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SOE Live 2014 begins registration, offers early bird deals
The registration for this summer's SOE Live is now open for business! The convention, which will take place from August 14th through 17th in Las Vegas, will feature panels, parties, contests, and more. If you register before May 12th, you'll be eligible for the early bird deal of $129 for the premium pass. Evening passes are $99, day passes are $49, and kids under 12 may attend the convention for free. There are also options to pay more for a Sunday brunch with the developers and reserve an entire table for a group. SOE will mail badges to folks who register by May 12th and has made a deal with Planet Hollywood Hotel to offer discounted room rates. Call Send SMS Add to Skype You'll need Skype CreditFree via Skype
April Fools' Day around the virtual world
I was in Guild Wars 2 last night at 10 p.m. PDT when my Asura's head... grew. And wobbled. And bobbled. As did the heads of the not-so-scary-anymore Nightmare Court villains I had been murdering in pursuit of my dailies. Ah, I remembered. It's April Fools' somewhere! Here are some of the MMOs that tried to prank us today: Blizzard showed off a hideous new model for World of Warcraft's Draenei women and announced a new fighting game full of rejected characters. Neverwinter introduces a brand-new playable race -- the Dragon! EverQuest Next wants you to choose the next class: Duct Tapomancer, Rubberbandian, Origami Assassin, or Martinizer. Star Wars: The Old Republic introduced asteroid starships. Final Fantasy XIV teased the worst NPC companions ever. TERA has been overrun by beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! Lord of the Rings Online announced plans for a major sports league. DC Universe Online brought to life the Unicorn Trinket. EverQuest II celebrated Bristlebane Day. Path of Exile gave up and went pay-to-win. Destiny unveiled the "Get Your Ass To Mars" collectors edition. World of Warplanes promised playable UFOs. The Repopulation posted patch notes including The Adventures of Ding Veisel. World of Tanks introduced World of Tanks: The Crayfish. League of Legends turned its meta upside down with a goofy Ultra Rapid Fire mode. Finally, rather than add to the pranks, we sent you on an April Fools' Day quest. The first person to complete it was reader Nathan6! The words in order were waffle, platypus, macguyver, shazbot, and doge, and here is the "prize" page. Thanks for playing, everyone! ;)
Amazons await in DC Universe Online's 10th DLC this spring
DC Universe Online's 10th DLC is coming this spring, and it will pack an Amazonian punch. Titled Amazon Fury Part I, this DLC begins a three-part series focused on Wonder Woman and the Amazons, including Queen Hippolyta. Aside from introducing the Amazon story arc, this pack opens up the Themyscira Palace District and seaside port for adventuring in the new alert and duos, introduces weapon mastery, allows players to relive moments as either Wonder Woman or Circe that led to the war, and brings a new alternative phase of Gotham City that's under siege by the Amazons. Amazon Fury Part I will be free to Legendary Members; free players will be able to purchase it. Get a sneak peak at what's in store in the gallery below, then peruse the full press release after the break. [Source: SOE press release] [Update: SOE contacted us to clarify that the DLC will be free to Legendary Members, not a pay purchase. Yay! We've adjusted the text accordingly.]
DC Universe Online's playerbase 'still growing'
DC Universe Online celebrated its third birthday in January, and unlike many of its contemporaries, SOE's superhero action MMO is still growing. This is according to creative director Jens Andersen, who recently told IGN that porting the game to the PlayStation 4 served as an impetus for improving the overall product. "We're in our third year and our player base is still growing; it's been really wonderful," Andersen said. "I think the PS4 was a tremendous help, but the other platforms have remained solid as well. We treated PS4 as a relaunch and addressed countless points of feedback from our existing players. This helped with retention of players on all platforms." Andersen also seems to be all in with DCUO for the long haul. "I love working on this game and cannot imagine myself stepping away from it anytime soon. We are all very proud of the work we do here and look forward to a bright and continued future."
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Free for All: Why developers need to stop apologizing
Remember the old saying "confidence is attractive"? Well, it is. It's possible that we've all been the victim of a confident person at one time or another, whether we're buying that extra add-on for our cable package or "investing" money into a Kickstarter. This is exactly why an MMO developer needs to be confident and keep the apologizing to a minimum. Apologies come in many different forms. Over the course of our lives, we spend a lot of time giving and receiving apologies. It's not as sinister as it sounds; saying "sorry" helps cut down on confrontation and can even help to form new relationships. Unfortunately it's also very easy to apologize too much. In this age of indie development and crowd-funding, developers need to be aware of when they are saying sorry too much, and players need to watch out for overly apologetic people.
