boosters
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Wakfu details boost benefits for free-to-play model [Updated]
Wakfu has always had a free option for players, but the game is saying goodbye to subscriptions altogether with its relaunch, giving all players access to every part of the game from start to finish. Of course, there has to be some way to balance that, since the company running the game will still need to make money. That incentive will take the form of boosts, allowing players to gain bonus experience on their first and subsequent characters. Boosts will be available in several different durations, with the longest duration corresponding to the greatest overall bonus. Players will have improved drop rates, health regeneration, and battle rewards as well. Prices have not yet been announced, but the goal is for the boost days to be affordable. Players with subscriptions will also see their remaining subscription days converted into boost days, allowing everyone currently playing to reap the benefits early. [Update: The team has just posted another chart with all of the veteran rewards that will be distributed to current subbers on July 9th.] [Thanks to Avaera for the tip!]
Neverwinter announces Hunter Ranger booster pack
Cryptic today revealed a new booster pack bundle that will go live with Neverwinter's upcoming Shadowmantle expansion. Designed specifically for the Hunter Ranger, the Hunter Ranger booster pack offers a few key goodies that should soften the starting experience for players checking out Neverwinter's newest class. The bundle includes a Hunter Ranger-exclusive bow and hatchet, account-wide neck and slot items, and hunting hawk companion. Additionally, it contains a bag of identification scrolls, assorted skill kits, and a 24-slot bag. Those who purchase the bundle will receive the title Master of the Savage Wild. The Hunter Ranger booster pack launches alongside Shadowmantle on December 5th, 2013.
The Daily Grind: Do you hang on to boosters?
The other day I had a terrible realization: I'm a complete and utter packrat in MMOs. Easily half of my bag space in Lord of the Rings Online is constantly filled with stuff that I deem absolutely essential. But that's not really true. I have an unhealthy supply of boosters, buffs, pills, and sports energy drinks in there for when I really, really need them. I never know when I might need their artificial aid in overcoming a tough moment, after all. Unfortunately, even when I do face tough situations, I keep thinking that there will probably be tougher in the future and that I still should not use my boosters. So they continue to accumulate and my bags pay the price for my folly. Are you the same? Do you hang on to boosters too long instead of just, y'know, using them? Do they make you feel more secure, just knowing that they are there? 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!
Wilson Electronics releases three 4G multi-band signal boosters, no soup for Sprint
Even if you live in an area with 4G coverage, you might not get the best service inside certain buildings, and that's where companies like Wilson Electronics come in -- just take a peek at its Sleek 4G-V, for example. At MobileCon 2012, the antenna maker added three more to its lineup. They are the Tri-band 4G-V, the Tri-band 4G-A, and the Tri-band 4G-C, and are meant for Verizon's 4G LTE, AT&T's 4G LTE, and T-Mobile's "faux-G" network -- the latter of which is also recommended for use throughout Canada. The antennas are designed to boost the signal of older legacy networks too, so no worries if you don't live in an area blessed with 4G. No pricing and availability just yet, and we don't see any sign of a Sprint antenna either. To get more details, catch the full PR after the break.
EVE Evolved: Risk vs. reward in lowsec
In EVE Online's early years, one of its core design philosophies was adherence to a strict risk vs. reward balance scheme. There were riches out there to be found, but to get them, you had to put yourself in the firing line. Police ships patrolled high-security space to keep players safe from piracy, but the only resources available there were low-bounty frigate NPCs and inexpensive ores like Veldspar, Scordite and Omber. In the lawless far-reaches of nullsec, huge NPC bounties and rare ores containing Megacyte and Zydrine tempted hundreds of pilots to head out and make their fortunes. Nullsec offered absolutely no protection against player attacks, and the only safety to be found was in sheer military force. The biggest and best corporations hoarded these gold mines for themselves, locking down the few entrances into the regions and patrolling the skies for unwanted visitors. Low-security space offered a middle-ground between these two extremes, a place where the everyday pilot could enjoy increased income and pirates were easier to spot. At some time in the past nine years, lowsec lost its place in the game and became simply not worth the effort. But how did that happen, and what can be done to fix it? In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at why lowsec systems are now ghost towns and suggest an alternative design philosophy that I think could revitalise these under-used areas.
Global Agenda gifting AP to booster account holders
Hi-Rez Studios is throwing a bone to Global Agenda veterans who raised concerns about the limitations on the title's Agenda Points. Agenda Points are Global Agenda's item shop currency and were introduced with the Free Agent patch as a way for players to spend real-life money on optional character items. Agenda Points will now be distributed for free to active Booster supporters on a daily basis (to the tune of five AP per day plus an additional five for each level 50 character on an account). Theoretically players could walk away with 1,350 AP per month if they have eight max-level toons. In other Global Agenda news, Hi-Rez's month-long player appreciation promotion is in full swing, and each successive week brings a 50% AP discount on all store items for one of the game's classes. Head to the official GA website to learn more, and don't forget to download the game!
