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The leet CoV trailer
Have you ever wondered what our super heroes would sound like if they spoke more like we do in game? Well, Kill Ten Rats has reminded us about an oldy-but-goody remix of the City of Villains trailer, leet-speak style. I'm not sure how I missed this one, but I am sure those of you who play CoX will get a kick out of this. Heck, those of you who have ever grouped in an instance in an MMO will get a kick out of this. Enjoy.[via Kill Ten Rats]
CoX Splasher
Poking around on the CoX forums this morning I came across an amazing little tool brought to us by the blossoming development community surfacing in the player base of the game. This fabulous bit of coding is called Splasher, and it's a program that allows you to customize the login and character selection screens for your client. Beyond simply letting you put up a custom screenshot, the program includes a music function that will let you change the music played for you when the game loads. In this way you can create a custom anthem for your hero to serenade you while you select which character you would like to roam Paragon City with. In addition to the customizable music, there is also a randomizer function that will select a random custom login screen for you from a selection that you put into the program. I created a login screen that featured my favorite moments from Trick or Treating last month. You can download Splasher here, and soon you'll be on the road to a custom login of your very own.
CoX Issue 11: First Impressions
The newest expansion for City of Heroes and City of Villains, Issue 11 has been in open beta for a couple of weeks, and -- so far, at least -- it's proven to be a hit. As with all other releases, there have been the inevitable tweaks and adjustments to make sure that levels are being balanced and that powers are neither too strong nor too weak. Still, all things considered, it's been a phenomenal step forward in the elegance of the game.It's hard not to squeal with delight when I think of the changes that have been made since I first created my account in June of 2004. Whether we were peering Through the Looking Glass or fending off an Invasion, NCsoft was always pushing to give us new features, and to make sure that the play was as balanced as possible. As far as I can tell, they've done a phenomenal job of continuing that trend. %Gallery-9980%
One Shots: Question Manticore
Our own Jonathan Northwood offers this shot of high-end City of Heroes content straight from the pages of Issue 11. Jonathan brings us up to speed on the story (yes, these could be spoilers for some of you):The concept is drawn from the Trading Places storyline in Top Cow's City of Heroes comic (Issues 10 – 12), when Manticore is kicked from the Freedom Phalanx, and winds up teaming with the Vindicators for a short while. He apparently defects to Recluse's side; however, in the dénouement, it's seen that he took these actions in order to get more information on what Recluse is doing. The mission this screenshot is from was the fourth in the Mender Silos Task Force: your team and some of the Vindicators (Swan, Ms. Liberty, and Mynx) are sent to Siren's Call to find out what's going on with Manticore, and wind up being tasked with taking him down. For tomorrow's One Shots, we're turning the reins over to all of you -- what game do you want to see featured? Let us know in the comments!Do you have a screenshot that shows off a memorable moment or an amazing view in your favorite MMO? Send them to us at oneshots@massively.com with a description (including game name and location) and you may see it posted here for tomorrow's One Shots. %Gallery-9798%
One Shots: A giant what?
If you had asked me prior to receiving this shot in which game you might be able to fight a giant octopus, I don't think I could have told you. And since this shot puzzled me until the time I was told which game it took place in, I will now pass the puzzle along to you, dear readers. Tell me, what game does this image come from? I'll leave you to ponder the question, but I'll be back later to check on your progress!Update: A great many of you picked up that this was an image from CoH, but I think reader Brigand wins the comments this afternoon by not only telling us what game, but also giving us a detailed rundown on the location and the fight. Says Brigand:...our tentacular friend there is Lusca, the giant octopus. She's a Giant Monster that requires several full teams of heroes to take down.... You assault her one tentacle at a time, while trying to avoid the fury of her other flailing appendages and the blinding ink-cloud she spouts from her head. After all of the tentacles have been destroyed, you close in for a final battle with the head.Do you have a screenshot of your own that you think expresses a unique or memorable moment in your favorite MMO? Send them to us with a description (including game name and location) and you may see it posted here for tomorrow's One Shots. %Gallery-9798%
Slashing up CoX
AmazingMOO (not our amazing Moo, but another one) put up a very cool post on the CoX forums a while back. He listed off a slew of lesser known slash commands he found in the game. I spend at least some of my play time every time I log in reading the newspaper to catch up on the latest infoz. But did you know that these were also in the game? Yeah, I didn't either:/cmdlist: A list of all the /slash commands in the game/whereami: Let's you know what server and map you're currently logged into/copychat [tabname]: Copies the contents of a chat tab to the Windows keyboard/showfps: Lets you see your frame rate/whoall: Displays every player in the zone/cc #: Insert the number of the costume slot you want to switch to, and bam! Costume switched./unloadgfx: Having performance issues in Grandville? Try this command to clear things up.Have you encountered any slash commands you find useful in the game?
