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EVE Online plans security crackdown on RMT rule violators
Players who have been skirting EVE Online's TOS might find themselves on the bad side of a ban come 2015, as the studio is rolling out tougher rules on violators in the new year. CCP posted a security blog in which it outlined how real-money traders will be punished, as well as those engaging in other activities such as input broadcasting and multiplexing. While CCP didn't post the number of bans it performed in 2014, it did show a few graphs illustrating where the problem areas lay. Banned accounts this year, permanent and temporary, were divided up by macro use (56%), ISK selling (18%), ISK buying (5%), modified clients (4%), ISK spamming (1%), and other (16%). On the brighter side of news, the team is hard at work on January's Proteus patch with sneakier combat recon ships, improved asteroid belt visuals, and the retirement of industry teams. [Thanks to Chrysillis for the tip!]
How RMT is changing RuneScape's economy for the better
RMT has a bad reputation for promoting the seedy underbelly of online gaming, but some MMOs are trying to turn that effect around, like RuneScape. According to developer Jagex, a pair of RuneScape players recently took advantage of their game's Bond system (akin to PLEX or CREDD) to fund their trip to the RuneFest fan convention in October. The studio detailed other positive effects of the Bond system in a press release this morning, explaining that the system has improved the game's economy: Since their September 2013 debut, around 2.3 million Bonds have been purchased; more than 80 percent of those Bonds have been redeemed for membership, with 27.6 million membership days obtained to date. The introduction of Bonds also had a swift and dramatic effect on the levels of gold-farming in the game, which plummeted by 81 percent within weeks, and also helped bring a more stable in-game economy for players. Over the past year, more than 316.5 billion in-game gold pieces have been sunk into Bond trades by the community. RuneScape VP Phil Mansell said that over the last year, "nearly 20% of RuneScape players [paid] for their membership subscription through their in-game efforts and half of the premium RuneCoin currency comes from bond redemptions." [Source: Jagex press release]
Entropia Universe comes to smartphones with pet battle system
If you couldn't get enough of Entropia Universe's RMT-based virtual world gameplay on your PC, the devs have announced today that the game will soon be coming to several additional platforms, including smartphones and tablets. Through the new Competitive Pet (ComPet) system, players can battle their pets through various "maturity and price levels available to fit players of all types, including a free-to-play version." Before the ComPet system is launched, 200,000 ComPet deeds will be sold at 100 Project Entropia Dollars (10 USD) each and players will earn 30% of all deeded pet revenue. ComPet is set to be available in Q1 of 2015.
The Daily Grind: What MMO topic have you changed your mind about?
One of the problems with having bold opinions is that people can call you out on them when you change your mind over time. Sure, there are some things about us and what we think that remain constant, but growth and change are a part of our lives -- and our gaming opinions. I used to hate the very idea of tablets, and now I find mine indispensable. I used to rail against real-money trading (RMT) in games but now am cautiously accepting depending on its implementation. I used to hate Elves, and now I hate Elves even more because they haven't been wiped out yet. I'm here to say that it's OK if you've changed your mind about an MMO topic over time. Today, I'd like to hear what it is and why you shifted your position! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Lineage II's Hero Coin rewards program debuts to firestorm
Lineage II just rolled out Hero Coins, a new rewards system designed to give players who purchase items from the cash shop a little something extra. But the devil is in the details, and players in the official thread have expressed that the illicit RMT deals look sweet in comparison. Here's how the program works: Players earn Hero Coins whenever they make qualifying purchases from the L2 Store or the L2 Galleria, with coins awarded retroactively for all purchases since November 30th, 2011. Sounds decent so far, right? But this is where the program loses its appeal for some players. Hero Coins are not account-wide; they're bound to whichever character received the purchased item. On top of that, all Hero Coins expire at the end of every calendar year at 3:01 a.m. EST January 1st, so players can't accumulate them until they can make a decent purchase. And accumulate they must: There are items in the rewards program that equate to over $35K, but can be found on the black market for approximately $2K. For really big spenders, the top item converts to spending over $200K in cash in the store -- in a single year. [Thanks to Ville for the tip!]
