Kyle Horner

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Stories By Kyle Horner

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    FFXIV gameplay footage explores cities, chocobos and emotes

    A lot of news has been coming out for Final Fantasy XIV lately, and we're quite happy to see it. Today we've got what appears to be (the first episode of what's sure to be recurring) in-game footage of players exploring one of Eorzea's cities on the game's official Japanese YouTube channel. There's a moment in the clip where the Japanese players speaking throughout are amazed to find a Chocobo and well, it's pretty entertaining to watch -- especially when the video gets to the part where it reveals that old Tarutaru emotes are fully intact. Panic! We're also getting another tiny peek at the user interface for Final Fantasy XIV in the video. From what we can see here, Square Enix is keeping the memorable "Send/Receive" graphic, which blinks with a strange hypnotic rhythm. The mini-map and health/mana bars both look quite useful yet unobtrusive, too. Overall, everything about this game screams, "Final Fantasy XI, but newer and hopefully improved." We hope that proves to be wholly true in the coming months.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    A Massively interview with Cryptic's Bill Roper and Jack Emmert

    As promised after yesterday's Cryptic Studios news, today we have an interview with the developer's new Chief Operations Officer Jack Emmert and Chief Creative Officer Bill Roper. If you're wondering exactly what these new titles mean and what Jack and Bill have planned for the future of both Champions Online and Star Trek Online, you'll definitely want to check this one out. Massively: When did the move to Chief Creative Officer occur and what's your overall job like now compared to your previous position as Executive Producer? Bill Roper: When Jack took on more COO responsibilities, he wanted someone who could spend more specialized, day-to-day time with the teams. For the past month I've been working with the Executive Producers and various leads within those teams to provide design, support, and guidance as requested. I'm also a liaison between the teams and the executives supporting and helping represent their individual game visions. I assist in coordinating systems and content concepts and technologies between the teams while being involved in their top-level design. Shifting from the very focused day-to-day duties on Champions Online to a broader role is a rejuvenating new challenge, and the teams have really welcomed me on. I'm not coming in with "the word from above" that must be followed. I'm here to support the vision keepers and creators of each game – to be a sounding board for ideas and a source of creative energy they can tap into.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    An interview with Champions' new Executive Producer, Shannon Posniewski

    With Champions Online getting a brand new Executive Producer, you knew we had to sit down and conduct an interview. Shannon "Poz" Posniewski was gracious enough to give us some of his time, which is most certainly something he's got very little of now that he's in charge of a superhero MMO. We discussed what exactly Poz's role as Executive Producer is, as well as what the change means for Champions Online players. Most importantly, we asked which aspects of the game needed the most love going forward. Find all his answers below the cut.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    WonderKing hosting Spring Break events

    Sure, while some people's real life Spring Breaks have since passed, that doesn't mean you can't celebrate elsewhere. At least, that's the stance Ndoors Interactive's WonderKing is taking, as the game is holding several in-game Spring Break events now through April 7th. If you're a WonderKing player, the big three events to check out are an Easter Day party, the chance to win fashion items and a big Spring Break-style party. Granted, we expect any of you going in will probably just party most of the time. At least, that's what we'd do... Check out the full, official list of events after the break.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Bill Roper made Cryptic's CCO, Jack Emmert switches to COO

    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Bill_Roper_made_Cryptic_s_CCO_Jack_Emmert_switches_to_COO'; We here at Massively have recently discovered that Cryptic Studios' -- the developer behind Champions Online and Star Trek Online -- new Chief Creative Officer (CCO) moving forward will be Bill Roper, who was previously Executive Producer on Champions Online, a position now held by Shannon Posniewski. As for the previous CCO Jack Emmert, Cryptic informed us that he's moved into a new position as Chief Operations Officer for the developer. What all this means and what you can expect in the future from Cryptic will hopefully be answered in our forthcoming interview with the two men. You should expect to see that interview in the next day or two, right here on Massively.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    The Digital Continuum: The trouble with sticking to MMOs page 2

    Nothing makes a game feel less like an MMO than having to run around its world for two or three hours and seeing almost nobody else playing alongside you. This topic is nearly a column all on its own (and is a long-standing discussion amongst the MMO community) because nothing is better than playing with good friends but being on your own is nice, too. You can get bored of both, and so pursuing solo and group play is worthwhile.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    The Digital Continuum: The trouble with sticking to MMOs

    I get to these points where not a single MMO will stick with me any longer than roughly one month -- sometimes less. That wasn't always the case, though. There was a time when I could play a single MMO nearly every day for three or four months before getting tired of it. And a lot of my friends are in the same boat, trying to regularly play an MMO but mostly faltering. This isn't new to me. In fact, I've been here before and I know how to get out of the viciously boring cycle. This week's The Digital Continuum is all about renewing the luster to your MMO experience, and maybe a little more.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    The Daily Grind: Does beta ruin your launch day glee?

