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Bill Roper looking to partner with Korean companies for more MMO development
You may remember Bill Roper from Diablo. Or, more likely, you remember him from Hellgate: London and Champions Online, probably with emotions that are somewhat less than fond. Several months ago, he was appointed the Vice President of Disney Interactive Media Group, and it looks like Roper is continuing down a path he's walked many times before. As he oversees the production of games based on Marvel properties, he's also looking for partners to start developing an MMO. Specifically, Roper is looking for a partner company in South Korea to work on co-development for several titles, which include MMOs. The obvious benefit for the Korean company would be increased visibility of licensed properties, with Roper hoping that a visit to the nation will produce a better way of developing new games. No word yet on whether or not anyone is interested in the offer, but there's probably no shortage of gamers made apprehensive by anything involving Bill Roper and a new online game.
Behind the Mask: The dangers of roleplaying as an outlet
Recently, I've run into some troubling developments while roleplaying in Champions Online. I've encountered quite a few "troll characters" who seem designed soley to irritate and annoy other people. The characters in question are often played by otherwise-good roleplayers, which makes me wonder: Why would someone do this? This is as much a topic for Storyboard as it is for Behind the Mask, but because it is very common among Champions Online roleplayers, I feel it deserves extra consideration. This article isn't going to finger-point at bad roleplayers and say why they're wrong. Rather, the point of this column is to inform good roleplayers about elements of RP that can quickly ruin people's fun.
MV Guide: January 9-15, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Some Assembly Required: A virtual world roundup
If you are perusing this column, chances are you are a fan of virtual worlds and the sandbox genre. Join the club! (Dues will be due on the third Tuesday.) The aspect that compels many aficionados to delve into a game is the ability to make an impact on the world in some small respect instead of making them into Hive Member 1593072 running a static, predetermined gauntlet. How that impact is accomplished, however, varies; there are multiple features that can facilitate it, and which ones are considered most important depends on the player. With the loss of one of the best sandbox games just last month, some players may be feeling a void. Others still are looking/hoping for the "ultimate" sandbox that contains nearly every virtual world feature. Certainly, there are some upcoming games that make some drool-worthy promises, but what about playing something now? There are actually games out on the market that have at least one aspect of the genre, if not more. To start off the new year, Some Assembly Required looks at some of the top features of virtual worlds and lists games that incorporate these features. While this list isn't exhaustive (considering the sheer number of games when you include all of the smaller free-to-play titles, I'd run out of column space!), it is a comprehensive enough overview to point you toward some games worth playing that perhaps you hadn't considered before.
Behind the Mask: Angels and Devils
Last week on Behind the Mask, we talked about the basic dimensional structure of the Champions universe and its parallels with the Kabballah. This week, we take you a bit deeper into the mythos of Champions Online. We'll take a look at the Astral Plane, or Yetzirah, and the key places that exist there. I'll be focusing heavily on the Quaternion -- a series of four planar zones within the Lower Astral Plane that embody most fantasy elements critical to the Champions Universe. If you have ever wondered about demons and angels, this is a must-read. The Vibora Bay story arc paints a very unusual picture about the nature of these planes, and we'll be covering just what Heaven and Hell are in respect to that story. We'll also be covering faeries, elves, dwarves, and other popular fantasy elements. If you're planning on creating a roleplaying character who fits into a fantasy subtype, travels through dimensions, or just uses magic, this information will be critical to you!
Behind the Mask: Between this world and the next
One of the exciting things about writing about Champions Online is that there is a huge amount of lore and backstory behind the game. Although Behind the Mask has a definite focus on concrete game information (that's just how I roll), the lore is always something I'm excited to cover. It offers a look into Champions that can't be experienced with just the online game. This week we're going to look at alternate dimensions in the Champions universe. I was going to take a more indepth look at the background behind the war between Heaven and Hell, but unfortunately there is so much information that paints necessary frameworks for those story elements. It's unfortunate, but the information I have to go over this week is pretty crazy stuff. Before you go through this, you may want to check out some of my other lore articles, including my magic lore article and my general lore primer. I do restate all the necessary stuff here, but having a broader understanding of what's going on can do nothing but help. A lot of the information here is from The Mystic World sourcebook, but there's also a fair bit of stuff cobbled together from ingame lore and some other sourcebooks. Definitely check them out if you want more information on these subjects.
