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The Guild Counsel: Favorite moments from the Massively livestream
I'm sure you know about Massively's ever-expanding video channel. But what you might not know is that over the past year, I've done a little MMO walkabout, sampling as many different games as I could on my character Mmognaut. What I was particularly interested in was branching out and getting to know the communities that make these games what they are, and the Massively livestream was a great way to do that while giving the viewers a chance to experience it too. Through livestreaming and Twitch TV, I've had a great opportunity to explore dozens of MMOs over the past year, often with my co-host Jeremy Stratton. In my weekly column here, I often focus on common issues that happen within a guild, but I've also looked at MMO communities on the whole, and that should include the community that's grown here at Massively. What's really neat is that there's an overlapping at times during these shows, where the in-game communities of the MMO we're showcasing mesh with the Massively community, and it's made for some fantastic moments. Join me in this week's Guild Counsel as I look back over my favorite moments from the past year.
Invictus dominates Flyff World Championship
The dust has settled, the battles won, and United States team Invictus has emerged victorious from the $100,000 Flyff World Championship. Teams from around the world fought to progress through an elimination ladder to become the champions, but in the end it was two teams from North America -- Invictus and SOD -- that faced off for the grand prize. Invictus dominated the fights, winning five out of six on October 15th. As the new champion, Invictus was awarded $50,000, unique in-game armor, and a trip to Korea to meet the makers of Flyff and attend G-Star 2011. The runner-up team, SOD, walked away with a respectable $20,000 and the special armor for its members. All Flyff players can enjoy the residue of the championship by logging in and leveling up for a chance to win prizes. The game is also planning its next content patch, which will go into open beta on October 28th. Stay tuned to Massively as we will be talking to Invictus later this week! [Source: gPotato press release]
Hear all about the Flyff World Championship (and get a Flyff gift pack too!)
If you like flying, tournaments, and cash (and who doesn't!), then you might be interested in participating in the Flyff World Championship. Flyff, which is short for "fly for fun," is a fantasy, free-to-play MMO, and right now, over 250 teams from around the world are competing in a $100,000 tournament to decide which guild is top dog. The regional preliminaries are already underway, and later in the fall, qualifying teams will battle it out for cash prizes and special in-game items. Massively talked to a couple of participants to learn what it takes to compete in the Flyff World Championship. Ozmix, leader of Snails of Doom, and Reyals, from Invictus, are two of the top guilds in the competition, and they talked to us about their experiences in the tournament so far. And if you're interested in trying out Flyff, you're in luck! Massively is giving away coupon codes for a Flyff gift pack, which includes several handy items for new players and veterans alike. Read on for the interview, and claim your gift pack key using the button below! [Sorry, all codes have been claimed]
SureFire's UB3T Invictus flashlight is super-bright, not quite incendiary
SureFire first announced its blindingly UB3T Invictus torch back in 2010, but it took until now for the company to get its 800-lumen flashlight out the door. As a point of comparison, the massive (almost as good a weapon as light) six D battery MagLite only spits out about 160 lumens -- so, yeah, the Invictus is pretty dang bright. Of course, pumping out that much illumination takes quite a toll on the three 123A cells inside its military-grade aluminum body. At maximum brightness the UB3T lasts just 1.7 hours, though, at the lowest 2-lumen setting it can keep (dimly) lighting your path for up to 150 hours. Unfortunately, you'll need to shell out $695 for the privilege of owning one, which seems a bit pricey when compared to the $150, 4,100 lumen Torch -- after all, you can't cook breakfast with the Invictus.
Commodore USA unveiling Eee Keyboard rival?
We're not sure where things stand as far as Barry Altman's rights to the Commodore name, but a little red tape isn't going to stop this Commodore fanatic (and all-around good guy) from moving onwards and upwards with his Commodore USA venture. Recently, a photo of a keyboard PC with resistive touchscreen popped up on the company's website, labeled Commodore Invictus. Details are scant, but a certain "BigBentheAussie" over at the amigaworld.net forums is really excited by the thing. Apparently, this Eee Keyboard-doppleganger sports an Intel Atom processor, wireless HDMI, NVIDIA ION chipset, and five hours of battery life -- in addition to the aforementioned touchscreen display. Currently there is no price, street date, or detailed spec sheet available, but we're sure that all will be revealed in due time.
Blu-ray releases on May 18th 2010
Not a bad week of Blu-ray releases for mid-May, not bad at all. At the top of our list is Invictus, the true story based on South Africa's great rugby story -- but then again we're always a sucker for a good sports movie. Also this week is one of our favorite gangster movies of all time, Carlito's Way. There's even something for the fans of chick flicks as New Line brings out the day and date, Valentine's Day. Invictus (Warner) Carlito's Way (Universal) Extraordinary Measures (Sony) 2012: Doomsday (Echo Bridge) The Messenger (Music Video Distribution) 9 Songs (Vivendi) The Dukes (E1) The New Daughter (Anchor Bay) Outlander (Weinstein) The Spy Next Door (Lionsgate) Valentine's Day (New Line) Walkabout (Criterion)
Tabula Rasa clan punches their way to victory
I suppose you could debate the raw salience of this video to the greater news-hungry public but... well, we're not all always entirely serious around here. And speaking personally, anything played sped up to the Benny Hill theme song is usually good for at least a chuckle from me. The video you see before you is the Invictus clan on Tabula Rasa's Pegasus server making a naked holiday-themed rampage through the leafy planet of Foreas. While naked clan runs are hardly particular to Tabula Rasa (though this is among the first we've seen up on YouTube), what's particularly impressive is that Invictus was able to do their fellow members of the Allied Free Sentients a service and take over a couple capture points while they were at it. I suppose it speaks to the enduring power of humanity that a group of determined, albeit naked, humans can punch their way to victory.So now we've seen them free the Wilderness from the Bane's icy grasp. Can we get a naked Mires going soon?
Should selling raid spots be allowed?
A guild called Invictus on Alextrasza has posted a sort of advertisement on their realm forum, offering to sell raiding gear to anyone willing to cough up enough gold. There are all sorts of responses, from "Hey, those prices are cheap!" to "This is cheating!" One poster said that players should go through these instances on their own, through teamwork and patience -- but a member of Invictus replied, quite eloquently, that players all over their realm are more than welcome to work their way through The Burning Crusade content on their own, Invictus isn't stopping that; rather they are just providing a service for people who might genuinely be in need. Suppose, for instance, that your guild is in the middle of progressing through difficult content and a key player, such as a main tank, has to stop playing WoW due to real life difficulties. The next best tank you have in your guild is nowhere near as well-geared, and finding another outside person to fill such a crucial role could be difficult in the extreme. Invictus, they say, allows your whole guild to chip in and get your next best tank to pick up a couple pieces of gear from the highest raid instances in the game, thereby allowing him or her to catch up and start helping out much faster. It seems like a legitimate service to me.Then again, this is clearly a different situation from some rogue who just wants some epic weapons so he can do tons of damage in PvP -- especially if he didn't earn this gold he's spending through legitimate means within the game itself. Is Invictus doing the right thing by opening the doors to all kinds of players? Should they be very careful in who they sell too? What's your opinion on the matter?[Thanks, James!]
