Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: World of Warcraft

The MMO Times Returns with E3!

By

On June 6, 2011

In MMO Times

Issue 15

Holy Cow! I have really dropped the ball, haven’t I. I apologize to all of you that enjoyed reading my MMO Times posts and e-mails; I do hope you all stuck around especially those on the mailing list. I became extremely busy and therefore couldn’t keep up sending the e-mail and reading the various blogs and news sites. Well, I’m back to give it another shot so read on gamers, I hope you enjoy the following articles!

SWTOR Game Trailer
So we should resume The MMO Times out right with some news from E3. Bioware teased the gamers and the eager Star Wars fans with the news game trailer. I tell ya, my heart rate increased and my palms started to sweat watching this video. The link below will take you to the video at the SWTOR website.
Video Link(s): SWTOR Website

E3 Announcements
The Old Republic trailer was probably the biggest announcement to come from E3 thus far (though still no mention of a release date, sadly) but there were other important titles mentioned. Halo 4 (yes, another Halo game), Battlefield 3 Release Date, Mass Effect 3 Release Date, Farcry 3, etc.
Links: E3 Annoucements

64-Bit Client
This article from MMO-Champion has other things on it but I was mostly interested in the potential 64-Bit client. I don’t know whether I should be excited about this or be worried. If 64-Bit software is built properly it can have huge performance benefits, however if its built poorly it will be an utter nightmare.
Article Link(s): MMO-Champion

Beta News

Gods & Heroes Open Beta
Heatwave Interactive’s Gods & Heroes started their open beta today. You can also pre-order the game and get started a week ahead of launch. Apparently pre-ordering can also get you some headphones. I haven’t signed up for a beta on this game because I’m too busy with other games but if you try it out let me know what you think.
Links: Massively,  Gods & Heroes Website

Shameless Plug
I received a re-invite to test The Old Republic again so I have begun blogging about it, if you haven’t seen it yet I have provided the link here. Yes, I know, I am plugging my own stuff but hey, I write these articles and emails so I’m allowed some shameless plugging.
Post Link: Back In The Beta

Old News

Aion 2.5 Patch Empyrean Calling
On May 25th NC Soft released the 2.5 patch (called Empyrean Calling) which introduces new high level instances, the mentor program and new skills and PVP gear.
Article Links: Massively

New WoW Pet Store Mount
Blizzard knows that if they want to make another couple million bucks in a short period of time then they just have to release a new mount in the pet store. On June 1st Warcraft players will be able to purchase the Winged Guardian for $25 from the Blizzard pet store. I gotta admit it looks pretty awesome!
Article Link(s): WoW Insider

I also provide The MMO Times in an e-mail. If you are interested in receiving the e-mail version please subscribe

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 – The Identity Issue

By

On July 9, 2010

In MMO Times, MMORPG

Issue 3

Here are the latest MMO rumblings. This week is short but with the huge uproar over Real ID I felt it was time to send out the latest details from this week. enjoy.

Real ID – Is It The WoW-Killer? [UPDATED]
If you are a avid Blizzard gamer you have probably heard about the latest controversary to hit the internet. Blizzard announced that a new forums system will be released with StarCraft II, and ultimately with Cataclysm, that will display your full first and last name on all forums associated with Blizzard’s respective games. There is pandimonium running amuck. Here are a variety of links.
UPDATE: When I first wrote this the Real ID on the forums was still a reality, now that I am on the verge of posting this week’s email, a recent post has unveiled that Blizzard has backed down on this issue. I kept the original posts at the bottom for prosterity but also below is the link to the wow.com article which shows Michael Morheim’s offical response and retraction.
Blizzard Backs Down: http://www.wow.com/2010/07/09/mike-morhaime-real-names-will-not-be-required-on-official-forum/#continued
Official Announcement: http://www.wow.com/2010/07/06/official-forum-changes-real-life-names-to-be-displayed/
Blizzard’s Responses: http://www.wow.com/2010/07/06/blizzards-responses-on-the-real-id-situation/
Massively’s Response: http://www.massively.com/2010/07/07/the-daily-grind-real-id-do-we-finally-have-our-wow-killer/