Level 90 boosting is not the end of the World of Warcraft
There seems to be a common misconception flying around in regards to Warlords of Draenor. Yes, you will be able to boost one character to level 90 upon purchase of the game -- in fact, as it was revealed yesterday, upon pre-order of the game. Yes, Blizzard will be offering this service as an optional purchase in the Blizzard store as well. But what people seem to be worried about is that this is a "pay-to-win" feature that is very quickly going to kill the game. Which is a really odd assessment to make. There is no real "winning" in World of Warcraft, unless you want to count sweeping a PvP season, or maybe being the first to complete all heroic modes of every raid in the current expansion. The thought of "winning the game" is an arbitrary, muddy label that doesn't actually apply to anything in Warcraft -- it's not a game designed with a finite endpoint or a finish line you can cross. Let's be clear, here -- level 90 boosts may not be for you. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be available, and it definitely doesn't mean they're going to kill the game.
Why I don't hate Warlords of Draenor's level 90 boost
BlizzCon 2013 announced Warlords of Draenor and one of its highlighted features is the ability to instantly boost one of your characters to level 90 instantly. Though it is limited to one level 90 boost per Warlords of Draenor license, there is an interesting loophole, which I discussed in a previous post on this topic. To quote myself: If players want to boost an additional 90, there's nothing stopping them from purchasing a new World of Warcraft box, Warlords of Draenor license, and a character transfer to move additional, instant level 90s to their primary account. In an attempt to cut out the extraneous steps involved in that loophole, the Blizzard development team is considering simply allowing players to purchase extra boosts. Some like that idea. Some hate that idea. I'm one of those that does not hate it. I'd like to take a moment to explain why.
Over 6100 accounts banned for cheating in Final Fantasy XIV
It's been hard to miss the spam in Final Fantasy XIV lately. You can't walk into a major city without seeing several dozen people shouting repeatedly about selling in-game currency, which has resulted in a lot of people getting to really kick their blacklists into overtime. But Square-Enix isn't ignoring the problem, and as of today we've been informed that a lot of players are out of the game for cheating. If you can really call them "players." 6,154 accounts have been removed from the game for advertising RMT services, while another 156 have been removed for "illicit activity." The game has also undergone a bit of maintenance to help eliminate the (unspecified) methods of item use that contributed to the problem. Whether or not this will eliminate the shouting spam that plagues the major cities remains to be seen, but it's certainly worth hoping, and it's always good to see the RMT crowd get what's coming to them. [Thanks to Scott for the tip!]
Diablo III shutting down auction houses next March
The Diablo III auction houses are being prepped for demolition next year. Blizzard announced that it will be taking down both the gold and real-money auction houses on March 18, 2014, stating that "they ultimately undermine Diablo's core gameplay." The studio is giving a heads-up now so that players have enough time to prepare for the change, although specific details regarding the shutdown process are still forthcoming. This announcement comes as Blizzard has been making noise about an improved "Loot 2.0" system to put more of an emphasis on killing monsters for one's gear. The auction houses will come down at the same time, and after they do, players will be able to trade with each other only through the trade window. You can watch the developers explain their reasoning behind this decision after the jump.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls loot designed to make auction house a 'last resort'
There's been no love lost between Diablo III players and the game's real-money auction house. And while Blizzard Entertainment has no plans to remove RMT from Diablo III, the studio's upcoming Reaper of Souls expansion features a redesigned loot system built to get players out of the trading game and back into the grind. In an interview with PC Gamer, lead content designer Kevin Martens explained that the team likes trading between players but lamented that the auction house has become the primary method through which players obtain items: It is fun to go buy something instantly, the instant gratification feel, that sugar high; however, it's not the core fantasy, it's not the most fun, and by the endgame, for a variety of reasons, [players] tend to check the auction house first and play the game second. According to Martens, the looting and enchanting systems in Reaper of Souls are designed to "cut the legs out from the auction house" and to create an environment in which "the most fun way to play the game becomes the best way to play the game." Lead writer Brian Kindregan echoed Martens' sentiments, noting, "We want the auction house to be your last resort, right?" For more information on Reaper of Souls, check out Blizzard's Gamescom 2013 presentation and the new cinematic trailer, posted last week.
