Biggs' Zone

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The MMO Times (8) – The I-Got-Lazy Edition

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On August 13, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 8

Life got busy and I got lazy and fell behind in sending out the MMO Times, although after scanning the headlines from the past week and a half there doesn’t seem to be alot going one (everyone is too busy playing StarCraft II). Be that as it may, I did find enough to provide somewhat of a lengthy issue:

Diablo III Secret to be Revealed at GameCom 2010
It is exciting to provide some Diablo III news because, after StarCraft II, this is the next most anticipated Blizzard release. Director Jay Wilson will hold a press conference at GameCom to reveal “a secret feature of Diablo III”. While I found the link on wow.com, Blizzplanet has the article.
http://www.blizzplanet.com/blog/comments/blizzard_to_reveal_diablo_iii_feature_at_gamescom_2010/

For the WoW Lore-nerds: Cataclysm Faction Traitors
I should warn you, this article does contain audio that unveils lore details that are considered spoilers. There will be two traitors (one from each faction) that will be revealed in Cataclysm. I will let you see the wow.com article to find out to avoid spoiling anything here.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/09/cataclysm-faction-traitors-revealed/

Cataclysm Still Scheduled for 2010
During an earnings report at Activision-Blizzard, Mike Morheim (Blizzard CEO) still confirms that Cataclysm will still be released before the end of the year. He was quoted as saying that this will be “our best expansion yet”. You can read the whole article at wow.com.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/06/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-still-on-track-for-a-2010-release-d/

Mini Deathwing: Possible Collector’s Edition Pet?
I know there is a lot of WoW articles in this issue, I will try to move on to other games very soon but I couldn’t pass up this data-mined item. Its a mini deathwing that is rumored to be the pet for the Collector’s Edition of Cataclysm. The link to the wow.com article has a video of this little guy.
http://www.wow.com/2010/08/06/cataclysm-beta-mini-deathwing-discovered/

Global Agenda Sandstorm Patch
There will be a new patch for Global Agenda (Sandstorm Version 1.36) hitting the live servers soon. There seems to be quite a few changes in this patch including changes to the Agency-vs-Agency system. I’m sure if you are a GA player you probably know what that means. More at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/08/12/global-agendas-latest-sandstorm-patch-hits-today/

Aion Pets Revealed!
Big news for Aion players, in their upcoming 2.0 patch (Assault on Balaura) there will be pets. This is quite a lengthy article but it includes several pictures of the new pets and a gallery for quick viewing.
http://www.massively.com/2010/08/12/how-much-is-that-drakie-in-the-window-aion-pets-revealed/

NDA for Final Fantasy XIV Beta Testing Lifted
Those people who were fortunate enough to receive beta invites for Final Fantasy XIV are now free to talk about their experiences. This article contains a link to a list of changes made to the recent beta update so if you want to know more you probably want to check it out at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/08/12/how-much-is-that-drakie-in-the-window-aion-pets-revealed/

Alganon Goes Free-2-Play
I don’t know why I always find these headlines so interesting, probably just as interesting as finding out about the latest game going into Open Beta. Another MMO makes the paradigm shift to F2P.
http://www.massively.com/2010/08/10/alganon-making-the-switch-to-the-full-free-to-play-model/

Beta News

Sad SWTOR Beta News
As some of you may have been aware, last Friday I received an e-mail from Bioware informing me that I had been selected to participate in the testing of Ord Mantell and the trooper and smuggler classes for SWTOR. On Tuesday morning, 4 hours before my test group could begin, we were informed that “due to unforseen circumstances” the testing for my test group had been canceled. I was hoping to be able to provide vague details (because I was obligated under an NDA) about SWTOR. Alas, I have been returned to the queue with everyone else, hoping to be selected again.