Age of Empires Online gameplay, microtransactions detailed
New details on Microsoft's Age of Empires Online have surfaced at Gamasutra, with much of the information centered on the game's free-to-play business model and associated microtransaction offerings. The game will feature a Premium Civilization upgrade that unlocks all of a civilization's abilities simultaneously, as well as booster packs that add gameplay types, quests, and appearance customization items to the mix. Age of Empires Online will launch with Greek and Eqyptian civilizations, and will be the first entry in the long-running series to feature persistent gameplay (i.e., your city will evolve and earn resources even when you're logged off). The game also boasts PvP functionality as well as cooperative play on the vast majority of its quests. You can learn more about the game, as well as sign up for beta, at the official website.
GDCO 2010: Rich Vogel and Calvin Crowner on 13 years of Ultima Online
At this year's GDC Online in Austin, Ultima Online was the first game inducted into the Game Developer's Choice Hall of Fame. Massively had a chance to look back at UO's thirteen years of history with its original senior producer, Richard Vogel, and its current one, Calvin Crowner. Follow along after the jump to read more on their impressions of those 13 years.
Wilson Electronics Sleek signal booster reviewed: surprise, it works!
Signal booster. There, we said it. Quick -- what immediately comes to mind? We're guessing you're suddenly disgusted by the fact that you paid $19.99 (plus a nominal shipping and processing fee) for one of those worthless stickers back when your Snake-laden Nokia candybar had the worst reception of all time, but Wilson Electronics' Sleek is a horse of a different color. Our good pals over at Gadling were able to test out the Sleek after catching it at CES, and amazingly enough, they found that it worked exactly as advertised. It's engineered to be mounted in a car so that your phone can rest in the cradle while you use some sort of headset to communicate, but an AC adapter is available for those who need a boost indoors. The only real downside (besides the steep $129 asking price) is that you can't very well have your mobile in the cradle and the cradle upside your head. Unless, of course, you're still looking to relive the days when Sidetalkin' was all the rage. Man, where's the N-Gage when we need it?
Dear Aunt TUAW: What's the low down on battery packs?
Dear Aunt TUAW, Boxcar is killing my battery life (at least, that's what I'm guessing -- I love Boxcar, but since I began getting 20+ notifications a day, I'm seeing the battery drain quite a bit faster). What kind of battery pack can you recommend to help my poor iPhone stay online and available? I need to stay connected. Thanks in advance from your favorite nephew, Mikey Read on for Auntie's reply
EVE Evolved: EVE's economic underworld
EVE Online's in-game economy has been the subject of intense study over the years. The markets of EVE react very effectively to accomplish goals with the same economic laws that apply to many real-life marketplaces. The game's developers CCP even hired a professional economist to analyse the in-game economy, advise them on problem issues and deliver interesting quarterly reports. The driving force behind EVE's markets is often assumed to be basic supply and demand but this isn't always the most potent component. In the hyper-capitalistic universe of New Eden, all bets are off and the only rules are those players enforce themselves with an iron fist. Cartels, market manipulation and theft run rife in EVE, with far-reaching consequences. In this succinct article, I examine the hidden forces pushing and pulling EVE's markets and show that EVE's economic sandbox comes complete with quicksand and land mines.
EVE Evolved: Combat boosters
The drug trade has been a part of EVE since the very beginning. Originally, drugs were nothing more than a trading commodity occasionally demanded by agents in low security space. The old drug trade goods still exist in EVE, a non-functional relic of years gone past. A new drug trade has taken its place - the black market for performance-enhancing combat boosters. If you want to push your ship to the absolute limit of its abilities, whether it's for PvE or PvP, you're definitely going to want to get your hands on some combat boosters. In this article, I take a look at the drug trade in EVE and the different kinds of performance-enhancing combat boosters that are available.
New TCG expansion Blood of Gladiators out
Upper Deck has officially released the latest expansion in the WoW Trading Card Game -- the Blood of Gladiators is the game's eighth expansion set (can you believe this game has been around for three years already?), and features new PvP action, including a new Duel Faction Ally card and a new Arena setting in the Gurubashi Arena. There are three new characters in the game as well, coming straight from the pages of the World of Warcraft comic, with art by none other than Jim Lee. And of course it's got the loot cards we talked about earlier, including the Foam Swords rack and the Sandbox Tiger. Can't wait to see those in the game.Booster packs from the set run about $4 in most places, though demand for the game can actually drive the prices up at retail if store owners feel they're running out too fast. Seems like, at this point, the WoW TCG has its fans, and the online game does as well, and sometimes the two are not the same people. Anyone been waiting for this release, or, eight times in, is yet another expansion set actually business as usual in the collectible card game?