Another MMO Goes F2P
There is a new MMO called Monato Esprit, a game I have not heard of, but I only mention this post/link because its another example of another MMO switching to the Free-2-Play paradigm. The increasing trend definitely foreshadows an interesting future for MMO games.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/06/monato-esprit-switches-to-a-traditional-free-to-play-model/

Areia Games Announces Legendary Champions MMO
Areia Games has released details of a new MMO coming out this summer. It is called Legendary Champions. Apparently its PvP heavy and your characters are famous figures from history. Below is the link to the Massively article and a link to the game website.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/07/aeria-games-announces-newest-mmo/
http://legendarychampions.aeriagames.com/

SWTOR Uses Combat AI
This is a really interesting Hypterspace Beacon post (on Massively) about Bioware’s “Combat AI” in The Old Republic. The concept seems to be going over really well among fans that are in the alpha release of the game. See below for the link to the Massively article.
http://www.massively.com/2010/07/08/star-wars-the-old-republic-impresses-fans-with-combat-ai/

The MMO Times

By

On June 30, 2010

In MMO Times

Issue 1
Here are the latest tidbits of MMO articles and blog posts I found to be most interesting this week. I hope there is something below that peaks your interest.

Final Fantasy XIV Announces Release Date and Pricing
I know this is going to be exciting news for several of you. An official release date for the highly anticipated Final Fantasy XIV has been announced. FF-aholics everywhere will be lining up September 22nd (if you want the Collector’s Edition) or September 30th (for regular edition). The link below will take you to the full article found at Massively.
http://www.massively.com/2010/06/30/final-fantasy-xiv-announces-launch-date-and-pricing-model/

Blizzard’s Tom Chilton Discusses F2P Potential
Ok, before all of the World of Warcraft players break out into praises of Alleluia, please note, this was only a passing thought … “intellectual curiosity”, as Massively’s Krystalle Voecks put it. Don’t expect WoW to become Free-2-Play anytime in the near future. Chilton only alludes to it because several MMO vendors are adopting this concept with significant return. If you want to read more, please follow the link below to the Massively article or the wow.com article.
http://www.massively.com/2010/06/30/blizzard-not-yet-ready-to-slaughter-the-cash-cow-and-go-f2p/
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/30/tom-chilton-discusses-free-to-play-wow/

Martial Empires Enters Open Beta
I have not heard of this MMO but apparently you can now register to enter the open beta at their website. If anyone knows more about this MMO please feel free to speak up. I have provided a link to the Massively article as well as a link to the website below.
http://www.massively.com/2010/06/30/martial-empires-enters-open-beta-with-new-content-and-screenshot/
http://martialempires.gamigo.com/

Blizzard Answers Lore Questions
(Contains some details about Cataclysm)
I know this post is specifically dealing with World of Warcraft lore and nothing about MMO gameplay, but I know there are a few that find nuggets of lore interesting. I’m not going to spoil any of the details of this Q&A from Blizzard’s creative development team, you can follow the link below to see the wow.com article, or see the full Q&A post that appeared on the forums.
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/30/blizzards-creative-development-team-answers-tons-of-lore-questi/
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?sid=1&topicId=25626575587

Cataclysm Closed Beta Begins
WoW players around the world are rejoicing, Blizzard has issued a press release announcing the start of the Cataclysm beta testing. They will be issuing invitations to players around the world who signed up using their Battle.net account. Visit the link below to see the post on wow.com.
http://www.wow.com/2010/06/30/cataclysm-closed-beta-has-begun/

I know this issue was heavy with World of Warcraft headlines but I hope that in the future I will try to be more diverse.

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