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Niantic is reversing bans on some 'Pokémon Go' accounts
Pokémon Go players who felt they were wrongly banned might get a reprieve. That's because developer Niantic has said that in its quest to block bots and data scrapers, some people who used third-party map apps to locate the virtual critters were wrongly blocked.
Now Xbox Live Gamertags will expire after five years
It's always frustrating when you can't get your preferred nickname for any online service, and after nearly 14 years many of the good ones on Xbox Live are already taken. Worse, they might be tied to accounts that are no longer active, and are just waiting to go back into circulation. Microsoft freed up a cache of 1 million stale Gamertags earlier this year and back in 2011, which could become a regular occurrence. As a part of an update to its Terms of Service, the company is adding a requirement to sign in at least once in a five year period to keep an Xbox Live Gamertag associated with your account.
Actually read the iTunes TOS with this graphic adaptation
It's a little lie you tell every single time you sign up for anything on the internet. "I have read and agree to the terms of service." You haven't read them and everybody knows it, but maybe you should read the iTunes Terms and Conditions, just once. Not for legal reasons of course, or on Apple's website -- that would be boring -- but in R. Sikoryak's 'Unabridged Graphic Adaptation: iTunes Terms and Conditions.' It's exactly what it sounds like: two volumes of unwieldy legal jargon juxtaposed with gorgeous comic imagery.
Get your Tree of Savior beta questions answered
Tomorrow's a big day for Tree of Savior, as the colorful fantasy title will begin its Korean closed beta. If you have questions about the beta test, MMO Culture posted a short interview that covers several of the details. The team's primary goal during the first closed beta test is to ascertain "development direction in the future." This will be done by letting gamers check out features like the circle ranking system, companions, and 28 playable classes. A post-beta wipe is confirmed as well. However, as 90,000 people have registered for Tree of Savior's test and only 3,000 of those will be admitted, the chances are not great that you can hop into the beta... at least for right now.
Tree of Savior will launch free-to-play, heads toward first closed beta
If you had any lingering doubts that Tree of Savior would be launching as a free-to-play title, best to put them out of your head now. The game will indeed be launching free-to-play, at least in Korea, with an undisclosed number of "extra" items in the cash shop (which will be revealed in the future). Recruitment for the first closed beta is already underway, with the first test starting on January 15th, 2015. This early test will be limited to 3,000 participants, and as it's for the Korean version, you'll need a Korean Nexon account. Some clarification regarding the game's class structure has also been posted; it lays out how players can move up to the more advanced classes at regular intervals. The first test features only 28 possible classes rather than the full 80 of the final game, but more options will be made available as the game moves through testing.
Tree of Savior reveals more classes, promises a surprise on December 12th
Whether or not you think that Tree of Savior is going to be a game to watch out for, you have to respect the game's dedication to class diversity. A new batch of classes has been unveiled by fan translation work, and it's certainly a far cry from the usual fare. How many other games expect you to choose between Doppelsoldner, Pied Piper, Murmillo, and Schwarze Reiter? And that's just out of this group! At character creation, players will choose between four basic classes (Swordsman, Wizard, Cleric, and Archer), which leads into the extremely diverse lineup of advanced classes such as the aforementioned additions. You can see some of these classes on display in the game's trailer from G-Star 2014, embedded past the break. The game has just put up a teaser site promising a reveal on December 12th, possibly the game's first beta test.
Tree of Savior might be getting published here according to an unofficial interview
Tree of Savior got a pretty strong showing at G-star 2014, where the staff announced that Nexon will be handling the publishing duties for the game in its native country. But what about worldwide releases? There might be hope yet. A fansite for the game has posted an interview with members of the imcGAMES staff who asked to remain anonymous. These anonymous interviewees state that the company is still looking into worldwide partners and has considered simply publishing the game itself in foreign markets. Other revelations include the prospect of developing the game for mobile devices in the future and that the game will most likely work as a free-to-play title with a cash shop. The interview also notes that these statements may not reflect the official view of imcGAMES and are subject to change without notice. Still, the full interview is worth a look, even if you need to take everything with an appropriately sized grain of salt.
Tree of Savior shows off its gameplay at G-Star 2014
There's no denying that even in static shots, Tree of Savior looks like a very pretty isometric game. The title is on display at G-Star 2014 and showing off a new trailer courtesy of Steparu that highlights some of the game's big field bosses, playable classes, and the general look of the world as a whole. And you can watch that trailer just after the break to see all of these moving parts in action. Nexon has been confirmed as the Korean publisher for the game, but there are still no announcements to be had about any sort of publication in the US. The game's control layout has been revealed to be a far cry from the point-and-click interface suggested by the overhead view; movement is handled with the arrow keys, and the first two rows of the keyboard serve as hotbar bindings. Check out the video past the break to see if it looks like something you'd like to play in the future. [Thanks to Yorai Dragon for the tip!]