CCP Games to revitalize EVE Online's drug trade in Apocrypha expansion
Exploration has long been a profession in EVE Online that really held a niche appeal to players. The exploration system has been a complex one, where one had to bookmark locations in space midwarp at specific points in a solar system, and burn through various types of probes (and time) to find something hidden. The game's Apocrypha expansion is very much focused on improving exploration. While we've heard a great deal about wormholes and 'true exploration' what's been less spoken of is that Apocrypha is an across-the-board revamp of exploration in EVE Online. These changes will, CCP hopes, revive the ailing booster trade in EVE. Boosters are drugs that enhance a pilot's performance. Despite the numerous benefits boosters can impart, they're also highly illegal and being caught with them in high security space can lead to hefty fines. The arcane complexity of creating boosters and then smuggling them into high security space have made drug production and smuggling activities that comparatively few of EVE's capsuleers get involved with. This also means that boosters, the higher-grade stuff, can be hard to get your hands on. Boosters are a dimension to the game that CCP Games is looking to improve, which should come as good news to the game's would-be drug dealers.
CCP Games releases findings on EVE starbase exploit investigation
The EVE Online starbase exploit revealed in December has had a far-reaching impact on the game. Certain player-owned starbases in EVE were producing valuable, high-end materials that they shouldn't have been. Once a group of players picked up on this, they exploited the game on a massive scale, resulting in trillions of ISK (Interstellar Kredits, the game's virtual currency) that never should have existed being injected into the game. To date, this is the largest economic manipulation (via an exploit) ever revealed in EVE Online. The starbase exploit was the first of several player-triggered drama bombs that hit the game in recent weeks, and resulted in a substantial amount of (in-game) market turmoil and player outcry over the issue. The game's subscribers wanted openness on the matter from EVE's developer, CCP Games, and they've certainly got that as of today. CCP Games posted the results of the exploit investigation, and the caveat "be careful what you wish for" may apply here, given the depth and complexity of the findings conveyed to the playerbase in today's dev blog, "War Makes Thieves and Peace Hangs Them."
An insider's tips on drug smuggling in EVE Online
Among the numerous professions available to players in EVE Online, there are few that seem as arcane to an outsider as engaging in the booster (drug) trade and smuggling. One of the newest EVE blogs out there -- part of the ever-growing Blog Pack -- is something quite different. "Paradise Engineering" is written by Uhr Ptrak, who is part of the Es and Whizz cartel of drug producers and smugglers in EVE. Paradise Engineering is a blog dedicated to giving readers some more exposure to this shady side of the game. "Many pilots may not even be aware of the vibrant black market in contraband in EVE... combat boosters get a hard rap from the larger EVE community, either scorned or unknown to many pilots. I thought I'd try to correct the record through a series of posts and guides on boosters and smuggling," Uhr Ptrak writes.
EVE 'Blog Banter' discusses Walking in Stations expansion
While the official EVE Online forums have always been very active, there are other options out there. For those who like how busy the official forums are, but not the rules that govern it, there's Scrapheap Challenge. SH-C is a forum which is chiefly dedicated to discussing EVE Online, but not moderated by CCP Games themselves. Recent months, however, have seen a large number of EVE players striking out on their own, with their own blogs that focus on a particular aspect of the game linked to that blogger's playstyle. Industry, finance, piracy, 0.0 alliance warfare, and now even boosters (drugs) are being written about on a daily basis.While over 100 of these blogs are out there, the more prolific among them have joined under the banner of CrazyKinux's Blog Pack. By all accounts, it's been a successful community effort by EVE players, and now CrazyKinux is adding another dimension to the Blog Pack: conversation topics that are collectively tackled by the various bloggers, called "Blog Banter." The first Blog Banter got underway this past week, and the first issue up for discussion has been a timely one: EVE's Walking in Stations expansion, formerly known as Ambulation, which Fanfest attendees will get to try out firsthand in just a few more days. The question itself was proposed by PsycheDiver, who asked, "Ambulation: What are your hopes for your avatar and new functionality of stations?"
