Michael Zenke
Articles by Michael Zenke
Official Final Fantasy XI site offers review of December Update
Every few months the Final Fantasy XI drops a massive update to the game, and we were due for another one this month. The December Update saw updates and tweaks to elements of the title across the board, with new missions and quests centered in the Wings of the Goddess expansion areas one of the update's biggest selling points. The other big component is the introduction of the "Fields of Valor" system. Fields of Valor will allow players to take on 'training regimes', targetted missions to slay a number of specific enemies in a specified amount of time. Every day, one training mission will be assigned and the rewards for completing it include experience, gil, and points within the new Fields of Valor system. Points may eventually be turned in for fun bennies. Other new game elements include: dropped treasure chests for extra loot (both temporary and permanent), some quality-of-life additions to the Campaign system, minor tweaks to the Level Sync system, and a number of changes to in-game items. There's an enormous list of changes, as there is every time they do one of these, and you can find the full list of game updates on the official site.Update: Fixed to reflect that the changes have already gone live.
The great 2008 World of Warcraft Hunter nerf
WoW Insider is reporting on the nerf to end all nerfs, aimed squarely at one of the most poweful classes in Blizzard's World of Warcraft. No, not Warlocks, the other one. Hunters are getting hit with the nerf bat something awful, as revealed in a post to the official forums by Community Manager Ghostcrawler. Says the (normally) popular 'Blue', "Hunters of all specs, and particularly Beastmaster, are doing too much damage in PvE." The class is recieving an across-the-board reduction in damage output as a result, a stepping down of power levels commonly referred to in the MMO community as a 'nerf'.Ghostcrawler's words are particularly blunt, given that the Hunter's entire purpose is to dish out a steady stream of damage and the changes are so drastic. Tweaks to the class include Volley being reduced by 30%, Steady Shot only gaining 10% of Attack Power instead of 20%, and Readiness no longer affecting the cooldown of Bestial Wrath. This last is apparently particularly galling, as it elminiates one of the more popular Beastmaster Player vs. Player builds out there right now. Full details for the great 2008 Hunter nerf are available on WoW Insider.
Star Wars: The Old Republic to be microtransaction-based [Updated]
Update: Shacknews has updated its story to state "no statements have been made about the Star Wars business model," and attributing Mr. Riccitiello's comments to a misunderstanding. For the time being, then, this appears to be unsubstantiated information.To end a somewhat surprisingly eventful day for the RMT and microtrasaction model, EA has announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic will not be subscription-based. Instead, the title will be gain revenue from a microtransactional model. Shacknews reports this surprising tidbit from a conference call held by the mega-publisher earlier today. Said CEO John Riccitiello, "The Star Wars online MMO [is a] mid-session game, microtransaction-based. You'll be hearing more about those in the February [conference] call." According to the game news site, "Mid-session" is a term that EA uses synonymously with microtransaction-supported titles. This fits effortlessly into EA's portfolio alongside games like Warhammer Online and the DICE title Battlefield Online.Everything we've seen regarding information on the title had it positioned as a big-budget title, leading us to wondering what kind of game we're going to be dealing with when the game finally launches. There are only a handful of AAA-funding titles based on the free-to-play business model, and none have the cachet of a Star Wars IP. We'll follow this story as it develops.%Gallery-35033%
Age of Conan's Producer announces server mergers postponed
We noted just a few days ago that server merges would soon be coming to Funcom's Age of Conan. Producer Craig Morrison spoke up about the company's plans to merge servers in stages, with only two server mergers announced in his first note. After a few days of testing the team apparently made ready to do their first live server merge ... only to find there were issues that hadn't been caught in testing. If they'd gone forward with server merges at that point, Morrison writes in a new letter from this past Friday, player items may have been deleted. From the sound of things this is a minor issue involving some legacy code that would only show up in a few cases out of a large group of players. Still, the team is being very cautious and wants no hiccups as they move forward with tightening the AoC community. As a result, it sounds as though merges are going to be delayed a bit as the team does further groundwork to resolve these issues. Morrison says to expect merges to be happening well into January at this point, which is when they expect Update 4 to go live as well. Read into the full producer's letter for all the details.