    The common view of a beta is that it's a wonderful way for someone to experience a game's "work-in-development" state of flux. It's a magical time when you feel like you're being treated to a special preview of the game before thousands of other people in the world. That's at least one point of view, but in truth lots of people don't want to get into beta. Why? They want to experience the game in all its unknown luster on launch day, throughout launch week and well into those first few months. There's definitely something to be said for jumping into a fresh digital world, so we pose this question to you, our dear readers: What's better: getting into beta and avoiding the first few months of launch or skipping beta and experiencing everything with everyone else in those first few hours, days and weeks?

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Is The Agency launching on December 31st? Nope

    Normally we've got no problem speculating on rumors here at Massively. It's a fun way to pass the days until a beta really does begin or a release date actually is announced. Except, sometimes, it gets taken too far. Rumors of SOE's The Agency receiving a December 31st release date have been floating into our inbox lately. Of course, that doesn't make any sense, because six days after Christmas (and one day before New Year's Day) is a horrible time to launch any game, especially one that requires all-hands-on-deck like an MMO. Additionally, any time a retailer lists a game at a default price on the first or last day of the month? That's a big shot in the dark. The fact of the matter is nobody knows the release date for The Agency, even though everyone wishes they did. We're fairly sure that even the development team doesn't have a clear picture of that right now. Most videogames have a moving "release window" and this one is no different from the rest. When we do have a solid information expect to hear all about it right here on Massively.

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    PC Gaming
    PC Gaming By Kyle Horner

    SWTOR testing portal discovered, confirmed by BioWare

    No other community is perhaps more enthusiastic about their upcoming MMO than the one surrounding Star Wars: The Old Republic. Recently, they found what appeared to be a testing portal for the game and coupled with the countdown clocks on every other BioWare site (except for Star Wars: The Old Republic's site) the discovery created a fervor of speculation and discussion on the official forums -- mostly surrounding whether or not beta was near. Shortly after these events, SWTOR community manager Sean Dahlberg confirmed that yes, this page is in fact a "Game Testing Portal". While we don't have even the slightest clue as to what this means, it may be a good time to update your hardware scan for the game's beta application. As for us? We'll be keeping our eyes locked on the game and perhaps we'll even stalk BioWare staff at PAX East like an Imperial Agent ready to strike.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Faction armor is about choice in Rise of the Godslayer

    Today's an exciting day for Age of Conan players, because this month's Letter from the Game Director is out and the theme is faction armors coming in the Rise of the Godslayer expansion. Craig Morrison explains that each class is essentially getting five new armor sets with this expansion, each of which serves a specific purpose. One set will offer a general DPS boost, one a general health boost and three are designed to enhance a different aspect of each class. The example given by Craig uses the Ranger class. Rangers get DPS and health armor sets and also receives three specialization sets: Critical damage, evades and hit rating. Protections and immunities. Traps and regeneration. These sets can also be mixed and matched, meaning that players are going to have a lot of meaningful choices when it comes to equipment selection in Rise of the Godslayer and that's certainly a good thing. Considering the alternate advancement feature being added with this expansion and (according to Craig in this very letter) next week's upcoming PvP-focused Shrines of Borai update, it's an exciting time to be an Age of Conan player. And once we know a solid release date -- beyond Craig's mention of it being "just around the corner" -- things should get pretty heady for the AoC community.

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    PC Gaming
    PC Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Atlantica Online adds voice chat functionality

    Vivox has brought voice communication to yet another MMORPG with today's news that Ndoors Interactive's Atlantica Online now offers the feature to its players. Interestingly, the voice-over-IP service has been made available through the game's official website, as opposed to within the game itself. While there's nothing stopping players from accessing voice chat while in-game, it's still an odd choice. The only thing that really matters is whether or not it works, and given Vivox's fairly extensive experience via games like EVE Online, EverQuest II and Global Agenda there shouldn't be any unacceptable issues for Atlantica Online players. The feature should be available to players now, so long as you're logged into your account when trying to access voice chat.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Star Trek Online launches massive Season One patch

    Cryptic has announced via press release that the major Season One content patch is launching for Star Trek Online today. This patch brings all kinds of new free content to the game, causing much of the community to count the days until it finally landed in the game proper. The list of updates is impressively long and several of them address player griefs with areas like Klingon ship customization and mission variety. This is also the first patch bringing some PvE missions for Klingon players, which was a sticking point with many at launch. But Season One also brings captain respecs as well for players unhappy with their skill load-out -- an essential feature that's been sorely missed by many. Find the whole lowdown on this laundry list of new content after the break.%Gallery-86596%

