Massively's Thanksgiving 2009 MMO wrapup
Filed under: Fantasy, Super-hero, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EverQuest, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, News items, War, Free-to-play, Browser, Earth Eternal, Champions Online, Dragonica Online
Filed under: Fantasy, Super-hero, Dungeons and Dragons Online, EverQuest, Guild Wars, Events, in-game, News items, War, Free-to-play, Browser, Earth Eternal, Champions Online, Dragonica Online
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, real-world, Forums, Launches, New titles, Free-to-play
IGG Inc., source of several free-to-play games, is gearing up for the alpha test of its upcoming browser-based RTS/RPG game Heroes of Bestia, and it's giving fans a chance to take part in the alpha. Certainly sounds exciting... but that reaction might cool a bit when it becomes clear that in order to get in on said alpha test, they want you to spam forums. The alpha test officially begins on October 26th, and in order to receive a pass into the game, "all you have to do is simply post a thread in another forum (except the IGG forums)." Make three posts, and you get your access.
To be fair, the offer specifically states that any posts violating the rules of the forum in question will be grounds for immediate disqualification, but this is still something of a dodgy advertising tactic. It's not exactly without precedent, however, and judging the entire game on those merits would be rather unfair, wouldn't it? Take a look at the official forums, and if it looks interesting, you still have some time to be eligible for your slot in the upcoming alpha test.
Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Virtual worlds
There are a lot of games that don't necessarily make the process of having an alt a smooth road, but almost none that outright prevent you from even indulging the idea. However, Freesky Online has come out with a recent developer diary that states precisely that: no alts allowed. And while their decisions outlined therein are focused highly on the idea that as a free-to-play game there need to be certain measures in place to prevent abuse of the system, they're applicable to many of the issues that players of larger MMOs have faced.
An obvious example is the longstanding practice of "bank alts", which is specifically referenced in the diary -- as far as the game's developers are concerned, it's abusing the mechanics of the game for unscrupulous means. There are certain games where it's considered standard practice to have at least one character just for banking purposes, but there's a point to be made that this is circumventing the hard-coded limitation of how much space a single character has to store items. The ramifications for other games are likely small at the moment -- it's unlikely that CCP is going to start deleting extra characters, for instance -- but the concepts are interesting to anyone who plays games where alts are frequent.
Filed under: News items, Free-to-play, Browser

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Tales of Pirates, Free-to-play, Kids

Filed under: New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MMORTS
Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Launches, Patches, News items, PvE, Free-to-play
Filed under: Contests, Events, in-game, Forums, Free-to-play
Wonderland Online, one of the many free-to-play MMOs at the Internet Gaming Gate, has announced its exciting array of Memorial Day events happening this weekend.Filed under: Events, in-game, Tales of Pirates, Free-to-play

Filed under: Fantasy, Zu Online, News items, Free-to-play
IGG has just launched a new website for Zu Online, their cel-shaded martial arts MMO. The revamped site features an animated video introduction to the storyline with comic book panel transitions, fitting the anime style of the game itself. The free-to-play game is set in an ancient and mythical Sichuan and has an active community, perhaps even moreso in light of the situation facing its real-life locale.Filed under: Fantasy, Crafting, Player Housing, Free-to-play, Casual, Virtual worlds
Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Culture, Events, in-game, Zu Online, News items
Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, News items, Voyage Century Online

Filed under: Zu Online, Free-to-play, First Impressions









| Name | Date |
|---|---|
| Alganon Launch | Dec 1 2009 |
| EVE Online: Dominion Launch | Dec 1 2009 |
| LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood Launch | Dec 1 2009 |
| Star Trek Online Launch (NA) | Feb 2 2010 |
All contents copyright © 2003-2009, Weblogs, Inc. All rights reserved
Massively is a member of the Weblogs, Inc. Network. Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Notify AOL