Outlaws of EVE Online: Masu'di Part 2
How do you handle the inevitable conflicts with territorial alliances who likely have greater numbers and firepower?Most of the areas of space we need access to are claimed, with various levels of effectiveness, by large and powerful territorial alliances. We can not begin to match them with manpower, so we have to take a more cracks between the pavement route.In EVE a little good will can go a long way. So we will always try an open upfront approach first, and try and build a mutually beneficial relationship. Cheap boosters, resource and information sharing are all things we try and bring to the table.However, whether this is accepted or not, very much depends on the organisation involved, and their modus operandi. Some alliances in EVE develop because their leaders have good business sense, focus and strategy, they know what they want for the alliance, and know what they can offer in return. Other organisations build up from a pure quest for power. For these organisations trading and business can take away from this. They prefer to try and do everything in-house as this is perceived as a sign of strength. "We moved a number of agents into their alliance, who could help facilitate the acquisition of the resources we needed. They provided intel, allowing us to conduct our own covert resource gathering, while causing internal disruption where possible." In the latter scenario we have to take a more covert approach, for example one recent alliance, former resident of Fountain, was an alliance called Brutally Clever Empire. We had already moved into the booster production constellation earlier, taking advantage of the chaos there when Band of Brothers pulled out. Not being perceived as a threat by anyone else we were generally low down on the target list and left alone to get on with what we like doing best. When Brutally Clever Empire arrived and claimed the region as their own, they wanted exclusive control of all the region's resources, and allow their in-house booster producers to build up a monopoly on the Exile booster type. However, the stronger boosters need resources from other regions too. It's something which we could easily provide and they tried to negotiate with us over this, however they refused to let us continue our access to our former operational areas – something which we found unacceptable.Without going into too much detail, we moved a number of agents into their alliance, who could help facilitate the acquisition of the resources we needed. They provided intel, allowing us to conduct our own covert resource gathering, while causing internal disruption where possible. We also we hired some mercenaries for a couple of months to harass Brutally Clever Empire, but luckily for us they had made enemies of most of their neighbours. With few friends and allies, and being yet another alliance that puts the wagon before the horse, they quickly collapsed.
Outlaws of EVE Online: Masu'di
Whether prowling low security space hunting for targets or fighting in massive fleet engagements, EVE Online's elite pilots -- called capsuleers -- stride like gods across galactic battle zones, as seen from the perspective of normal ship captains and crews. In this setting of New Eden, a capsuleer's neural interface with the ship allows his thoughts to regulate the vessel's performance; the will to survive coupled with fast reflexes equates to greater fortitude and speed in combat. Against conventional fleets, even a single capsuleer reigns supreme... but when faced with others of his caliber, or many of them, a capsuleer seeks every possible edge he can get. Some of EVE's pilots channel their resources into acquiring the most advanced technology, hoping to gain an advantage over their rivals. But others choose to invest in themselves through performance-enhancing drugs. These 'boosters' are outlawed in all secure regions of space, due to their powerful effects on a capsuleer's mind, and thus a magnified lethality of his ship. The demand for boosters is great, but so too are the costs. Boosters are contraband and risky to move in large quantities. Coupled with the arcane processes involved in creating these drugs, those in the know have formed cartels, whose booster production and smuggling operations form the underpinnings of New Eden's black market. The most pivotal figure in New Eden's booster trade is Masu'di, who heads the Hedonistic Imperative drug cartel through the corporate front of Es and Whizz. Their operations are largely hidden, as they dance around the power blocs of the largest capsuleer alliances, subtly influencing or corrupting those who hinder the narcotics trade. Their network operates between the cracks of New Eden's laws and systems, ensuring a steady flow of boosters into any corner of the galaxy where a capsuleer needs a fix.Massively recently spoke with Masu'di about the life of a drug kingpin in New Eden, and the inner workings of the black market in EVE.%Gallery-32364%
A closer look at illegal drug manufacturing in EVE
The freedom to pursue a life of crime or establish criminal enterprises in EVE Online is one of the more interesting aspects of the game. One of those paths a player can take is being a drug dealer. Perhaps the closest approximation to this aspect of EVE Online is the classic game DopeWars, although EVE brings this type of gameplay to a far more interactive level, with a real social aspect to the dealing side. However, these drugs -- known as "boosters" for how they augment certain abilities -- aren't simply bought from NPCs and then resold at a markup. Like virtually all of the items in EVE, boosters are manufactured by players with an industrial bent. The boosters are then ultimately distributed by those who enjoy smuggling and dealing. Kirith Kodachi established much of the basic info about boosters in his recent article for EVE Tribune, "EVE's Little Pick-Me-Ups." Now he's written a follow-up article that explains a bit about how these illicit substances are manufactured. In Kodachi's "Boosters Part 2: The Secrets of the Drug Cartels" he walks the reader through the complex stages of booster production, from gas cloud harvesting and reactions to the use of drug labs. Check out Kodachi's article for a look at what's involved with establishing yourself in EVE's illegal drug trade.