Why you should be playing Lord of the Rings Online: Fishing
"Why you should be playing ..." is a free form column from Massively.com intended to inform you about our favorite parts of our favorite games. We want you to know why we're playing them, so you can know what to play.Almost every fantasy MMO offers some variation on a non-combat activity. Whether you're investing in one of the numerous styles of crafting, the unique negotiation minigame in Vanguard, or just /dancing the night away in an NPC city ... there's always something to do. For myself, I've always enjoyed the idea of fishing in-game. It's always relaxing, often lets you enjoy some quiet time in beautiful natural spots, and usually nets you some kind of tangible benefit. The problem with fishing is that it's often boring. In several games, you really have to really grind away at it to 'get anywhere'. Often the mechanics are needlessly complicated, and some games just aren't that pretty to stand around in for an extended period of time. That's why I've grown to love fishing in Lord of the Rings Online so much. The game is beautiful, the mechanics are simple, and the developers don't force you to stand by the side of a river for hours on end. Read on for a few words on why casting a line might be something you'd enjoy thiscoming weekend.
The week in Massively Features
The Digital Continuum: Moria or Wrath?tanding in the tiny store, I found myself at a crossroads. I'd put a lot of thought into this, but now that the decision was starting back at me, it seemed much more daunting. The question kept repeating in my head, "Do I buy Wrath, or Moria?" NCsoft clarifies its rationale for closing Tabula RasaLast week we spoke very briefly with NCsoft's Director of Public Relations David Swofford about the company's decision to close Tabula Rasa. He reiterated the basic statement we heard from several sources surrounding the call: this was all about the bottom line. Anti-Aliased: You've been Auto-AssaultedI saw the warning signs, and I tried to bring it up nicely. I kept seeing the constant staff shake-ups, and continued to grin and hope for the best. I even saw Richard Garriott himself walk away from the development, a very bad omen in hindsight, and the lot of us gamers just nodded along and thought that TR was going to continue along smoothly. Know Your LotRO Lore: The Rings of PowerYou may realize that the essential plot for the Lord of the Rings books has something to do with a ring, or at least we'd hope you do. Perhaps you know that there is this one ring that keeps making Hobbits invisible, and a bunch of Orcs want it really, really badly. But other than that, you're lost to the origins and impact that this ring has in relation to the grand scheme of things. Massively Speaking Podcast Episode 34Massively Speaking Episode 34 is all about Lord of the Rings Online and the game's first expansion, Mines of Moria. Shawn and Michael are joined by Jeffrey Steefel, Producer at Turbine, to talk about the new classes, content, and dungeon-crawling goodness added in this gigantic expansion. They even talk about the future of the game a bit! Well worth checking out.
Mythic putting off Warhammer expansion work to focus on live game
In a lengthy thread over at the VN boards, players began offering up a number of thoughts about what they'd like to see in the first expansion to Mythic Entertainment's Warhammer Online. They had a couple of great ideas, too, with thread-starter DiscipleofWar suggesting it focus on the fabled Land of the Dead. That would allow players to come up against the forces of the Tomb Kings, fun objective-based gameplay for each faction, and even the introduction of a new third 'Dogs of War' army that will allow players to play ruthless mercenaries.Surprisingly, Mark Jacobs dropped in to add his own view on the conversation. Mr. Jacobs states that they are actually not working on the expansion at all right now, other than in theoretical design work. The reason is very straightforward: "We are not pushing an XPack out the door at the expense of WAR. And once we begin work on an XPack, it's going to take us quite a while to do it." They don't want to take away from the tuning problems and issues that Warhammer currently has just to push on to an expansion. Good on you, Mythic! Music to the players' ears, we imagine. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Galaxies Christmas Special, numerous class updates coming soon
A brand-new Producer's Letter from Chris Fields brightened this week for Star Wars Galaxies players. Coming sometime in the middle of the month is the newly revamped Life Day event. This year they've taken heavy cues from the Star Wars Christmas Special, that horrifying cultural relic from the 80s. You may wonder about the wisdom of doing so, but keep in mind that the special (despite its many flaws) is 100% canon content. The event will see players smashing presents, decorating trees, and getting awesome presents like a pocket aquarium, a holographic table, a proton chair, an in-home wroshyr tree ... and perhaps even a Kowakian monkey-lizard!The letter also contains a lot of previews for upcoming patches, great-sounding content for players of all stripes. Game Update 6 will see the addition of an appearance tab, expanding the roleplaying-friendly game feature seen in other games like EverQuest II and Lord of the Rings Online. Make sure to thank AdeptStain if you like it! Update 7 will see the long awaited updates for Spies, and Update 8 will see major changes to Player Associations and Cities. There are a ton more holidays and goodies coming down the pipe ... check out the full letter for the details.