The Perfect Ten: Most significant MMO stories of 2011
2011 was an odd duck of a year for MMO news. A huge chunk of the year felt devoid of significant releases, but that was mitigated somewhat by the major launches of RIFT and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Titles got shoved back to 2012 or beyond, MMOs that we thought never would go free-to-play did, and the industry continually surprised us with revelations, ideas, and controversy. So in my last Perfect Ten of 2011, I put together the 10 most significant MMO stories of the year. Ten seems like an awfully small number for such a great big field, so I had the rest of the staff members chime in with their nominations just to make sure I wasn't too off-base with any of these. It was a whopper of a year, and Massively was there for all of it -- the ups, the downs, the queues, and the QQs. It's time to wrap it up with a pretty bow and dedicate it to the history museum!
MV Guide: December 26, 2011-January 1, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) You'll notice a hefty lineup, some new faces, and some special events in this week's MV Guide. Joining us will be some brand-new members of the MV TV livestream team, so make sure you stop in while they're live and give them a welcome! Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule.
This Week in MMO: Fable edition
What new this week in MMOs? You'll have to watch This Week in MMO to find out. Funny how that works, huh? Host Gary Gannon is joined by Mike Schaffnit and Jasmine Hruschak for the traditional news roundtable, and boy is there a lot to talk about. Topics include Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch and post-launch reactions, Cryptic's SWTOR ripoffs homages, and TERA's endgame political system. The heretofore single-player Fable franchise gets a mention as well, due to Microsoft's curious job posting that seeks an experienced MMO programmer. Join the trio for all this and more at the Gamebreaker website.
Behind the Mask: The Force Unleashed
Now that The Old Republic has hit the shelves, it seems like everyone has something to say about it. Cryptic seems to acknowledge it in its own unusual way: by lampshading it. Enter the Unleashed, Champions Online's newest free archetype. No, you're not misreading me here; the Unleashed is not a gold archetype. If you make an account right now, you can play the Unleashed from the moment you enter the character select screen, without spending a dime. Since it's the ninth free archetype, you'd think that he'd be a stable, bread-and-butter class. However, the Unleashed is nothing but. His wackiness approaches the Impulse, but where the Impulse is kind of ineffectual, the Unleashed is deadly efficient. Interested in a sword-wielding knight who slings force blasts? Hit the jump and we'll see what Cryptic's take on a Jedi can do.
[Updated] On the tenth day of giveaways, Perfect World gave to me...
[UPDATE: All winners have been selected and contacted. Thanks to everyone who entered!] On the tenth day of giveaways, Perfect World gave to me... ten grab bag items! On the ninth day of giveaways, GamersFirst gave to me... nine SWG mementos! On the eighth day of giveaways, Enjin gave to me... eight guild-wide gifts! On the seventh day of giveaways, NCsoft gave to me... seven years of memories! On the sixth day of giveaways, GamersFirst gave to me... six retail packs! On the fifth day of giveaways, Trion gave to me... five subscription codes! On the fourth day of giveaways, Nexon gave to me... four pet items! On the third day of giveaways, Wargaming.net gave to me... three premium years! On the second day of giveaways, BioWare gave to me... two warring factions! On the first day of giveaways, Turbine gave to me... a lifetime VIP! Day 10 of Massively's 12 Days of Giveaways is all about Perfect World Entertainment. The developers pulled out all the stops, giving us a total of 10 different items from Star Trek Online, Champions Online, Rusty Hearts, and Perfect World International. Two winners will receive 1,000 Cryptic Points for Star Trek Online, and two more will receive 10 days of gold membership status in Champions Online. Three Rusty Hearts fans will walk away with a gift package containing items for triple XP as well as instant weapon and armor enchants. Finally, if you are a fan of Perfect World International, we've got three codes for a very rare Giant Bunny pet. Ready to enter? Check the contest rules below for eligibility, hit the comment button, and tell us which prize you'd like and why you should win. Enter by the deadline of tomorrow, December 23rd, at 6:00 p.m. EST, and good luck!
The Squall breezes into Champions Online
Champions Online is on a roll this week with its bevy of new archetypes to check out. First it was the Star Wars-inspired Unleashed archetype, and today Cryptic announced the arrival of its newest hero, The Squall. As its name suggests, the Squall is a weather-based superhero who takes on the role of an avenger. By wrapping the awesome forces of nature around his little pinky, the Squall can whip up hurricanes, slap down tornadoes, and throw a big ball o' wind at enemies that are really irking him. The archetype primarily focuses on mid- and long-range attacks to repel and disorient enemies, but he suffers when bad guys get up close and personal. The Squall archetype can be unlocked across an entire player's account for 920 Cryptic Points.
