ip-blocking
Latest
ArcheAge Russia IP blocks only apply to new accounts, Mail.Ru 'negotiating' with XL
The saga of ArcheAge Russia continues today as publisher Mail.Ru has updated the game's website with the status of its "negotiations" with developer XLGAMES. As we reported yesterday, XL requested IP blocks for the Russian release of its popular sandpark title, presumably due to an influx of both Korean and Western enthusiasts. Today's update, courtesy of Google translate, says that the IP blocks only apply to newly registered accounts, which would explain why many Western ArcheAge users were able to continue playing even after yesterday's announcement. Some ArcheAge fans are speculating that the popularity of the Russian release stems from huge post-launch changes made by XL to the Korean version of the game. Said changes were intended to make ArcheAge more accessible for a wide audience, but fans who have followed the title for years were reportedly turned off by the removal of sandbox elements and subsequently decided to play the pre-patch Russian version. [Thanks everyone who tipped us!]
MechWarrior Online announces closed beta and founder's program
Turn over the engine and light up the jet thrusters because MechWarrior Online is stomping into closed beta this week. Anyone who registers on the official site has a chance to check out the hot 'mech action before the rest of the crowd. While the beta is currently limited to North America, there is no IP blocking, so anyone can jump in as long as he or she doesn't mind a little lag. Perhaps of more interest is Piranha Games' announcement of its founder's program, code-named Operation Inception. Yes, we guess the devs saw the movie too. While MWO will be free-to-play with optional microtransactions, Operation Inception lets players invest their money up-front to get special goodies and an early start to the game. Players can buy into the founder's program starting June 19th. It will come in two tiers: a $30 veteran package and a $60 elite package. The veteran package includes $40 of in-game currency, a month of premium account status, a founder's tag, and early access. The elite package includes $80 of in-game currency, two months of premium status, the founder's tag, early access, and an exclusive BattleMech. Early access for MechWarrior Online begins July 17th.
The Soapbox: TERA's rocky road to release
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. What a difference a year makes, eh? February of 2011 found me drooling over my keyboard as I devoured all the screenshots and gameplay footage leaking out of TERA's Korean launch (yes, the westernization process really has been dragging on for a year). Fast-forward 12 months and the game is losing a little bit of its luster because of certain En Masse decisions and in spite of the fact that the firm has a potentially awesome MMO on its hands.
New TERA IP blocking policy contradicts previous En Masse tweets [Updated]
Yesterday we reported on En Masse Entertainment's policy when it comes to IP blocking and region-locks for its upcoming TERA MMORPG. While the company's decision to keep users from Asia, Africa, Russia, and the Middle East off its American servers isn't particularly unusual, it is curious in the wake of several previous statements to the contrary. It turns out that En Masse said it wouldn't engage in foreign IP blocking four separate times via its TERA Twitter account before reversing course with its support post over the weekend. Is the new policy going to prevent you from playing TERA? Tell us what you think! [Thanks to Stilllove for the tip.] [Update: En Masse has responded with an official explanation of the changes. We've included the full statement behind the break.]
En Masse outlines policy for TERA IP blocking [Updated]
Lawsuits notwithstanding, TERA's North American debut is but a few short months away, and En Masse Entertainment probably has plenty of things on its pre-launch to-do list. One of those things is publicizing its policy on region-based IP blocking, and the firm did just that via a recent update to its support website. The firm will block IP addresses based on region, and Asia, Africa, Russia, and the Middle East are currently included on the company's block list. "While we appreciate that there are players in these regions who would enjoy playing on En Masse servers, it's unfortunate that the vast majority of internet traffic we see from these regions is from cyber-criminals relating to account theft, gold-farming and other hacking behavior," the company says. En Masse will not initially block proxies, but "a proxy or server host will be blocked if it becomes a popular tool for criminal behavior," according to the release. [Thanks to Stilllove for the tip!] [Update: En Masse has responded with an official explanation of the changes. We've included the full statement behind the break.]