Happy Birthday WoW Insider!
Three years ago today Massively's big-sister site WoW Insider launched. Today I consider that site to be the best single-topic website on the internet, hands down. Dedicated, talented writers and a passion for the subject matter has made that site a must-read for anyone interested in the World of Warcraft MMO. Today as they celebrate their third orbit around the sun, they've put up a great post looking at the ten most popular stories that have ever run on the site.Go check out their top 10, leave a comment congratulating them, and tell em' Massively sent you. (And make sure they don't open our present before the party, or we'll tell Joystiq on them!)
Warhammer community offers first impressions on Knight of the Blazing Sun
The Warhammer playerbase has been looking forward to new classes since the game launched, anticipating the return of the four classes that went MIA this summer in the push to release. Now the Knight of the Burning Sun and the Blackguard are in testing, available to the folks who completed the Heavy Metal event requirements, and first impressions are starting to surface from the players. Wizards and Wenches has a lengthy look at the Empire's stalwart Knight, breaking down everything from the way they look to how they hand in solo situations.The author's conclusion is that it "feels polished and really useful." Despite the tanking role the Knight steps into, it offers a large amount of support from Auras and controlling elements like knockback. It's also apparently very solo-friendly ... enough to make the Warrior Priest-loving blogger reconsider which character to play as his 'main'. Have you had a chance to play with the Knight yet? Let us know below in the comments.
The Daily Grind: Do you use official forums?
This morning's rumor about possible new official forums for Warhammer Online made us wonder how you folks see company-run communities. Some developers, like Turbine and SOE, maintain extensive networks of forum sites to support their games and the player organizations inside them. NCsoft's Tabula Rasa, Warhammer, and other more recently released games have eschewed official forums in place of a number of fan-run sites. We've asked you this once before, almost exactly a year ago ... but a lot has happened this year. So we want to know: which do you prefer? Would you rather chat about your favorite MMO on a site run by players, or in an environment moderated by the company that made it? If you do post to official sites, which forums are your favorite? Let us know in the comments below. You know the drill.
