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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.
Alter-Ego: Only doom in the hall
Just after my column went live last week, we saw the Sony Online Entertainment servers start to come back online. Those of us who consider DC Universe Online our MMO home were able to once again get our hero or villain on and meet up with friends we'd been relegated to catching up with on Facebook. (Don't get me wrong, Facebook is fine for what it is, but it can't compare with getting to bash virtual superhero or supervillain heads in alongside your league-mates!) As I mentioned last week, the restoration also came with a nice variety of goodies. With the added outage time tacked onto the 30 days, everyone was awarded 45 days of free play time, which isn't too shabby. I'd also note that the 45 days free applies to all Sony Online Entertainment game accounts you might have -- whether or not they were active at the time of the outage. This offers DC Universe Online players who may have opted to cancel after the first month the perfect chance to log in and check out the content updates that have gone live since launch, without having to spend a dime. The real question is this: What type of future might we see for DCUO in the aftermath of the outages, especially with so many players screaming that they were leaving? Join me behind the break as I look at our first week back on the mean streets.
DC Universe Online Update 2 is on its way!
We know you've been anxiously awaiting new content from DC Universe Online -- so have we. A couple of weeks ago, Creative Director Chris Cao talked with us about the "chance" content of the latest update. The Penguin and Two-Face are the villains of choice this time around, and we'll even see a special appearance from Mister Mxyzptlk. Naturally, we're are all excited about the new update -- now when is it coming out? We finally have the answer. On the official forums, Community Manager Tony "RadarX" Jones told DCUO fans that the update will be coming next week! He also took some time to explain that multiple exploits have been fixed, many mission bugs have been squashed, and the social UI has been overhauled. For more information about the update, don your cape and cowl, then head over to Krystalle's interview with Chris Cao. If SOE keeps to its normal update schedule, we will see the new content on Tuesday (if not Thursday). To the Batcave!
Exclusive Interview: Terrorizing the Green Lantern with DCUO's RadarX
It isn't often that I get the opportunity to play a game with someone who is actively working on it. Even more rarely do I get to play a game before it is released. So when Sony Online Entertainment asked whether someone at Massively would like a virtual tour of its newest innovation, DC Universe Online, how could I say no? Community Manager Tony Jones -- or as most players on the DCUO forums may know him, RadarX -- met me on the sprawling streets of Metropolis (home of Superman), where the Sinestro Corps was absolutely convinced the Green Lantern Corps was draining the power of its rings. Sinestro and his gang began feeding off the fear of Metropolis citizens to empower the rings again. Now, when the Green Lanterns heard about this, of course, they attempted stop the terror, and RadarX, in all his villainy, couldn't let the Lanterns get away with that. I was invited to join in the fun. My tour of the game gave me the chance to ask some questions about what's in store for the community in this exciting game, as well as the chance to beat up some good guys. Follow me after the break to ride along on my adventure!
PoxNora's big revamp tentatively scheduled for this week
The big revamp is almost here! RadarX -- you know, that friendly community guy -- recently made a post on the official forums announcing that the big revamp/update will be tentatively landing this Wednesday, Feb. 24th. Assuming nothing explodes, in just two more days PoxNora will have a newly streamlined stat system and shiny new user interface as well. There is a downside to this news, however, and that's an extended downtime on patch day. Expect the servers to be unavailable for about eight hours. If you're wondering what all this talk of PoxNora and its big revamp is all about, check out our recent interview with Tony "RadarX" Jones about all the changes and improvements coming for current players and newcomers alike.
Massively interviews PoxNora: Major updates and a website revamp
It's been far too long since we first had the pleasure of introducing readers to PoxNora. So long, in fact, that we contacted SOE to see about speaking with the good people in Tucson, AZ about their strategy game that incorporates card collecting, online persistence and progression mechanics into a delightful cocktail of an online game. There's a lot of changes coming to PoxNora, changes that for the first time will be revealed in this interview with SOE Community Manger Tony "RadarX" Jones. A new website, a new Rune Manager, a new Champions stat system, new maps and hints at the future of PoxNora are just a few of the topics covered beyond the break. Did we mention all these updates are coming within the next few weeks? Oh, we've also got shiny imagery.