Building a better MMOusetrap: Buildings, barrens and beyond (Part 1)
I spent the last two years living in the UK with an architecture enthusiast, and we often got into debates about the functionality and aesthetics about architecture and design. As such I began doing a bit of personal research on the topic, but filtered it down into a view on my own extra-curricular exploits. It was through this that I found a number of papers related to architectural choices in video games and virtual worlds, some are now a little outdated as they were written in the early days of true 3D gaming, but some hold true even to today. The main point, being that the decisions being made by developers are not simply held to aesthetics, but often have classical themes of architecture and planning intertwined into the building of our online cities. MMO architecture is something I think can define, both the enjoyment, and popularity of the game in the same way that the ease of use of its interface can cause people to love it or leave it. And I think designers and developers are starting to believe this as well, looking at the cities, towns, hamlets and mega-cities of games are starting to feel more like real places instead of just something that serves in game function. This isn't something that is only tied into a single MMO genre either, games such as World of Warcraft, Everquest and Final Fantasy XI all draw on well-known fantasy architectural schemes, City of Heroes/Villains uses a lot of real world and comic influences, and games such as Eve Online tie into popular sci-fi conventions. That being said, these games are not simply drawing from norms, but also are utilizing individual ideas and designs, there are influences of lore and unique design in all of the above mentioned games.
The Daily Grind: Good tutorial zones
One of the things we've noticed in jumping from game to game lately is how common tutorial zones have become. From EQ to Tabula Rasa, it seems common to have a tutorial now. As such, we thought it would be nice to touch on a few of the better tutorials for people new to MMOs.Probably one of my personal favorite tutorial zones is the one in EverQuest II -- now. The tutorial zones in EQ2 can get you into the swing of things fairly easily if you're not familiar with the game. Not only are there myriad quests designed to teach you what you need to know, but there are also tons of NPCs whose sole purpose is to give you tips and tricks about how things work in game. While the tutorial in other games such as EVE and CoX could be said to be roughly as good about telling you how things are, I simply don't think they're quite as much fun, or as chock full of quests to keep you engaged. (Although I will give props to CoH for having the Isolator badge in the tutorial.) A close runner up is the tutorial in LotRO, which drops you smack into the middle of the lore and story that people play that game for while doing a good job of explaining the game. On the other hand, there's the problem of believability when it occurs to you that any low-level character wouldn't likely come out of a brush with a Ringwraith alive. While WoW may be the 800-pound-gorilla of MMOs right now, I do honestly think their newbie zones could stand to be instanced like many other games are. Why? Because if you're new, there's nothing that will turn you off quite a quickly as being ganked and corpse-camped in a noob area when you're level 3 and you're dealing with players who are easily ten times your level. (Yes, I've been corpse camped in WoW's new-player areas by opposite-faction griefers.) Games with distinct, separate tutorial areas save new players from this hassle while they're getting used to just what those shiny new buttons do. There are many other things that we love and hate about tutorials in MMOs, but we'll skip off those for now or this will quickly become a novel. Instead we're curious what you think. What do you love about the tutorial zones in the games you play? What do you absolutely hate? Is there something an older game did better than the newer games you've experienced? Which is your favorite? Let us know!
Yesterday on Massively: November 13, 2007
It's been a busy day on Massively, with the latest EverQuest and EverQuest II expansions, a new patch for World of Warcraft, and a new release candidate for Second Life. Oh, and don't forget our continuing run of exciting contests! For those of you unable to keep up with the days' news around here, we've compiled them into this handy collection of links. Contests WoW giveaway winners Massively's Massive Giveaways: EVE Online Massively's Massive Giveaways: EVE Online, part 2 Massively's Massive Giveaways: EVE Online, part 3 Massively's Massive Giveaways: EVE Online, part 4 Features Cinemassively: Mask One Shots: We miss Halloween Discussion Vanity, thy name is Pet It's as if millions of MMO gamers cried out... Slave to the 'ding' Making fun be worth it
One Shots: We miss Halloween
Oh, how we miss Halloween. There were cool events going on in every MMO and the worlds seem so drab without their holiday splendor. However, at least we can relive the fun in screenshots like this one, taken by our own Krystalle Voecks in City of Heroes, where a group of adventurers are taking down Eochai for a Hallow's Eve event. And it's more than fun and games here: Krystalle tells us that this is how she spends time with her brother (the black cyborg) despite living far away. Do you have a screenshot of your own that you think expresses a unique or memorable moment in your favorite MMO? Send them to us with a description (including game name and location) and you may see it posted here for tomorrow's One Shots. %Gallery-9798%
70 new badges in Issue 11
A full listing of the new 70 new badges available in City of Heroes and City of Villains is available on Badge-Hunter.com's site. While Issue 11's new badges are split into Exploration and Achievement areas, the vast majority seem to be focused on the new Ouroboros-based missions. I'll even give you a hint on where to find the Chrononaut badge: it's placed in a similar location to two of the badges found in Atlas Park. And don't forget that you can change or clear your badge title at any time. After all, why be known as a Keeper of Secrets when you can be perceived as Justice Incarnate?[Via Kill Ten Rats]
Is single-player content hurting MMORPGs?