Rumor: Warhammer Online to open official forums in 2009
Somewhere, somehow, William Shatner and Roseanne Barr are singing a duet. That appears to be the implication of a highly unexpected rumor reported on the Warhammer Alliance forum. Apparently, Warhammer Online will soon be launching company-sanctioned official forums. Back in March of this year, Mythic Entertainment's Mark Jacobs went on a ranting rampage about the very concept of official forums. In that whole discussion, he at one point stated he'd rather hear the two above celebrities slam out a duet together than bear the thought of official forums. His statements came during a period were other companies were making similar announcements, and some companies with official forums were even thinking of shutting theirs down. So this (at this point) rumor as offered by Warhammer Alliance is something of a surprise. Forum admin Garthilk states this comes from "unofficial people in and out of Mythic, as well as inside EA, all tell[ing us] the same thing." He goes on to say that, if true, this will be a boon for the unofficial fan community. It will take pressure off of their taxed volunteer resources and allow them to better serve the community. We'll watch for an official response from Mythic, as well as further developments on this story.[Via Broken Toys]
Challenges and triumphs in storytelling for Star Wars: The Old Republic
The official site for Star Wars: The Old Republic has been updated with a pair of blog posts all about writing and storytelling in BioWare worlds. One is a sort of mission statement; a reiteration of concepts and ideas we heard espoused by folks like Daniel Erickson and Rob Chestney in previously-released interviews. The statement specifically touches on the concept of your class tying you into the gameworld, something heavily hinted at back during the initial announcement and reported here on the site in our Old Republic Unveiled series. It's a dynamic statement, and a pretty heavy gauntlet to throw down for the genre.That mission statement is accompanied by a post from one of the other Senior Writers on the game, Alex Freed. Freed talks about the specific challenges facing the team as they work their way through content creation on the game, and the steps they've used to overcome those challenges. He walks through their toolkit on the project, the 'signposts' they use to make sure they're writing the right kind of stories, and calls out the thorny problem of making sure their content is 'Star Wars-y' enough. This last is an issue that's constantly plagued the other MMO title in the setting, and it's fascinating to hear him call it out so early in the process. Make sure to check out both pieces if you're at all interested in the writing process behind this ambitious title.%Gallery-35034% BioWare has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details. Check out our comprehensive guide on everything we know so far about the game, or just peruse our screenshot/concept art galleries. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!
Warhammer enhanced with all-new tanking goodness in test patch 1.1
Been feeling a bit exposed in combat since launch? Suffering from a bad case of DPS? Having problems repelling those hard-fighting swarms of Bright Wizards or Squig Herders? Worry no more! With new, IMPROVED Warhammer Online 1.1, you too can tank your way to victory. That's right, friend, coming today to a test server near you are the all new tanking classes the Knight of the Blazing Sun and Blackguard! Both classes come ready-to-use, with easy to understand mechanics based on the Ironbreaker and Chosen! Deploy with the pointy ends facing out for maximum impact!Plus, Warhammer 1.1 comes with much, much more! Check out the Deathsword test server for fun and games such as item hyperlinking, 'Easy Mode' public quests, an Open RvR Influence system, Armor Set improvements, and tons of new content. Full patch notes are available on the Warhammer Herald site, and if you act now we'll even throw in a freebie: player statues in the main faction cities! This is a limited time offer, as all of this goodness will soon be coming to the live service. Check it out on test, today!
Why you should be playing EverQuest II: Crafting
"Why you should be playing ..." is a freeform column from Massively.com intended to inform you about our favorite parts of our favorite games. We want you to know why we're playing them, so you can know what to play. An accusation that gets leveled at MMOs a lot is that they're too violent. Most people who play videogames have sort of a laissez' faire attitude towards roughing up virtual baddies, and rightly so. It's all make-believe, after all. The problem is that this 'bonking out the baddies' gameplay is the bread and butter of the online gaming trope. All you do, in a lot of these games, is endlessly kill critters, bad guys, monsters, and demons for hours on end. Not only can it get repetitive, it's all a bit ... unseemly? That's why I love the crafting in EverQuest II (EQ2) from SOE. It's an integrated system that gets you out of the killing fields and challenges you without putting you in a morally questionable situation. Read on for a quickie crafting system explanation and notes on why building things up can be a ton of fun.
City of Heroes Issue 13 goes live!
Months in the making, delayed when the Mission Architect was pushed to next year, finally finally, City of Heroes Issue 13 is live! Yesterday saw the servers go down for one of the largest content pushes ever by the NCsoft development team. The patch notes are up on the official site, and they're simply monsterous. We've been through this list before, but it's worth going over again: new story arcs for the Midnight Squad, new story arcs for Cimerora, the all-new Merits reward system (which was featured in an exclusive interview here on the site), Day Jobs, new powersets, multiple builds, a huge PvP revamp ... it's exhausting just to mention, let alone consider playing. For a 'thousand foot view' of Issue 13 and its philosophy, be sure to check out our extensive interview with Brian Clayton and Matt Miller all about the "Power and Responsibility" super-patch to this venerable superhero MMO. During that chat we also talked about the future of purchaseable content packs in the game, something we think we're likely to see new talk of soon. Be sure to check out the links above, read up on the full official patch notes, and dig in to our coverage of City of Heroes Issue 13. Excelsior!