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    PC Gaming
    PC Gaming By Kyle Horner

    New screens for DDO Unlimited Update 4

    Ever since the recent DDO Unlimited "State of the Game" last week the fourth update really can't come soon enough. Lucky for us, Turbine has released some more screens that showcase some new content, which includes lots of fantasy sword swinging and some particularly nasty looking baddies to fight, as well. Now that we think on it, perhaps the images aren't as lucky as we thought, because now we just want patch day to be today. Well, at least April -- the scheduled month for Update 4 -- is just around the corner. And if that's not good enough for you, we'll be demoing the update this Friday during PAX East. So expect to find heaps of new images and information in short order. Until then, please enjoy the new DDO Unlimited update 4 gallery.%Gallery-88911%

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Tales of Fantasy introduces the Fusion system

    Equipment has been a central part of the MMO experience for years now, so it's no surprise that Tales of Fantasy has a system built around the idea of saving equipment on your character. It's called the Fusion system and works in a fairly straightforward manner that almost sounds like a combination of crafting and character advancement. Basically, if you've got a piece of equipment it can be fused onto your character, permanently adding its stats to your character and opening up that equip slot for a new equipment item. It's a simple idea, but one that effectively doubles the amount of gear you can wear. Higher level fusions require more Soul Containers, which are the sole item used for a fusion and can be acquired through story quests or instances. We're curious to hear what other design ideas are floating around in Tales of Fantasy, because if they're all this interesting it's going to be a game we spend some time with.

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    PC Gaming
    PC Gaming By Kyle Horner

    SWTOR's lead writer shares more insight on the Sith

    Yesterday's story about Star Wars: The Old Republic writer Daniel Erickson's explanation of how someone writes for the Sith Empire sparked a Rancor-sized amount of discussion. There was so much discussion in fact, that Daniel Erickson took to the official forums to further explain his reasoning and thought process behind writing from the Empire's point of view. Of the conversation occurring across the official forums, Erickson had to say, "An interesting thread. I always like to see what responses the philosophical discussions provoke. Hopefully people noticed that there were no quotes from me saying the Sith were good -- even the interviewer ended on it being an excuse to unleash ones hate." After that intro, Erickson goes on to deftly explain the complexities behind writing for ostensibly the "evil side" in a manner that makes them more than dastardly villains with cape and cane. It's a short, but very good read and we highly recommend it for anyone with even a passing interest in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

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    News
    News By Kyle Horner

    The Digital Continuum: Lost in worlds divided part 2

    One mistake I see a lot is when a developer fails to understand that certain basic functions go into the world map first and foremost. This seems like such a simple request -- even one that could be described as a minor issue -- yet it makes all the difference in a game where persistence is the axis which everything spins around.

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    News
    News By Kyle Horner

    The Digital Continuum: Lost in worlds divided

    In the many MMOs I've played, the ratio between games that got world design right and those that got it wrong is surprisingly skewed towards the latter. Nothing kills the thrill of discovering a new online world faster than feeling like you're being kicked around seemingly unconnected environments without possessing any real understanding or control. This week's The Digital Continuum is aimed at discussing practical ways to address this problem. Obviously this is -- as per usual -- my personal opinion taken mostly from my brain and the experience gathering within it.

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    PC Gaming
    PC Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Revelation out now for Champions Online

    The super-big free update for Champions Online, Revelation, is officially out today. While the announcement seems to have come out of nowhere, this is about mid-March which has been the scheduled release date for Revelation. Bringing a significant amount of completely free content to the game, Revelation adds a new zone in the form of the dark voodoo inspired Vibora Bay. It also brings new perks, five new enemy groups, six new meta-powers, a new raid in the form of Therakiel's Temple and even more costume pieces. All-in-all, it's a good day to be a Champions Online subscriber. We hope everyone enjoys all the new content, and we'll surely see you somewhere in Vibora Bay, battling werewolves and half-demon, half-angel supervillains.

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    PC Gaming
    PC Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Are the Sith 'good guys' in Star Wars: The Old Republic?

