MMO Clerks

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, Previews, Warhammer Online, News items

If there’s one overriding impulse that goes into nearly every MMO, it’s the urge to look good. You spend so much time staring at your character that you want to look appropriate — ominous, or dignified, or just plain cool. That’s the motive behind Warhammer Online’s new appearance system in patch 1.3.6, and it’s a significant upgrade to the game’s setup. Designer Sean Bosshardt has penned a developer diary explaining how the new appearance system works in practice, which essentially gives your equipment its own set of equipment.

The short version is that when looking at your character’s equipment, you can flip over to their appearance slots, and then each eligible item can have another item placed within the appearance slot. However, the new appearance doesn’t consume or use the item which granted the new look, and it stays with that piece of armor — so you can change the look of a pair of shoulders, and that look stays with them until you change it again. It’s an interesting system with several nuances, so Warhammer Online players are encouraged to read the full diary to see just how nice they’ll be looking when the new patch hits.

The details on playing dress-up in Warhammer Online’s upcoming patch originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Betas, Historical, New titles, News items, Free-to-play

The Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history is one of those settings that people just can’t seem to get enough of, with other free-to-play games mining the territory with vigor. The Dynasty Warriors franchise, however, has quite a bit of pedigree, with a long tradition of character-based storytelling and impossibly large battles. American fans of the franchise can take heart, as it has just been announced that Aeria Games will be publishing Dynasty Warriors Online in North America, with the game currently accepting beta applicants.

Fans of the series will be happy to know that the game hasn’t lost sight of its roots, with the engine focusing on allowing player-created characters to face off against huge hordes of NPC opponents. The game will also allow players to have a direct influence on the historical setting, with the outcome of battles affecting the delicate balance between Wei, Shu, and Wu. Naturally, there will also be the same psuedo-historical personalities made famous in the series and in the source novel. Dynasty Warriors Online is set for an official launch later this year, and if you’re on the fence, take a look at the gallery below to get a feel for the game’s appearance.

Dynasty Warriors Online set for American release by Aeria Games originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Previews, RIFT: Planes of Telara

In the hearts of many gamers, it seems, is a deep and abiding love of fire. Disturbing, perhaps, but understandable. Almost everything is better with fire, after all — and Rift’s creators acknowledge this as they revealed their flame-happy pyromancer. Their motto is as poignant as it is simple: “I say fire is a weapon, a friend, a state of mind, and that the bold man and the craven burn just as fast.”

The pyromancer has a singular purpose: destruction, and lots of it. Almost all of his spells are bent to unleashing wave after wave of blasts, flame and immolation until the pyromancer’s enemies are smoldering wrecks. Following the long-range glass cannon playbook, the pyromancer is deadliest from afar, but quite vulnerable if an enemy closes the distance to melee. Fortunately, some of his skills help to keep mobs from getting close.

From chunks of magma, to classic fireballs, to fire-breathing attacks, the pyromancer is perfect for players who want to watch the world burn and be the ones who live to tell the tale. We’re sure to hear more about this explosive class as the release date nears.

Die in a fire: A look at Rift’s pyromancers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Warhammer Online, Opinion, Waging WAR

With less than a week left until Gamescom, I find myself more and more excited by the potential of what Mythic could be set to reveal, regardless of the fact that it’s given me nothing to chew on. I am hyped by the anti-hype. What follows is the result of that hype. There are no facts, rumours, hints, or tips to back up what amounts to totally unbarred speculation. I have organized the aftermath of my brainstorm in terms of what would excite me, from most to least, followed by why I believe these additions could make sense, and how they might be implemented. Keep in mind that some of what follows could simply be passed off as madness; it might be totally unfeasible, even by the most adept and well-financed of development teams. I’m fully aware of that. The point here was to just “let it go.” And I did.

Crazy, or uncanny — you decide. Follow along after the break.

Continue reading Waging WAR: Gamescom and Mythic’s anti-hype

Waging WAR: Gamescom and Mythic’s anti-hype originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Massively meta

Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the Massively team and ask them, “What are you playing this week?” (Otherwise known as: WRUP!) Join us to see what we’re up to in and out of game — and catch us in the comments to let us know what you’re playing, too!

