evaluation quiz' for recruitment to each faction. In addition to the new art assets, they've also got their latest trailer up on the site as well. If you've been looking forward to some spies-and-mercenaries gameplay in an MMO, check out what's new on The Agency's revamped site.

Tags: espionage, mercenaries, mercenary, paragon, soe, sony-online-entertainment, spies, spy, the-agency, u.n.i.t.e., unite

The Agency: New CG trailer builds excitement leading up to E3

by Brooke Pilley May 29th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Trailers, The Agency, News items, Free-to-play

We're at least six months away from release but it seems like hype for SOE's spy MMO, The Agency is starting to build up. Maybe it has something to do with E3 happening next week in L.A.. Do you think we'll see a polished and playable demo? Fingers crossed! Either way, you can be sure we'll bring you some juicy info after we've cornered a developer and prodded him or her with a blunt microphone.

Hopefully, this news will tide you over. An exclusive CG trailer that originally premiered on X-Play just made it up to the G4TV website. There doesn't appear to be any game play footage, however, this does look as though it could be a mission introduction cinematic.

Catch the video after the cut and stay tuned for exclusive Massively news about The Agency from E3 2009.

Tags: cg, e3-2009, espionage, soe, spy, the-agency, trailer, video

Infiltrating SOE to get a sneak peek of The Agency

by Brooke Pilley May 25th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Interviews, The Agency, News items, Free-to-play

Eurogamer's Oli Welsh had a chance to visit SOE headquarters and chat with Hal Milton, Lead Designer of The Agency. We think it's fair to say this is the most we've heard about the spy-MMO in a long time and it has us excited about what we might find out at E3 2009.

We have known for a while that SOE was aiming to release The Agency on both the PC and PS3, but we weren't sure if they could pull it off. Apparently, development for the console is going well because Oli got a chance to watch two developers play a mission together on both platforms and says it looked pretty good. When asked about whether or not the game would use the subscription or F2P/RMT model, Hal responded by saying that they are aiming for the lowest barrier of entry for PS3 players, which probably lends itself to the latter.

The interview uncovers many details on planned methods of progression, including a mashup of reputation, influence, skill/item usage (à la Darkfall?), operatives, and XP unlocks. Operatives are one of the more difficult concepts to understand and the author explains them in an interesting way: "...operatives are loot, and hopelessly irresistible loot at at that. Pursuing and sorting an ideal roster will be akin to assembling a perfect gear set in an RPG - if your gear argued with itself, made more gear for you while you were offline, and you could equip 100 pieces at once at max level."

To learn more about the game including their plans for missions, the environment, PvP, and even gambling mini-games, check out the monster three-page interview.

Tags: cross-platform, darkfall, eurogamer, hal-milton, interview, oli-welsh, ps3, soe, spy, the-agency

The Agency still has a pulse, fact sheet confirms

by James Egan May 13th 2009 at 6:30PM

Filed under: New titles, The Agency, Consoles, Spy

Sony Online Entertainment could have a PC and console hit on their hands if their spies and mercenaries MMO The Agency lives up to expectations. The Agency has fallen off of the media radar of late, but development is moving ahead on the title.The last word we've received on when we'll be able to get our hands on the game is that The Agency will be released in 2010. Massively has some previous coverage of The Agency but we're always looking out for more info, and that's what we found today.

While we've touched upon some of this information in the past, SOE has released a brief fact sheet that explains the concepts behind The Agency and its "modern setting of bullets, bomb blasts, and betrayal." We're still hoping that there will be more info announced about the game at the E3 Expo in June, but until SOE declassifies their intel, you can check out The Agency fact sheet below the cut:

Tags: console, espionage, mercenaries, mercenary, soe, sony-online-entertainment, spies, spy, the-agency

Valve jokingly tips hat to MMOs in latest Team Fortress 2 update

by James Egan May 4th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: News items, Humor

Team Fortress 2 from Valve is one of the more MMO-like first person shooters running. It's only played online, is class-based, has achievement unlocks which open up new gear possibilities, and after the last update there's a backpack with room for 50 items and mention (read: unconfirmed) of tradeable items. In some ways, TF2 is an FPS for MMO lovers -- or just those who use way too many acronyms.

The comparisons between Team Fortress 2 and MMOs aren't lost on some of the more inventive TF2 players out there like goldenhearted who's made Garry's Mod mockups of a fictional "Team Fortress 2 RPG". Valve also got in on the fun in a slightly sneaky way in the latest game update. Steam users found this programmer's tip of the hat to MMOs in the game code:

Tags: garrys-mod, goldenhearted, humor, joke, jokes, spy, team-fortress-2, tf2, valve, valve-software

Global Agenda answer center updated

by Jon Shute Apr 24th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Spy, Global Agenda

Hi-Rez Studios have updated their answer center for their upcoming MMO, Global Agenda, which enters beta later this year. The game, which they are describing as spy-fi, is set on a post world war three earth that is ruled by an oppressive global government and promises to feature 3rd person fast-paced combat.

Although most of the information has been previously available, the updated site does contain useful information such as reiterating that the game will be subscription based, contains PvE content as well as PvP and will rely heavily on instances in order to provide battles that will allow 10 players on each side. Perhaps most importantly, the site confirms that the game does not feature elves.

Tags: global-agenda, hi-rez-studios, sci-fi, spy

Global Agenda fiction: The Utopian

by Jon Shute Apr 23rd 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Spy, Global Agenda

Global Agenda developers, Hi-Rez Studios, has released some fiction for their upcoming game. Global Agenda is a subscription based action MMO that uses the Unreal 3 engine and is currently slated for release at the end of the year, with a beta in Q2 this year. The game is set in the 22nd century and features fast paced PvP action in a world that has been devastated by the third world war and is now governed by a single world order, the Commonwealth.

The story chronicles Steven, who is a 17 year old growing up in Commonwealth Prime. This is a city where everybody is controlled down to the level of having a prescribed routine that they must stick to perfectly and without question. Steven tries to break this routine in little ways whenever he can but his actions, however, have consequences.

You can read the story over at MMORPG.com, and don't forget to check out our previous coverage of Global Agenda.

Tags: fiction, global-agenda, hi-rez-studios, sci-fi, spy