Bungie talks Destiny, evades RMT question
Bungie's latest Mail Sack column is up, and the bulk of the conversation centers on its upcoming open-world sci-fi shooter, Destiny. Revealed (or clarified) in the post: fireteam sizes (three), total player allowances for public events (a lot, but not too many), and which month the team is most looking forward to in 2014 (the one in which Destiny comes out). Also discussed were real-money transactions, though the response from Bungie is about as PR-fluffy as it gets. When asked to what degree real-life money will be used in the game, this was the response: What we can tell you right now is that the rewards you will gain by playing Destiny – and playing it well – will be earned. You will carve them from the hides of your enemies, after you stomp them into the ground of your favorite destinations. It makes sense that the folks at Bungie would play that one close to the chest; Destiny is still in a pre-alpha state and anything could change about the game at any time.
EVE Online's anti-bot policy now two-strikes-and-you're-out
Are you a fan of charts and graphs? Are you curious to know how CCP's war on bots is going in EVE Online? If you answered in the affirmative to either of those questions, the latest EVE dev blog is tailor-made for your reading pleasure. In it, the firm details organization and personnel changes to the anti-botting team, and it also acknowledges the substantial amount of user feedback that frowned on the rather lenient "three strikes" enforcement policy. Effective immediately, then, EVE Online is switching to a two-strike policy wherein strike one results in a 30-day ban and strike two results in a permanent ban. Furthermore, any client modification or "involvement in RMT" will lead to a permanent ban on the first offense.
EVE Evolved: Do PLEX make EVE pay-to-win?
Several years ago, the subscription model was king and the mere mention of an MMO selling in-game items for cash was almost enough to cause a virtual riot. RMT was the devil, and players who bought swords or spaceships for cash deserved nothing short of a permanent ban. The past decade of development has changed the MMO landscape and brought in a new generation of gamers with different attitudes. Today's players have grown up with and embraced ideas like the free-to-play business model, microtransaction shops, and perhaps even the idea of buying in-game advantages for cash. In his latest Free for All column, Massively's Beau Hindman tackled the controversial issue of MMOs selling power for real cash, and his points about EVE Online sparked some pretty interesting discussion in the comments. The crux of the argument was that an EVE player can currently take out his wallet and buy his way into a bigger ship or even pick up a pre-trained veteran character. That's certainly true, but is that the same as buying an unfair advantage and does it necessarily make EVE pay-to-win? In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at why players find PLEX so much more palatable than direct item sales and ask whether the system fits the definition of pay-to-win.
Wings Over Atreia: Laying the smackdown on RMT in Aion
Sports don't have a monopoly on pregame rituals. I know for a fact some folks have their own sets of customary actions that are performed before logging into Aion. These routines are as varied as the players themselves; some may grab a drink or snacks before settling in, while others may put on their lucky PvP socks. I'm acquainted with at least a few people who lock the door to keep pesky interruptions (i.e., roomies) from dog piling on them. Me? Well, I'd like to say I have a cool routine, but I don't... yet! However, regardless of what you do before you log in, there is one ritual most of us share once we get in: block the RMT spam. As much as I can understand and even encourage a wide array of gaming rituals, this particular one really needs to go. But it's out of our hands; in order for it to happen, kinah-selling must be seriously curtailed in Aion. Some players have questioned whether NCsoft even cares about the kinah-selling problem. I think the answer to that came in the studio's announcement this past week. In a bold new move in the fight against illicit RMT, NCsoft is poised to piledrive the kinah-selling population.
The War Z allows cash shop items to be lost forever
Imagine that you're playing the hot new zombie MMO, and you decide to splurge a few bucks on that shiny weapon you've been eying. You get your grubby mitts on it and go to town on a few living undead, only to find yourself over your head and quickly killed. When you wake up, your gun -- and the rest of your stuff -- is gone. Forever. And the devs are totally OK with that. This is about to become reality for players of the upcoming The War Z, as even cash shop-purchased items are not safe from being lost due to death. In a recent interview with Gaming Blend, Hammerpoint Marketing Director Alex Josef was unapologetic about that point: "You'll lose what you have in your backpack when you die in both in normal and hardcore modes. And yes, if you bought something using real money, you'll lose that item as well. This is a price you'll have to pay." According to Josef, this level of item loss was a deliberate decision by the team to cause player to treat the game more seriously. "We've discussed that a lot," he said, "and at the end decided that this will provide a pretty good incentive for players to either be extra cautious while playing or just not spend too much money in the game and instead try to procure all items by finding them in the game world."
