Virtual World News
Filed under: EverQuest, EverQuest II, MMO industry, News items, PlanetSide 2
Today, SOE President John Smedley took to Twitter to explain that the company was listening to and addressing fans' concerns. He stated:
"We've found a way to let existing players of our current games that are migrating over to Prosieben (EQ, EQ II, Planetside 2) keep their SOE accounts and stay with SOE. Down the road we may offer an option to move over to Prosieben. Just to be clear after these games launch on Prosieben's service new accounts will be created on their sites. However all US and EU players can still play together no matter which service they are on."He continued by emphasizing that the partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 is still on, and that he feels that the company will provide better customer service and payment options to the EU community.
SOE's Smedley responds to ProSiebenSat.1 concerns originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Smedley's Twitter
Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, New titles, Free-to-play, MechWarrior Online
One exciting bit of news released today revolves around the game's Founder's Program, which allows eager fans to preorder the game at different reward tiers. Since the program launched in July, the game has earned over $5M through Founders' preorders, with 500,000 registrations in the closed beta alone, according to the studio. Interestingly enough, the top tier, Legendary, had the highest number of registrations with over 26,000 players dishing out $120 each.
The Founder's program has closed this last weekend in anticipation of the pending open beta, but it's important to note that Founders will be able to choose exactly when their rewarded premium time will start.
Check out our impressions of Mechwarrior Online for more info.
[Source: Piranha Games press release]
Mechwarrior Online secures over $5M in funding from preorders originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Events, in-game, Patches, TERA
This event is launching on the heels of a new content patch that adds a hard mode for Manaya's Core, a special achievement for level 60 characters, oodles of skill changes for the Berserker class, and more. Check out the complete patch notes for more details.
TERA aims to scare the pants off you with new Halloween event originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Patch Notes, Spirit Rally Announcement
Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Hyperspace Beacon
Several months ago, I talked about the three major reasons I play SWTOR: Star Wars, BioWare, and MMOs. Interestingly, those three major components have been called into question within the last couple of months. Beyond them, are there any other compelling reasons to keep playing? And is there anything that will stop me from playing?
Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Why do I still play SWTOR?
Hyperspace Beacon: Why do I still play SWTOR? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Darkfall, MMO industry, Free-to-play
On November 20th, Darkfall: Unholy Wars aims to redefine what the three-and-a-half-year-old MMO has already done for the genre by rebooting entirely. You can find out more on what this relaunch will mean for the game in our recent interview with Aventurine.
[Source: Aventurine press release]
Darkfall temporarily goes F2P before Unholy Wars launch originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Expansions, Free-to-play, Promotions
While you can pick up the standard edition of either expansion for $39.99, SOE is lowering the price for both collector's editions from $89.99 to $59.99. The Rain of Fear CE includes a special quest, rucksack, house pet, and more. The Chains of Eternity CE comes equipped with plenty of extra potions, a tapestry, and a werewolf mercenary.
As added incentive to pre-order, EverQuest is doling out a Harbinger's Staff and something called a "Fear Corrupted Phase Spider Metamorph Totem." You know all the cool kids will have one of those come Christmas. For EverQuest II's part, that expansion pre-order comes with the Cloak of Mourning.
EverQuest and EverQuest II offer expansion pre-order bonuses originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, Events, real-world, Launches, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Dev Diaries, PlanetSide 2
SOE has promised to have PlanetSide 2 out in 2012, and that leaves some fans skeptical as to whether the beta is far enough along to be released in the next few months. Developers are pressing ahead with plans to fix the performance issues some players are having, and the studio aims to release with a complex metagame involving three continents. Remaining development time will be spent on issues ranging from weapon balance to a tutorial that gets players into the action as quickly as possible.
PlanetSide 2 release date to be announced this Thursday originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: State of the Game devblog
Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play
But now ArenaNet is making it even easier to buy the in-game currency through gem cards available for purchase at your favorite retail store. These cards would be perfect as a gift from your grandmother or sweet aunt Vickie, who can help support your crafting obsession without even knowing it. Just tell them that you're really interested in Geology and Gemology. It's a win-win!
Guild Wars 2 gems now available in plastic card form originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Gem Card announcement
Filed under: Podcasts, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO industry, News items, Massively Meta, Massively Speaking, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Miscellaneous, League of Legends, Pirate101
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Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 220: BraveStarr Citizen
Massively Speaking Episode 220: BraveStarr Citizen originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, PvP, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, Dev Diaries, Defiance
Thus begins Trion's latest Defiance dev diary, this one focusing on the game's open world PvP system. The team has dubbed this system the Shadow War and said that it is integrated fully with the game's PvE experience. Players have a choice whether to participate in it or not, but the action will be happening across a shared landscape.
Why is it this way? The devs say that they didn't want a typical FPS experience, in which players went through a solo campaign and then hit the reset button for multiplayer. The progression between PvE and PvP is the same, although there are special outfits for hardcore PvPers.
We've got the full dev diary for you after the break, so don't be shy!
Continue reading Defiance takes the lid off of its open world PvP
Defiance takes the lid off of its open world PvP originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: YouTube