The term "solo friendly" is commonly cited as a virtue of newer MMO titles. Many MMO related forums have threads such as this one over at MMORPG.com which discuss the "soloability" of player classes within an MMORPG. In fact many of the elements of games such as Everquest which players have complained about over the years such as "forced grouping," "camping spawns," or "racing for non-instanced content" have all but been removed from the most recent MMORPG releases.When was the last time you saw two guilds racing to kill the same mob in World of Warcraft? How many of you have spent more than 30 minutes on a corpse recovery in City of Heroes? (That is a trick question, since there is no need to recover your corpse in that game.)
Issue 11 adventures in beta
Omnitron of the Central Nexus spent some time the other day to give us his thoughts and experiences in the Issue 11 beta for CoX. He gives us some great insights into what we can expect when the update hits. First of all, he lets us know that Willpower is awesome. Every brawler and scrapper out there is going to want to pick up that power set. A note of interest I haven't seen mentioned anywhere is the 42-month veteran reward he found on the test server. Rather than simply getting the Fervent badge, players now receive the Assemble the Team power, which summons your entire team to you once every 30-minutes. If that isn't an incentive to keep your account active, I don't know what is. He lets us know that there's some potential weirdness down the line with the time travel Ouroboros missions. It seems that since you are deleveling down to say level 9 and are running around Paragon City weak as can be, turning in the mission could be challenging, since you have to get to a special island to do so. You might need to be sidekicked or something in order to complete your task. It sounds a little weird, and hopefully it will get ironed out before the Issue pushes through to the live servers. As Issue 11 nears, we'll keep an eye out on any further information and let you know.
City of Civilians and City of Aliens?
Ten Ton Hammer is reporting today on the rumor that NCsoft is adding a new "City of" title to the IP of their newly acquired CoX franchise. Well of course they are, they've been listening in on my conversations. I literally had this discussion with a friend of mine just a couple of days ago. The way I see it, you have heroes and villains duking it out in the city, but the citizens go along their humdrum lives without personality or purpose. So I am thinking, why not a Sims in Paragon City? The other idea I had as I was slicing up Rikti the other day was playing as the alien invading race. Sure they're trying to destroy mankind, but that's what makes good entertainment, no? I really think I have something here. With the civilians concept you could bring in a whole crowd of MMO lovers that want get a chance to build a virtual life within Paragon, and with the aliens you could start out on an invading vessel and port in to do damage and cause chaos. You heard it here first people. I so should be working for these guys.
The Digital Continuum: Don't Fear The Re: Console
Massively Multiplayer Online Games have always been the slaves to their PC masters, rarely able to exist on anything other than the PC platform. That isn't to say there haven't been partial attempts in the past such as Final Fantasy XI, but since launch that game has been developed for three different platforms including the PC. Developers still have yet to create a console MMOG that becomes as financially successful as some of the more popular PC titles. In all reality, it still remains easier to make and maintain MMOGs for PCs. The reason MMOG developers find creating and sustaining their games on the PC easier is the very problem with a console exclusive. When creating any Massively Multiplayer Online Game for the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 that problem happens to be that as advanced as those consoles are they do not offer the flexibility of a PC. A large part of Blizzard's longterm success with World of Warcraft comes from the depth of the community tools and game customization. It's the wonderful ability to alter your user interface and the incredibly addicting habit of alt-tabbing back and forth from game window, forum posts or online game guides. I'm personally unable count the number of times I've been playing City of Heroes windowed while listening to various albums, simultaneously browsing news, guild forum posts or maybe just checking my email. You may be able to get a browser onto your PS3 and you might manage custom music on both the 360/PS3 but in the end would it be as easy as a keystroke to flip back and forth between both of those functions?
