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MMO Burnout: Engineers in spaaace
I missed the whole Minecraft craze. I was stupidly grinding my virtual life away in various MMORPGs, plus I couldn't get past Minecraft's so-fugly-it's-hip aesthetic. No matter, though, because Space Engineers takes Minecraft's core concepts and dolls them up with pleasing visuals, a nifty near future sci-fi setting, and addictive gameplay that's much more than the sum of its parts.
EVE Evolved: Consequences and conflict
I've always considered EVE Online to be the model sandbox MMO and a template that could theoretically be applied to other titles. Whether you believe it's by careful design or a happy accident, EVE has stumbled on a formula that clearly works and has helped the game stay popular for over a decade. I've written before about the many interconnected parts that make EVE's sandbox model work and how pulling out essential features such as item loss on death or adding foreign mechanics like global banking could cause the whole game to fall apart. But there's one aspect I didn't really cover in depth: consequences for negative behaviour. In his latest Some Assembly Required column, Massively's Jef Reahard argued that EVE can't be considered the quintessential sandbox MMO because it lacks consequences for bad behaviour. While I would argue that EVE is as close to the ideal model of the genre as exists at the moment, I'm forced to agree with Jef's assessment. Almost all of the major events in EVE's recent history that have hit the gaming media have been about theft or war, with tales of massive scams and alliance warfare painting New Eden in a dark and violent light. The ultimate sandbox would be equally capable of birthing incredible stories of exploration and players working together to build magnificent things, not just chaos and death in the gloomy depths of interstellar space. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the lack of consequence for negative actions in EVE Online, whether it causes negative behaviour, and why sandboxes need to be about more than just destruction.
Ask Massively: The dilemma of the free-to-play sandbox
Reader Sharvis recently emailed the Massively Speaking podcast with a question I felt deserved more than just a quick verbal reaction on the 'cast. That, and we just discovered that the ask@massively.com email address went dead approximately three weeks ago, and I've not been receiving your letters there (so send 'em again!). In the meantime: Sharvis. What makes a sandbox so susceptible to its business model in comparison to a themepark? I'm not experienced with sandbox titles, and I can only guess on some of the implications. For example, selling boosters in a themepark is fairly acceptable, but in a sandbox, as Jef pointed out [in his ArcheAge column earlier this summer], that'd be cutting into one of the main features of a sandbox. I'd guess it has to do with these sort of MMOs being more player-centric, and that's a very delicate system to be messing with. See? I told you this was a juicy one.
Massively Speaking 226: Stuffed!
With the holiday week here in the states, the news cycle downshifted while belts loosened. Justin, Jef, and Bree gorged on both turkey and MMOs this past week, and can now legally be declared "brain dead but heart happy." Even with Thanksgiving we still had an interesting week of stories, interviews, and even a major launch! On today's exciting episode, we digest both the food and the most interesting bits of news for you. Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot an email to podcast@massively.com. We may just read your email on the air! Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page: Read below the cut for the full show notes.
Free for All: The still-satisfying world of action MMOs
Look, I'm a red-blooded American gamer. I even call it 'Merica. So it should be no surprise when I feel like getting down with a melee-based chop-'em-up or have the desire to leap, jump and bounce my way through countless levels. In other words, action. We 'Mericans love our action games. I have my particular favorites, for sure, and within that list are my favorites of favorites that get the nod for different reasons. Honestly I'm not into action-based games just for the challenge. I don't need to make repeated attempts at downing a boss to have fun. I enjoy the immediate response that an action game gives me. I love to click the mouse button and see my character's sword swing or gun fire. It's satisfying. Of course, action games can have their drawbacks. Not only do they tend to produce a euphoric haze that can only be described as "stoner glare" and an open-mouthed state of hypnosis, but they can take a toll on delicate, drum-beaten wrists like mine as well. I take the good with the bad, I guess. Click past the cut and I'll let you know my favorite F2P action MMOs.
Hyperspace Beacon: Best of...
If you pre-ordered the game early enough, then you should be in Star Wars: The Old Republic's early access by the time you are reading this. I hope you're having a good time. Look me up on the Lord Adraas server. My name there is Shaddoe. Don't be scared -- I may roleplay my character. Even if you didn't pre-order in time, you'll want your SWTOR fix, and I have the solution for you right here: the Hyperspace Beacon. Each week for the last year and a half, I have written a guide to the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic, covering everything from lore and game mechanics to speculation and community. Ultimately, I hope to better prepare you for the launch of this highly anticipated MMO. However, 67 articles can be tough to sift through, so I've narrowed down the list to the best of the best.
Massively's double-dose of SWTOR beta impressions
For the last few weeks, two members of the Massively staff, Larry Everett and Jef Reahard, have been romping around in the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta, enjoying an extended look at BioWare's upcoming story-driven themepark. Today, we can finally reveal their thoughts on the current state of the game just two months before launch. Larry is our SWTOR columnist; he's been following the game for us for more than a year and a half. And Jef is our Age of Conan specialist (and former Aion and EverQuest II writer) whose love for sandboxes and soapboxes is well-known. Both are die-hard Star Wars fans. Sit back and savor a double-helping of SWTOR beta impressions!