Massively's 2011 winter holiday event roundup
The winter holiday season is well underway, both in and out of game. Many schools, businesses, and communities are preparing to take a little time off to enjoy the holidays, and here at Massively, we want to make sure you don't miss a single in-game party. We've been rounding up all the details on celebrations happening in our favorite MMOs, combining them into a handy guide. Follow along after the jump for your map to all of the can't-miss MMO winter holiday events for 2011!
MV Guide: December 19-25, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule.
Champions Online introduces Star Warsy archetype
If it's true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the devs behind Champions Online can safely be called Star Wars fans. Whether they're Star Wars: The Old Republic fans is another matter, but chances are good seeing as how the game's newest archetype would feel right at home in a galaxy far, far away. The Unleashed is a new brawler role that looks quite a bit like your average Sith lord, right down to the dual red blades and sinister black robes. Cryptic's archetype description features phrases like cosmic knight, dark inquisitor, and militant monk, and the release blurb says that the Unleashed is coming to Champions today, December 19th. Is it a tongue-in-cheek homage or a shameless attempt to capitalize on the biggest hype-train the MMO space has ever seen? You decide, and be sure to head to the Champions website to learn more.
Behind the Mask: A way to improve microtransaction consumables
A couple of weeks ago, I lamented the existence of grab bags in Champions Online and how they could be made more worthwhile. Although I made quite a few suggestions on what could be changed, the main concern was that the consumables placed in the grab bags were simply not worth anything. Improving the value of C-Store consumables won't appease the vocal minority whose sense of entitlement tells them that they deserve the ultra-rare grab bag items. These people only see the grab bags as chances for costume unlocks, so making the consumables worth the 80 CP ($1 US) won't matter to them. For the general public, though, making the consumables worth the gamble makes the grab bag items much more desirable. This week on Behind the Mask, we'll look at the C-Store consumables and weigh in on whether they're worth the money. If they're not, we'll look at what could be done to fix it!
MV Guide: December 12-18, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) You'll notice a hefty lineup, some new faces, and some special events in this week's MV Guide. Joining us will be some brand-new members of the MV TV livestream team, so make sure you stop in while they're live and give them a welcome! Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule.
The Daily Grind: Should MMOs offer respecs?
MMOs last for so long that you're almost guaranteed to get bored or make a mistake at some point during character development. Most games know this and allow you a do-over, be it through unlearning skills in sandboxes like Glitch and Ultima Online or respecing talent point choices in World of Warcraft. Lest your choices be trivialized, certain games insist on making respecs prohibitively expensive; City of Heroes and Champions Online even charge real money for respecs should you deplete your in-game allotment. But other MMOs simply provide no outlet for a do-over at all, like Star Wars: The Old Republic, which currently locks you into your advanced class choice at level 10, long before you're really capable of making that kind of decision. While the devs are still debating respecs as a post-launch addition, a surprising number of players are vehemently opposed to the entire concept on the grounds that it makes character choices irrelevant. What say you -- should all games have respecs, or are do-overs just another form of "easymode"? 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!
Behind the Mask: What does unbalanced even mean?
One of the major criticisms of Champions Online is a lack of game balance. People claim that the phrase "your own hero, your own story" doesn't cover the fact that your hero might be a gimp compared to someone else's. Although archetypes have their own balance issues (even among themselves), this complaint most commonly leveled at the freeform game where there are millions of possible characters. However, I think that most armchair game theorists have a terrible understanding of what "balance" even means. Decades of competitive gaming (yeah, I'm that old) have given me a comprehensive understanding of what the term means, and I think it's worth looking at how CO stacks up.
Newest Ask Cryptic for Champions Online covers the flames of fashion
There are many components to making a great superhero game, but one of the key elements is ensuring that players can be astonishingly good-looking. So it's no surprise that the latest installment of Ask Cryptic sees several questions from Champions Online players about current, upcoming, and conceptual costume sets. That includes promises of more beast-oriented sets and a hard look at any powersets with major clipping issues (although minor clipping issues for certain poses are to be expected). Equally interesting to players will be the promise that the staff is hard at work trying to give players more options for power emanation points, such as staves or wands for magical characters. While some of the answers given will be seen as a bit disappointing, such as the fact that tattoos and scars will not be usable outside of the chest pieces already featuring them, overall the answers promise all sorts of ways for players to look as good as possible while fighting crime.