This week has been crazy hectic — both in the MMO world and in general. We’ve seen the news that Earth Eternal is likely heading for shutdown, listened to a lot of unhappy people talking about Star Wars: The Old Republic’s space being on-rails, seen a handful of the ArenaNet team jump ship to Undead Labs, and more. Of course, all of this was eclipsed by the insane story of the week about an EVE Online player who had loaded 74 PLEX into his Kestrel, and was summarily podded by two pirates in Jita. While the pirate pair didn’t get to keep those 74 PLEX, they do get bragging rights for the pod heard ’round the world — at least until someone does something crazier, anyway.

Inspired by that news story, we decided to ask the team what the biggest thing they’ve ever lost was in an MMO. Join us behind the break for not only what we’re playing, but what we’ve lost over the course of gaming. Be sure to leave a comment and let us know about your biggest in-game loss too!

Continue reading WRUP: Better to have gamed and lost

WRUP: Better to have gamed and lost originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Free-to-play, One Shots

When it comes to springing up in the air in an MMO, you might immediately think of the super jump travel power in City of Heroes, or perhaps some other superhero game with a similar mechanic. You most likely wouldn’t ever think about Dungeons and Dragons Online, but according to today’s screenshot from Varun, you can actually bounce yourself up into the air there too! As proof, we have today’s weird screenshot taken recently from the game, which he sent in along with this note:

“I just read your Suspension (of disbelief) bridge post and wanted to share a similar screenshot from Dungeons and Dragons Online. I am not exactly sure what causes this, but I think if the net lags a bit and you keep on pressing the jump button, 2-3 seconds later you sort of get a super jump!”

Have you captured a screenshot of a strange moment from your favorite MMO? If so, why not share it with us? We’d love to see it! Just email it in to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we’re seeing in the post. We’ll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in.

One Shots: Boing! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2

As gamescom and PAX approach, a fair amount of attention is on ArenaNet — specifically Guild Wars 2. The prospect of being able to play GW2 for the first time is an exciting one for fans.

ArenaNet has released a few details of what we’ll see during gameplay over the past week, including the information that we’ll be playing with some staff back at the ArenaNet offices. In the most recent blog post, we hear directly from four of those staffers. Bob Green, Joe Belousek, Anthony Ordon, and Joe Longworth are members of the Guild Wars 2 QA team, the group working to make sure the demo runs smoothly. Check out the latest ArenaNet blog entry to see what they’re most looking forward to in the demo.

While the demo is easily the main focus of ArenaNet’s presence at these events, there is more to check out while you’re there. The event schedule for PAX Prime was finally released yesterday, and it includes a Saturday morning presentation entitled “Guild Wars 2: Designing Dynamic Events.” Eric Flannum and Colin Johanson will give insight into how the dynamic event system in GW2 was created — it’s a talk that fans won’t want to miss.

It’s a ticketed event, so be sure to check the schedule for details on how to attend.

ArenaNet preparing for gamescom and PAX originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ron Perlman voices the introductory narration to the latest in the Fallout series, New Vegas, as he has done since the first Fallout game in 1997. Want to check out New Vegas’s introduction early? MTV has a (rather lo-fi) audio recording of Perlman’s intro, plus a transcript. You may recognize Perlman from titles like “The Name of the Rose” (1986), “Beauty and the Beast” (1990), “La Cité des enfants perdus” (“City of Lost Children,” 1995), and “Hellboy” (2004). There are plenty more great voice actors in the game, according to Bethesda Softworks, including Michael Dorn (Worf of Star Trek: The Next Generation), Rene Auberjonois (Odo of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and Felicia Day (“The Guild,” “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”), Matthew Perry (yes, of “Friends”)… and singer Wayne “Mr. Las Vegas” Newton, believe it or not. Sounds like a compelling line-up!

Fallout: New Vegas is slated for North American release on October 19, 2010.

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Classes, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Consoles, The Mog Log

A long time ago — like, when I started this column — I had an idea. Or more accurately, I had a tiny nub of an idea that seemed as if it would be very relevant later. I was still smarting over the VanaFest announcements and the whole idea that nothing would be done to help the lower levels… and an idea came to me. If I was so certain that there was no population to play these areas, why didn’t I try soloing them to see how things worked out?

Of course, at the time, I mostly wanted to point and enjoy the sour grapes of being proven right. But as xkcd so eloquently put it, you don’t use science to prove yourself right, you use it to become right. (Alt text is your friend.) And so I logged in and put a hard theory to the test: what could a Final Fantasy XI character do without anything more involved than a subjob? No advanced jobs, no airship passes, no special access. Was leveling possible? Difficult? Easy? This was — and is — the Rhio experiment.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Experiment Rhio

The Mog Log: Experiment Rhio originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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