Soul Master Begins Open Beta
Soul Master is a free-to-play MMORTS (that is Real Time Strategy) game produced by GamesCampus that has entered into Open Beta today. I can’t imagine anyone that likes to play RTS games doing anything else other then playing StarCraft II right now, but who knows, maybe this will be entertaining too. The link to the massively article is below as well as a link to the Soul Master website if you want a beta key.
http://www.massively.com/2010/08/12/soul-master-begins-open-beta/
http://soulmaster.gamescampus.com/

Vindictus Enters Closed Beta
On August 10th, the game Vindictus entered into Closed Beta. I’m not that familiar with this game but apparently there has been screenshots, trailers, gameplay and … “an awesome hat?” You can read more at Massively or check out the website for more details on this beta.
http://www.massively.com/2010/08/11/vindictus-begins-closed-beta/
http://vindictus.nexon.net/

I also provide the MMO Times as part of an e-mail mailing list (manually maintained for the time being). If you are interested in receiving the e-mail please let me know.

The MMO Times (7)

By

On July 30, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 7

A short one to end the week. One of the items pertains to this weekend so I decided to post/send issue 7 today.

Nar Shaddaa: The Newest Planet in SWTOR
Nothing gives me more pleasure then to report more news about SWTOR. Bioware announced today the 14th planet for The Old Republic, Nar Shaddaa. Apparently this will be haven to the criminal underworld; a center for sinister characters like Zam Wessell, Boba Fett and IG-88. Massively is the snitch.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/30/swtors-sin-city-has-been-announced-nar-shaddaa/

Guild Wars 2 Level Cap is 80
Isaiah “Izzy” Cartwright, a game designer on Guild Wars 2, has confirmed that in the upcoming sequel the level cap will be 80. Apparently it will take the same amount of time to go though each level. An interesting approach.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/29/guild-wars-2-level-cap-confirmed-at-80/

Email Confirmation Required for Authenticators
The lowest form of life on the planet are the hackers compromising MMO accounts for purposes of monetary gain. This has been the bane of MMO gamers existence, and Blizzard has taken a clever step at foiling these villianous cretins. An email confirmation is now required in order to apply an authenticator to a Battle.net account. If you don’t have an authenticator, I strongly recommend you invest the $6.00 to get one.
http://www.wow.com/2010/07/28/email-confirmation-added-to-authenticator-setup-to-foil-hackers/

Aion:Free Activation and Double XP
This is the time senstive post. NCSoft, in an obvious attempt to bring players back, is reactivating all disabled accounts for this weekend (starting today) and they are doubling the XP gained. As I already said, this is obviously a ploy to get players to experience the changes in the 1.9 patch. The article is at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/27/aion-free-account-reactivations-double-xp-incoming/

I also provide the MMO Times as part of an e-mail mailing list (manually maintained for the time being). If you are interested in receiving the e-mail please let me know.

The MMO Times – Comic-Con Edition

By

On July 26, 2010

In MMO Times

Comic-Con Issue

Here are some of the MMO announcements unveiled at Comic-Con.

Bioware Announces Dragon Age II
If SWTOR wasn’t the most exciting thing coming from Bioware, at Comic-Con fans were surprised to hear about Dragon Age II. Fans were treated to a world premiere, hands-on preview. Additional details on this announcement can be found at Joystiq.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/24/preview-dragon-age-2/

Comic-Con Interview with Aion Producer Lani Blazier
Aion’s producer Lani Blazier was interviewed at Comic-Con this year and the interview covers a few items. Some of these items include Aion 2.0, Assault on Balaurea and what players can expect from this free expansion, including a level cap increase to 55. NCSoft is hoping to bring back those players that have canceled their subscriptions from the launch almost one year ago. Massively has the article.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/25/san-diego-comic-con-massivelys-interview-with-aion-producer-la/

Warhammer Patch 1.3.6 Available on Warpstone Test Server
This was not necessarily part of Comic-Con but the latest Warhammer Online patch (1.3.6) was made available on the public test server known as Warpstone. I guess the devs were holding a Q&A and there is rumor of some kind of giveaway. Massively has the post.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/24/patch-1-3-6-available-on-warhammer-onlines-warpstone-server/

DC Universe Online Story Trailer
I don’t know if this necessarily comes from Comic-Con but I thought it was interesting and worth mentioning. SOE and Blur have released a trailer to discusses the DCUO storyline. Massively has the article.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/24/soe-and-blur-release-dcuo-story-trailer/

SWTOR to Have Space Combat
It pleases me that the first item to add for the Comic-Con issue is about The Old Republic. We heard from Bioware on Friday that there will be space combat in SWTOR. More information is available at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/23/space-combat-has-been-comfirmed-for-swtor/