    Is it possible to think of the Sith as good guys in Star Wars: The Old Republic? Well, according to the game's lead writer Daniel Erickson it's all about perspective. One of the many pens behind BioWare's first MMO spoke with Ars Technica on the topic of telling the Sith Empire's side of the story in a way that makes them more than just simple villains. Erickson explained that growing up in the Sith Empire, a person would know there is an Emperor and that he saved their people's very existence. They would also know there is a much larger society out there who, "deemed your people and your religion not worthy to exist." In fact, Erickson even went so far as to say, "[The Sith] get chased out of the galaxy. In fact, in the lore, chased to the point where the Jedi believe they are dead. This is very close to genocide! The Jedi believe these people to be unredeemable." It's very interesting explanation of a culture and people that could've otherwise been portrayed as mustache-twirling villains. Obviously, this is only a taste of the lore waiting for us all once Star Wars: The Old Republic launches but it's quite the preview if you ask us.

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    PC Gaming
    PC Gaming By Kyle Horner

    The Daily Grind: How well do you think SWTOR will do?

    We're not very surprised to hear that Electronic Arts is expecting a heaping ton of subscribers for Star Wars: The Old Republic. After all, we're talking about an MMO based in the beloved Star Wars universe, made by BioWare and set during the Old Republic era popularized by the developer's hit game, Knights of the Old Republic. There's still the mystery of Star Wars: The Old Republic's business model to consider. A blended system seems possible, but at this point there's no solid evidence for any one particular system. But is two million a bit too much, you think? Or perhaps you think it's not enough. Whatever you do think the success level of the game is going to be, we're curious to read everyone's thoughts on the topic.

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    PC Gaming
    PC Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Star Wars: The Old Republic's 'heady' sneak peek at character customization

    As you can see from the image above, this week's Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday brings us a peek at some of the customization options for character heads. There's also another work-in-progress video, this time of the Force Lightning powers as used by the Sith Inquisitor. The game continues to look better at a very consistent rate. So much so, that we wouldn't be too surprised if BioWare has some really exciting stuff to show off at E3 2010. Moving back into the now, this week's fan art highlight is by community member Hazaz who's got some really great stuff that we think is worth checking out. However, this "Short History of the Sith for Newbies" guide on the official forums is a recommended read for any Star Wars fan, regardless of their interest in the game. But tread carefully or you may lose your entire weekend -- or a few hours, depending on your reading speed -- to the uncaring black depths that is Star Wars lore.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    BioWare talks Warhammer Online's forthcoming expansions

    In a recent GDC 2010 interview with UGO, BioWare's Dr. Ray Muzyka said of Warhammer Online, "Right now it's [a] really profitable business unit within my group." Muzyka went on to say they've actually seen more people come into the game since enacting the free-to-play model on the game's earlier levels, and that he personally felt they were working. In fact, by the sounds of it, Warhammer Online is due for some interesting announcements in the future. Another of Muzyka's comments on the title was, "We have new content planned and all kinds of cool expansions for it." We don't know how much more clear cut a message can be than that. And hey, it's good news! We're looking forward to our playable Skaven and Lizardmen, Mythic and BioWare.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    Champions lifetime subscribers given extra thanks, perks

    Good news for Champions Online lifetime subscription owners today, as Cryptic is giving them some additional free perks simply for supporting the game. According to the developer, some of the upcoming lifetime-only features include an exclusive in-game chat channel, front-of-queue support any time a server is queued, a unique in-game title, an in-game VIP lounge for lifetime subscribers only and a special costume piece. Curiously, the official forum post by StormShade says, "Here's some of what we're working on, exclusive to Lifetime Subscribers." which to us sounds like there could be something else for lifetime subscribers in the future. But even if there isn't any mysterious new feature, these new perks are a nice little surprise that came out of the blue -- which is always the best kind of surprise. [Update: It appears that this offer stands for Star Trek Online lifetime players, also.]

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    The Digital Continuum: Catching that All Points Bulletin fever

    I knew it would happen. GDC 2010 came and went, leaving behind a brand new trial of All Points Bulletin information that's making me want to play it more than ever before. I've written about the game a few times before, each instance knowing a little bit more about the title. This year's GDC brought us hands-on reports, interviews, the news of a North American beta and even a nine minute video presentation via shakeycam. Now my knowledge feels mostly complete and aside from actually playing the game I've got a pretty good idea of why it's potentially going to be something no videogame fan -- let alone MMO fan -- will want to miss. So, let me share a few of them with you.

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    Gaming
    Gaming By Kyle Horner

    The Digital Continuum: Catching that All Points Bulletin fever page 2

    According to Realtime Worlds, beta's already seen Criminals who've never been arrested and whose arrest is considered highly prestigious among the Enforcer community. But the EVE Online references don't stop with the potential for grand sweeping dramas mostly created by the playerbase. It's now known -- via GDC 2010 information, of course -- that Realtime Worlds has every intention of creating future districts with different rule sets.

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