MMO Rappelz changes imagery, themes to meet Middle-Eastern customs
The issue of localization is a thorny one when it comes to MMOs, because often content, looks, and story are so intertwined. While some developers swear by the concept of creating content aimed directly at the local culture, others make only minor (or no) changes to their games when moving into new areas. The South Korean free-to-play MMO Rappelz is making plans to move to the Middle-Eastern market, and developer Gala is working with the company Game Power 7 to make unprecidented localization modifications.According to TechRadar, nearly every element of Rappelz is going to see changes. Background music, costumes worn by the avatars (especially the female avatars), and even the noises that the monsters make will all see changes. The company will also make an effort to remove non-Muslim holy symbols, such as crosses. The resulting game is slated for release in some 19 countries, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Egpyt. [Via Gamepolitics]
Age of Conan server merge information released
We've been following the efforts of Age of Conan director Craig Morrison to keep the player community more 'in the loop' since he took on the role a few months ago. Now the community team is laying out the details of one of the projects he headlined when he first stepped up: server merges. Community Manager Famine has put up a post in the official forums laying out details on the procedure. Which is good, because it's a little complicated.Here are the highlights: All servers will not be merged at once. Instead, they'll be staged with "Hyberborea" and "Bloodspire" seeing a merger during this week's patching. During downtimes when servers are merged, all servers from that region will be unavailable. So this week, all US servers will be down while the two above are fused. Funcom is going to provide compensatory playtime to users affected by these outages. After the servers are merged, all players on the resulting server will be given a free one-time-use character transfer if they want to move their primary character to another server. They're doing this to ensure players like where they end up. This is obviously a difficult time for the playerbase, and not something any MMO developer likes to do. Just the same, hats off to Funcom for obviously trying to do right by the playerbase, and for adequately compensating players for the inconvenience. For another 'just the FAQs' look at this issue, the AoC site has up an F-A-Q already.
DC Universe probably coming early 2010/late 2009, says comics writer
Stephen Totilo managed to get a few questions in edgewise for us gamer-types when MTV newsie Jennifer Vineyard recently spoke with comics writer Geoff Johns. Johns, as we've previously discussed, is one of the writers on-staff working to develop DC Universe Online. Vineyard spoke with Johns about the concept of 'secret identities', and his comments hint at some unique gameplay options ... without giving away too many details. "I like the idea that your secret identity is really outside the computer. You're a normal guy, and then when you log on to the game, you become the superhero." They also discussed the parallels between server sharding in an MMO and the 52 different versions of the DC Universe that the comics creator supports. Most intriguing was his up-front information on the game's launch window. According to Johns, the developers are aiming to release the game in "early 2010, it could be late 2009." Read on into the brief interview for the goods.
Runescape beats out Naruto, Lindsey Lohan in Yahoo! search results
What's more popular than Lindsey Lohan or the hit anime Naruto? More fun than American Idol or Angelina Jolie, and almost as popular to search on as Barack Obama? If you'd guess the web-based fantasy MMO Runescape we'd call you prescient ... or assume that you'd already taken a look at the Yahoo! Buzz year in review. This look back at the year 2008 in searches ranks Runescape as a bigger deal than pop princesses, reality TV shows, and that ubiqitous anime/manga/game icon.Runescape, of course, is a ridiculously popular free-to-play MMO based entirely on Java and playable via web browser. It's a sign of the times to see this kind of title on Yahoo's list, and we're happy to see the genre in such a prominent place. If you're not familiar with the game you might want to take a look at the coverage we had back during E3, when the title went to a new higher-resolution state of play. Congrats to Runescape and Jagex on this accomplishment!Thanks, Brian.Update: Corrected the erroneous assertion that Runescape is Flash-based. It is not.