More Comic-Con Happenings
There were a lot of movies, games, trailers, etc unveiled at Comic-Con this year. I tried to provide most of the MMO related posts but many other things were announced (i.e. World of Warcraft movie, Sonic 4, The Force Unleashed 2, etc). So many things to look at so I provided what appears to be a nice blog from Gamespot of all the cool things announced at Comic-Con this year.
http://comic-con.gamespot.com/?tag=header%253Blogo

I also provide the MMO Times as part of an e-mail mailing list (manually maintained for the time being). If you are interested in receiving the e-mail please let me know.

The MMO Times (6)

By

On July 23, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 6

Here’s the latest MMO news.

RELEASE REMINDER: StarCraft II Next Week!
This is just a reminder to all of you eagerly awaiting the release of SCII, Tuesday, July 27th, which is NEXT WEEK, you will be able to pick up StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The game can be pre-ordered and there is a Collector’s Edition. I have included a link to Best Buy if you want to pre-order; and a link to some trailers at Joystiq.
Pre-Order StarCraftII Collector’s Edition from Best Buy
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/22/starcraft-2-trailer-summons-ghosts-of-the-past/

Comic-Con 2010 This Weekend
This is essentially another reminder that Comic-Con is happening right now at the San Diego Convention Center. I will be monitoring the blogs to see if there is anything exciting announced. In the event of some stupendous revelation(s) I will be sending another MMO Times, Comic-Con Edition, on Monday. Below is a link to the Comic-Con 2010 website.
http://www.comic-con.org/cci/index.php

SWTOR New Playable Race: Cathar
Bioware announced today a new playable race in SWTOR: Cathar. Many of you probably recognize this race from Knights of the Old Republic, but they were also in Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith. The article at Massively has more on this announcement.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/23/cats-invade-star-wars-the-old-republic-in-this-weeks-fan-frida/

BSG Online Will Be F2P … and Browser-Based
Yes, a “browser-based” MMO. The CEO of Bigpoint is hoping to raise expectations for browser-based gaming when they release Battlestar Galactica Online (which, I’m sure, will be a hot title). The Massively article has more details and screenshots!
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/22/exclusive-new-gameplay-details-and-screenshots-for-battlestar-g/

Final Fantasy XIV System Requirements
I think several people were already anticipating some pretty beefy system requirements for the next chapter in this franchise, and they were right. Even the minimum requirements seem pretty beefy, however if your computer passed the benchmark test then you should be good to go. Massively has the article.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/22/the-system-requirements-of-final-fantasy-xiv/

Curse Purchases MMO-Champion
I did not see this one coming. MMO-Champion issued a press release on Tuesday that they have been purchased by Curse.com. This now makes Curse the ultimate MMO resource. The staff of MMO-Champion are not going anywhere, they will still be there posting daily, the website just has a parent company now. The link below will take you to the press release.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/1876-MMO-Champion-acquired-by-Curse

Beta News:

Soul Master (MMORTS) In Closed Beta
Yes, you read that correctly, a MMO Real-Time Strategy game, called Soul Master, has gone into closed beta on July 22nd. I enjoy playing RTS games occasionally but I don’t know if I would be into it as an MMO, but I know some of you might. I have known quite a few hard core RTS gamers, although this game looks a little … “anime-ish”. Check out the Massively article, there is also a link to the website to get a key to the beta.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/21/soul-master-entering-closed-beta-tomorrow/
http://soulmaster.gamescampus.com/

I also provide the MMO Times as part of an e-mail mailing list (manually maintained for the time being). If you are interested in receiving the e-mail please let me know.

The MMO Times (5)

By

On July 20, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 5
Here is what is new in the world of MMOs.

( I was having some technical difficulties with the website but they have been resolved therefore issue 4 and 5 are now available.)