Marvel Universe Online info still lacking - will it kill CoX off?
When is it coming? The one question everyone is anticipating an answer to, and so far all we know is sometime this decade! How did this all come about? Lots of suits, lots of money, strings of piano wire, and some body bags -- you know the basic necessities when it comes to building a MMOG. Hopping back in the way-back time machine to a few months after Comic-Con 2006 edition, Cryptic Studios, creators of City of Heroes and City of Villains, decided to unleash some sparkle magic, dropping the industry bomb that they held Marvel Universe Online in their clutches in conjunction with Microsoft Game Studios as their new cohort and publisher. When I read the news, it felt as if I was kicked in the gut by some fat man wearing a Spiderman Speedo (I love my Spidey Speedo) because Marvel had slapped Cryptic Studios with a lawsuit. Apparently, Marvel thought CoH's character creation system infringed on their intellectual property, otherwise referred to as the super hero awesome sauce. Well, to make a long story short, Marvel lost and Cryptic rejoiced -- freedom for players to create look-alikes won out and everyone got a cute puppy. Marvel mended fences and reached out to Crypic, all the melted faces were contorted back into sleek shape! But, what is there to know about Marvel Universe Online, and does it spell doom for City of Heroes and City of Villains?
Massively's massive giveaways
You know what video games and comic books have in common? Give up? We think it's the fact that both have had the misfortune of having some of the worst movie adaptations ever. Luckily, we have the ability to tell our own stories in CoX -- and hey, budding machinimators can use this world to create their own superhero or super villain movies. So for all you movie fans, comic fans, and perhaps budding machinimators out there, it's time for the last round of CoX prizes. This time we're giving away a 60-day game card, and one of the truly amazing CoX art books that came with the Collector's Edition of the game. There's only one catch (well, okay, outside of the official rules which say you have to be 18 years old and a US resident) -- we want to know what you think the absolute best comic-book movie adaptation has been to date?Leave your opinion in the comments by 8:00 PM EDT tomorrow, and you could win. Far better than sitting through bad comic-book movies, no?
Massively's massive giveaways - CoX, redux
We remember the first time we landed in City of Heroes, sometime back in 2004. After years of haunting our respective local comic book stores and following our favorite comic book characters, the time had come... We were going to get a chance to create and play our own superheroes! Of course, most of us then spent the next five hours playing with character customization options. Best. Mini-game. Ever.But to get back to the point -- for this giveaway, we're offering a 60-day CoX gamecard or a very cool CoX banner for two lucky random winners who answer the following question. Who was the comic book hero that inspired you when you were younger? Do you still have one that is your favorite? Tell us in the comments by 6:00 PM EDT tomorrow, and you could walk away with some NCsoft goodies! I keep thinking I'll jump in game and create Official Rules Man, with a battle cry of "18 and up, US residents only!" but that's probably right out. I mean, what kind of powerset would that guy have? Sleep?
Massively's massive giveaways: Good vs. Evil edition
For today's round of giveaways, we're focusing on NCsoft's City of Heroes and City of Villains. While we already have two 60-day game card giveaways in progress (and more to come -- check our giveaway page for the latest giveaways), this giveaway is focused for the poor individuals in the audience who have not yet had a chance to enjoy playing CoH or CoV. We have two copies of the Good Versus Evil Edition, which includes both CoH and CoV in one convenient package, donated by NCsoft, which we're passing on to you! To win, you have to be a US resident of age 18 or older and leave us a comment between now and 4:00 PM EST tomorrow, November 6th, telling us what type of hero or villain you'd create if you won this copy of the game. (Please check our full official rules before entering.) That said... what are you waiting for? Tell us all about your hero or villain to be!
Massively's massive giveaways: Day 4 - City of Giveaways!
Today is the day we feature those two NCsoft titles many of us have come to know and love; City of Heroes and City of Villains. We love our spandexed heroes and armored villains, so this hour we're featuring something that we know many of you will love. Our first choice winner will get a 60-day game card for CoX, and our second prize winner will get the combined CoX art (flip!) book, perfect for making your coffee table reflect your love of gaming and art -- for whatever side you happen to call home.All you need to do is to tell us in comments below, your favorite heroic or villainous superpower! It can be any type of power, really. Just leave a comment with that between now and tomorrow at 2:00 PM EDT (remember, the clocks changed!) and you're entered to win. Of course, we have to remind you that there are official rules involved, otherwise the Rikti will beam down and vaporize the lot of us, and that would make our editors sad.So tell us -- what's your favorite superpower? Prizes await!