Diablo 3 auction house now has gems and other commodities for real money
Blizzard has pushed patch 1.0.3b live in Diablo 3, and in addition to a few random bugfixes with General chat and the tutorial sequences, the patch brings another wrinkle to real-money spending with the game. You can now buy various in-game commodities (including gems, dyes, and crafting and leveling materials) with real money, which means Blizzard has turned an unofficial black market for items in Diablo 2 into a very official real-money market in Diablo 3.Gold sales still aren't live, but Blizzard says it hopes to enable real-money purchasing of in-game gold in the future. In the meantime, however, you can now put money into your Battle.net account and buy away, or try to sell your in-game items for real money. For better or worse, it's game on.
TERA rolls out the Chronoscroll system and an upcoming event
Maybe you're a poor college student with plenty of time to play TERA but not a lot of cash to spend out of the game. Or maybe you're a man of means with plenty of cash to spend but little time to farm gold. Whichever category is closer to you, you'll find something to like in TERA's new Chronoscrolls system, which allows players to buy scrolls of subscription time and trade them for in-game gold. The system works fairly transparently: Chronoscrolls can be purchased for real-world cash and then placed on the auction block, and a scroll thus purchased can be redeemed for extra subscription time. That means that players with piles of in-game gold can get plenty of free time to play the game. And if you're wondering why you'd like to spend that money, there is an event taking place starting on Friday, June 29th, in which players will hunt down reptilian egg thieves for special rewards. So you've got some motivation. [Thanks to Dengar for the tips!]
South Korea bans botting in online RPGs
The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is announcing a new law next month that will make botting in online RPGs illegal. According to this governmental body's calculations, 60% of all in-game items traded for real currency were obtained by automated programs. The law will also ban the listing of items in arcade games as real property that can be exchanged for cash. The maximum penalty for breaking this law will be 5 million won (approximately $4,300) and five years in jail. It is interesting to note that while the announcement states that the law's purpose is to "halt all virtual item trades," only botting is being banned in online RPGs. So WoW players who buy and sell gold will not be breaking this new law (though they do break the TOS), unless they are using bots to farm. This distinction also means that the Diablo III Real-Money Auction House will not be made illegal by this law; thus, South Korea's previous decision about the RMAH has not been negated. Since the new law will not be announced until next month, some details may change. Regardless, the government sees botting and virtual item trades as barriers to a "healthy game culture," and it is willing to use legal means to eliminate the problem.
South Korea to make virtual item trade, bots illegal
Do you want to buy and sell virtual items? Do you live in South Korea? If you answered "yes" to both of those questions, you'd better get it out of your system prior to next month (or be prepared to do it illegally). A new law is being developed that will ban real money trading and block gold- and item-farming bots. The South Korean Ministry of Culture says that "the main purpose of games is for entertainment and [they] should be used for academic and other good purposes," according to a report at Eurogamer. This is bad news for gold farmers, RMT fans, and Blizzard, which has come under fire for Diablo III's real-money auction house over the past few weeks. The Ministry of Culture went on to say that RMT "contribute[s] to many problems in society, including teenage crime."
Diablo III pulls trigger on NA real-money auction house
While Diablo III released weeks ago, Blizzard's held off from launching the game's controversial real-money auction house in North America for its own reasons. All must be good on the studio's end, however, because the auction house has gone live in the game as of today. Unlike the traditional in-game auction house, the real-money variant deals in actual currency (such as USD). Players can sell their hard-won goods for cash, which can then be either spent on the auction house, sent to their own personal PayPal accounts, or converted to Battle.net Balance credit. The real-money auction house requires additional setup if the players have not attached a PayPal or authenticator to the account. Blizzard does take its cut, and business must be good: There are reports of items going for over $200 already.