 
SWTOR Music, Audio, Comics, Documentary
In preparation for Comic*Con this week Bioware Devs have asked for Facebook and Twitter support as well as bringing us a documentary on the music of SWTOR. Personally, the music has always been one of my favorite facets of Star Wars. Check out the article and video at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/
 
Aion 2.0 Release Date Announced
NCSoft has announced the release date of Aion 2.0: Assault on Balaurea, the next chapter for people of Atreia. Players will be able to get free digital copies on September 7th (September 10th for Europe); a boxed copy contains codes for pets. Read more at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/16/release-date-announced-for-aion-2-0-assault-on-balaurea/
 
STO Could Become F2P
I actually was reading a different story on Massively that mentioned the possibility of Star Trek Online becoming Free-2-Play. I had not heard of this rumor so I decided to google it. I found the following article on Subspace Communique, an STO fan site, that explains where this rumor came from.
http://subspacecommunique.com/content/2010/07/12/star-trek-online-could-become-free-play-possibly-says-new-sto-exec-producer
 
Star Trek Online Season 2 Preview
Cryptic releases a preview of their upcoming Season 2 patch for STO. It appears they have addressed several issues players felt the game was lacking as well as adding more additional Klingon PvE and six more levels. You can read more at Massively from the link below.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/14/preview-made-available-for-star-trek-onlines-season-2/

LotRO Allowing Addons
Meghan Rodberg of Turbine has unveiled a little secret, it appears there is a project going on to allow LUA scripting in Lord of the Rings Online. LUA is the popular programming language used to develop addons that alter the UI; the extent to which this will be allowed is still unknown. Read more at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/14/lotro-and-lua-turbine-gives-the-mod-community-a-thumbs-up/
 
Atari’s Haunted House Returns
I didn’t play much Atari when I was younger but for those of you who might remember it, apparently there will be a remake of the popular Haunted House to be released for XBLA, PC (downloadable) and Wii. Obviously the game has been improved from its archaic graphics to a more modern graphics engine. More information of this tidbit can be found at Joystiq’s website.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/14/ataris-haunted-house-returns-to-haunt-pc-xbox-360-and-wii/
 
Guild Wars 2 Ranger Class Unveiled
On June 9th the Warrior class was unveiled from the upcoming sequel to Guild Wars and today ArenaNet unveiled the next class: the Ranger. Apparently the class is getting some upgrades from its predecessor; I honestly couldn’t tell you what those were, I have not played the first Guild Wars. Massively has the full article.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/14/you-can-have-a-shark-as-a-pet-arenanet-unveils-the-guild-wars-2/

The MMO Times (4)

By

On July 20, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 4
Here is the latest MMO rumblings.
 
Reminder: Aion Server Merge Today
If anyone is playing Aion, this is a reminder that today NCSoft will be performing the server merge they promised last month. The link I provided is to a Wings Over Atreia article from Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/12/wings-over-atreia-its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it/
 
OGPlanet Announces N.E.O. Online
A new F2P MMORPG has been announced by OGPlanet. This game was an unknown prior to the announcement so I really don’t know much about it other then what I just read in the massively post. Apparently player actions alter the world in which everyone plays based on a Chaos Meter; sounds interesting. Read more on it at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/12/ogplanet-announces-n-e-o-online/
 
Final Fantasy XIV Will Not Be Released For XBox 360
I hope those FFXIV fans were not hoping to play the next chapter (in this unrelenting saga) on the X-Box, because Microsoft said No. Apparently they were unwilling to deal with the XBox Live setup. They are probably too busy with their Halo Reach to care about anybody else’s game. Read more at Massively from the link below.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/12/final-fantasy-xiv-not-due-for-the-xbox-360-according-to-hiromich/
 
Beta News:
 
ArcheAge In Closed Beta
I know this is a complete unknown, apparently the lead designer was one of the original artists for Lineage. Be that as it may, its the announcement of a closed beta. Which means if you are the kind that likes to wet their noodle on beta testing, here is one to check out. Article found at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/12/archeage-closed-beta-announced/
 
More Cataclysm Beta Invites
Blizzard announced in a blue post that this week they will be sending out another round of beta invitations for Cataclysm. Make sure you watch your inboxes and be espeically careful that its not a phishing e-mail. If you want to read the post about it, I found it at MMO-Champion, you have to scroll a bit past the Cataclysm UI screenshots.
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/1863-Cataclysm-Interface-Part-1-Blue-Posts

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