Tree of Savior Q&A highlights guilds, mounts, and parties
IMC Games' developer SY Kim has answered a slew of player questions about upcoming Korean character-driven fantasy MMO Tree of Savior. He begins by clarifying that while the studio has referred to the game as a "true successor" to the Ragnarok Online series, it is not an official sequel; the parent studios are unrelated. He also discusses party formation, cards and magical items, diminishing returns on experience gain from lowbie mobs, spear and poisoner classes, monster respawn, stat gain, and pets and mounts. A guild system, he relates, will not be in by closed beta. Read all the details on the official blog. [Thanks, tipster Yorai Dragon!]
Microsoft expands its pledge not to sell ads against your private data
Microsoft constantly reminds us that Google scans email in order to sell ads. Now it's adapting its policies to specifically state that it won't engage in the same practices as its rival. Well, not all of them. In an effort to be more transparent and build trust, the company has updated its service agreement and privacy policy to make it clear that it will not access your content to sell ads. "We do not use what you say in email, chat, video calls, or voicemail to target advertising to you," Microsoft notes. "Nor do we use your documents, photos, or other personal files to target advertising to you." However, the policy, which covers most of Microsoft's online services, including Bing, Outlook and OneDrive, won't come into effect until July 31st. To be clear, however, Microsoft isn't ignoring your data completely, and there are still a few clauses to be aware of.
Newest test for Tree of Savior features English localization
The slowest part of bringing in a game from another part of the globe is always the localization, but Tree of Savior has apparently taken care of that ahead of time. The most recent testing session for the game featured an option to switch the game's language between English, Korean, and Japanese, changing both text and dialogue. It's unclear at this point whether this is going to be an option within the game's client in all regions, but that decision may be left up to regional publishers; all current test servers are located in Korea, since that's where the game is being developed. Still, it's an encouraging sign for those hoping to see the game on American shores sooner rather than later.
EVE Evolved: Eleven years of EVE Online
It seems that every year another few MMOs have closed their doors or convert to free-to-play business models to stay afloat. EVE Online has always enjoyed a level of insulation from these market trends elsewhere in the genre, and just last week on May 6th it celebrated its 11th year of year-on-year subscription growth. Following on from my previous column celebrating the EVE Evolved column's sixth year of operation, this week I'll be summarising all the major EVE news stories throughout the year. It's been a big year for EVE fans, one that many of us can be proud to have been a part of. The EVE community turned its financial wizardry toward the real world and raised over $190,000 US in relief aid following a typhoon hitting the Philippines, and CCP even built a monument dedicated to the community. Several massive player battles once again put EVE on the global media's radars, and the Odyssey and Rubicon expansions revitalised the game for explorers and PvPers alike. But not everyone can hold his heads up high this year, with details of more cyberbullying within EVE coming to light and several players being banned for defacing the EVE monument in Reykjavik. In this anniversary retrospective, I summarise all the major EVE news from the year in one place and take a look at what the future may hold for the EVE universe.
Google's recent TOS update reminds us what little choice we have
So, Google analyzes your email. Who knew? Well, judging by a recent wave of internet chatter regarding a two-sentence update the search giant made to its terms of service this week, not that many. The truth is, of course, that most Gmail users did know that Google scans your email, or parses it in some way so that it can place those oh so important personalized adverts alongside them. Like anyone on Facebook who got dating ads after changing their relationship status can attest to. The backlash this week, however, seemed to take two basic flavors. One being paranoia that some deep change had taken place that the search giant was looking to sneak past us. The second being that this was a sign of how our rights are constantly being eroded, and that this constant "policy creep" will soon have us handing over our deepest darkest digital secrets, without any powers to negotiate. So which is it?
CyanogenMod Installer pulled from Google Play, lives on via sideloading
The CyanogenMod team made switching from your phone's original Android setup to its own flavor of the OS much easier with paired mobile and desktop installer apps, but now there's one extra step. In a blog post, CyanogenMod states the Google Play Support team contacted it and claims the installer app is in violation of their TOS. This, despite CyanogenMod's insistence that the app's only purpose is to enable ADB on the device, then guide users through connecting it to the desktop app. Despite "hundreds of thousands" of installs for its alternative Android experience, the mobile app is still usable via sideloading, and its installation guide walks users through the necessary steps. Going forward, the CyanogenMod team is submitting its app to Samsung and Amazon's alternative app stores, but interested Android users can download it right now.
If you use Google services, you could become an ad next month
Google users, you're about to become shills. A major update to the company's Terms of Service agreement today could have some users' profiles showing up in ads across the web. These "shared endorsements," as Google is calling them, leverage any reviews, comments, +1s, follows or stars a user may have given to a business or brand by effectively placing that user's name, photo and any relevant comment in a personalized advertisement. It's worth nothing, however, that if you've set restrictions on your shared comments, personalized ads will only be shown to friends within that Google+ circle. We know what you're thinking: you want out. Google knows this too, which is why the company is allowing users the ability to opt-out, while also excluding any and all users under the age of 18. And any users that previously opted out of +1s will automatically be exempted. The ads are set to go live on November 11th, so there's still about a month to go before users will begin to see these "shared endorsements" pop up, giving Google ample time to explain the change across its suite of services and users the ability to take appropriate action (and give up on the internet altogether).