One Shots: A brand-new day
Welcome, 2011! A bright new day has dawned, ripe with possibility, and all you have to do is step outside to enjoy it! Mind you, doing that in Age of Conan can also involve your getting attacked by any nearby monsters, crazy people, or just all-around bad guys. Hey, what can you expect in a brutal, bloody MMO based on the history of a guy who really enjoys battle? However, if you manage to find a quiet spot (or defeat those monsters waiting to pounce), there is a ton of richly detailed scenery for you to enjoy, waiting beyond the door. Today we see our very own Jef Reahard's character in Age of Conan, stepping into a sunny Khitai courtyard. Whether the day simply remained rich with possibility or ran red from the blood of his enemies, we don't know, but we can enjoy this frozen moment of peaceful potential nonetheless. Have you snapped a screenshot while out on your recent travels? If so, we'd love to see it! Just email it in to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in. %Gallery-85937%
One Shots: Always better with friends
While the Massively staff is somewhat split on the topic of alts, we all love to play as many MMOs as we can squeeze in. Take our very own Jef Reahard, who is currently playing Darkfall and Age of Conan and has also spent time playing and writing about a plethora of other games like EverQuest II and the game in today's One Shots, Aion. As a special bonus, you'll even see that this screenshot offers double the Massively fun, as Jef wasn't alone on this adventure. Jef sent along a note to explain: "Here's a shot from T-Labs (Theobomos Labs really, but no one calls it that). It's a pretty fun high-level dungeon that isn't too stressful, and as you can see, boasts a kaleidoscope of color/light/etc. This shot is me and a sorceress pounding on the end boss. If you squint really hard you can see Massively's Aion columnist, MJ, going toe to toe with the thing on her Assassin." We can do it; so can you! It's easy to take part in One Shots. All you have to do is send in your screenshots to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in. Couldn't be easier! %Gallery-85937%
Captain's Log: Supplemental on STO's treatment of canon
Welcome to another edition of Captain's Log, everyone's (well, mostly my) favorite column about Star Trek Online. Guess what? It's Thursday, which means Thanksgiving is upon us -- assuming you're in the U.S., in which case I hope you already knew that. At any rate, in the spirit of the holiday, we're going buffet-style this week, talking about a little of this and a little of that. But don't worry; most of you are probably slipping into a food coma already, so I'll keep things light, mostly. For an appetizer, we'll nibble on Cryptic Studios' little preview of Season 3. For a nice second course, I'll revisit my opinion on STO's treatment of Star Trek canon. And for dessert, I'll suggest some Black Friday shopping on the C-Store!
One Shots: Bark at the moon
As readers of Choose My Adventure know, our very own Jef Reahard is currently making his way through the dangerous lands of Darkfall, checking out everything that Agon has to offer a new adventurer. While out running around on his Mahirim, he captured this lovely screenshot in the dark night -- although he actually had to lighten it up just a bit so you could see the landscape! Jef explains it in today's note: "Here's an interesting Darkfall shot. As you can see, night in this game is actually dark, unlike the blue lens filters in a lot of MMOs. It's so dark, in fact, that I had to lighten this up a bit with Photoshop. In any event, this is Swiftsnout howling at the moon outside of his racial capitol. In Darkfall lore, the Mahirim race worships Theia, the second moon of Agon that they call the Ghost Moon. Oh, and yes that's some sort of luminescent butterfly floating above his head. It gets a bad rap, but Darkfall can be quite beautiful and, on occasion, relaxing." One Shots is all about what you're doing. As such, we thrive on your screenshots. If we don't have screenshots, we can't bring you the best of One Shots every day. If you'd like to help us out, dig out some screenshots and send them to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sharing your images and tales. %Gallery-85937%
Hyperspace Beacon: Jef's soapbox smells like a wet Wookiee
Disclaimer: This column is entirely the opinion of the Hyperspace Beacon's writer and does not necessarily reflect that of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, remember: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering -- whatever that means. So, maybe you should skip this column if this opinion is too much for you to handle. I know in my last column I said I would continue the story of Nomi Sunrider, and I will, just not this week. I felt Jef's Soapbox article about the hype surrounding Star Wars: The Old Republic required some sort of response. The denotation of "hype" doesn't bother me. Stimulating the audience's excitement about a game is kind of the job of a game's producers. Teasing people with parts of the story or gameplay is common. It's the connotation of "hype" that drives me bats when people apply it to STWOR. Nearly every person, who uses "hype" when talking about SWTOR, seems to indicate that BioWare and LucasArts are attempting to sell the audience something that is not truly what it is. Do they tease? Sure, but the BioWare PR managers are not selling you death sticks. I contest that the people who are selling the death sticks are the fans. Follow after the break and I will explain.
One Shots: Behind the scenes
Do you know what today is? No? Well, I'll tell you -- it's One Shots number 1000 since we started writing these three years ago! Personally, I love writing these because every day I get to open up our mailbox, look through all the great screenshots and stories from all over the MMO community that come in to us, and pick one to post. Today, I thought it would be fun to share another story from behind the scenes here at Massively, courtesy of our very own Jef Reahard, news writer and resident Age of Conan columnist. "Figured I'd send in this shot of my Age of Conan assassin in a bit of peril. Sharp-eyed Hyborians can see the Iron Tower as well as King Conan's castle in the background, and if you squint really hard, you can make out the walkway that Aquilonian newbs fresh off the boat from Tortage first experience upon zoning into the huge city. Funcom has added quite a bit of explorable area since I played at release, including this nifty new section of Tarantia called, appropriately enough, Tarantia Commons. It makes the city feel much larger, and much more alive, than I remember. As for my for the fate of my assassin, well, let's just say that he did his best Richard Kimble impersonation. Whether he lived, well, that's a story for another role-play event." Would you like to be part of the next 1000 One Shots here on Massively? We think your screenshots would be a great addition to our ongoing archive of images and stories from around the MMOverse. However, you have to send them in to us to take part! Just email them to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. It could wind up being the next one featured here. %Gallery-85937%