CCP's rewording of EVE Online TOS causes uproar [Update]
A recent rewording of EVE Online's Terms of Service has created quite a stir in the sandbox's community. The rewording emphasizes that activities such as spying, sabotage, and scamming are bannable offenses -- activities that some players are arguing are the heart of EVE meta-gameplay. Further along in the burgeoning thread (it's at 68 pages and growing), one GM even pointed out that telling someone in game you are an alt of one of your own characters is considered impersonation and can net you a ban. [Thanks to Sean for the tip!] Update: CCP's PR wrote us to remind everyone of some of the other official clarifications made in that lengthy thread: "For all practical purposes there has been no change in how impersonation issues will be handled compared to the last few years. The TOS update reflects the way reported cases of impersonation have been handled by Customer Support for a long time. The rules applied have been buried in our naming policy and EULA but have now been placed in plain view in order to better help players to make decisions on how they interact with one another . . . One concern is that we have pretty much banned all scams in EVE. Clearly, this is not the case." The studio has posted additional clarifications regarding scamming and impersonations and has encouraged feedback.
PSA: Yahoo Mail Classic shuts down June 3rd
Yahoo's been on a bit of a warpath lately, shuttering old services and streamlining existing ones -- the firm classic email interface, slated to discontinue tomorrow, June 3rd, is the latest to get the axe. We knew this was coming, of course, but its more than a mere visual update: users who choose to upgrade to the new interface will have to agree to Yahoo's updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Yahoo's own help documentation points out why this matters, explaining that the new ToS includes "the acceptance of automated content scanning and analyzing of your communications content, which Yahoo users to deliver product features, relevant advertising and abuse protection." Nothing new for Gmail users, but a change worth consideration. The company says users can opt out of contextual advertising or otherwise dodge it with a desktop email client, but will still need to accept the new ToS to continue using Yahoo Mail. Mostly par for the course, but if you're concerned about privacy, you can read up on the changes for yourself at the attached source link.
Foursquare to display full user names, share more data with local businesses
Fond of your family name? Good -- it's about to get a bit more visible. Foursquare is planning to display full user names on profile pages, explaining in a recent community email that the old policy has become confusing. "If you search for a friend on Foursquare, we show their full name in the results, but when you click through to their profile page you don't see their last name." The team says these abbreviations made sense in Foursquare's early days, but recently users have been asking for change. "We get emails every day saying that it's now confusing." The social network hopes that displaying users' full surnames will help mitigate confusion between the John Smiths and John Smythes of the world. The company's tweaked privacy policy promises to share more data with businesses, too, giving store owners greater visibility of customers who have recently checked in. Users who want their quests for coffee to remain anonymous still can, of course -- Foursquare was careful to remind users that they can change their "full name" whenever they want, and can opt out of sharing their location information with businesses. We wouldn't want to step on any toes, would we? Head past the break to see the email for yourself, or check out the adjacent source link to read Foursquare's "Privacy 101" summary.
Instagram rolls its ToS back to the previous version after uproar, will 'take time to complete its plans'
After upsetting users with changes to its Terms of Service, Instagram announced tonight that it's discarding some of them for now, rolling back the advertising section to the ToS in place since 2010. Reiterating his previous statement that Instagram never had any plans to sell user photos, company co-founder Kevin Systrom explained in a blog post that instead of trying to create terms shaped around "possible advertising products it had not yet developed" it would come back with complete plans and explain to users "how we would like our advertising business to work." There are still changes to the ToS and privacy policy coming effective January 19th, 2013, which can be reviewed on its website. Also apologizing for a failure to clearly communicate the company's intentions, Systrom noted that any distribution of user photos has been and still is governed by the separate privacy policy. Instagram's changes came as part of its acquisition by Facebook, and the change-policy-face-backlash-then-apologize dance step is a classic Zuckerberg move. So in light of this backtracking, are you going to watermark all your brunch pics before uploading, jump ship to competing services like Flickr or just keep using / not using the service as usual?
The Daily Grind: Do you report gold spammers?
There you are, minding your own business, when someone named Fghdsjfta walks up to you and says "***---~~~BUY GOLD CHEAP FAST DELIVERY <<500 = $5>> FAST DELIVERY!! CHEAP GOLD TO YOU NOW!!~~~---***" This wouldn't happen in real life (besides, how would someone pronounce a tilde?), but it can and does in your favorite MMOs. Most of the time these gold-selling messages are repeated in your chat window over and over again as you try to figure out how to report the character for being an annoying spammer. Or do you? After having this conversation with some friends, I've found that not everyone reports these gold sellers. Some block the name, some turn off chat channels completely, and others simply ignore it in hopes that someone else will deal with it. So where do you stand? Let us know in the comments below! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