DCUO update brings feat unlocking and moon PvP
DC Universe Online rolled out Game Update 34 today, bringing with it a powerful feat unlocking system for players with multiple characters and a trip to the moon. Feat unlocking allows players to spend replay badges to unlock feats attained by an account's characters for other characters on the same account. There are a few limitations, such as being unable to unlock feats that are specific to roles or alignment that conflict with specific characters. The pricing for feat unlocking is one replay badge for a 10-point feat, three badges for a 25-point feat, and five badges for a 50-point feat. Today's update also brought with it a new green aura, additional items at tier vendors, new HQ map markers, an update for sorcery pets, new feats for DLC 9 content, and a 5v5 PvP map that just so happens to take place on the moon. As they say, that's one small step for Superman, one giant leap for playerkind.
Massively's Valentine's Day roundup
When a mob hits your eye with a big sharpened spike... that's not really amore! In fact, it's downright painful. But it's February -- a time when love is in the air, hearts are aflutter everywhere, and pink and red festoon your favorite MMOs. So in the spirit of the season, go ahead and give that mob an extra-hard love tap, right from... er, to the heart! And don't forget to collect whatever treasures it had for you because we all know Valentine's Day isn't all about the love; no, it's about the loot! Want to know where to get your hands on something special for this holiday? There are plenty of celebrations throughout the MMOverse offering a plethora of events and goodies. Check out some of the various Valentine's events and specials going on now.
Field Journal: Across the DC Universe
Funny story: DC Universe Online was the first superhero MMO I played to any meaningful extent. I briefly dabbled with Champions Online when it went free-to-play, but it didn't grab me enough to make me continue past the introductory area. A couple of months later I gave the still-fresh-from-launch DCUO a try. The game gripped me for the next four months, and though I would eventually find City of Heroes to be the crown jewel of capes-and-tights massively multiplayer games, DCUO is still one of my favorite MMOs. Why is that? There are several factors: the feel of combat, abundant collections that satiate my compulsions to find all the things, a costume system that lets me change any part on the fly, the inclusion of an achievement system that actually means something, and a vigorous update schedule including quite a lot of new power sets over time. Even little things contribute a lot, like how much of a badass I feel running at super speed up the side of a building and flinging myself from the apex for several blocks to land running up the side of another huge skyscraper. The biggest reason for me, though, has to be how well-realized the setting is in the game -- how Sony Online Entertainment has capitalized on the license to present a snapshot of the DC Universe at its best.
DCUO begins the War of the Light in today's update
The first part of DC Universe Online's War of the Light DLC has gone live today, kicking off a multiple-update story arc involving the Lantern Corps, planet hopping, and a transformed Metropolis. Senior Creative Director Jens Andersen says that this update will get players to see the game from a whole new perspective: "Players are getting more than just a new storyline with this DLC. We transformed Metropolis for the War of the Light trilogy and created new, expandable environments and content -- separate from the original -- for players to explore." The DLC also includes the tanking rage powerset, more 4- and 8-player operations, plenty of Green Lantern gear, and the Legends PvP characters of Saint Walker and Atrocitus. The update is included with a subscription or can be purchased separately for $9.99. [Source: SOE press release]
Choose My Adventure: Back in the saddle again edition
Yeeehaw! Now that Mike has finished his ride, they're lettin' me back in the saddle for another round of rootin' tootin' Choose My Adventure fun! And the opportunity has come not a moment too soon: I've had my spurs on and been raring to go for weeks now. As you know, this ain't my first CMA rodeo, and I'm sure as shootin' excited for this next wild romp through a new world. Of course, I won't be doing this alone. This ain't a one-woman show, and you ain't just spectators. I'm the rider all right, but y'all actually have a hold of the reins and will be leading me through the adventures. I'll wrangle up some options each week, and y'all will make the choices for what we do, where we go, and how we get there. Our first choice: which game we're going to tame! I've corralled a herd of titles that ain't seen their time in the spotlight yet (or at least, not for a long, long time). We've got an assortment of breeds to choose from -- some I've the barest hint of experience with; with others, I've none at all. Look 'em over, size 'em up, and then tag the one you want us to spend our next six weeks in. Y'all have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, January 25th, to make your selection. Then we rope the winner and get this ride started.
New DCUO trailer highlights Rage powers available today
The War of the Light has begun. This first installment of the multi-part DLC series is available to play today for subscribed members of DC Universe Online. War of the Light Part 1 introduces the crimson Red Light Rage powers set, the Blue Lantern Corps, new four-player operations, new Legends PvP characters, and the sentient planets Ranx and Mogo. Nonsubscribers can purchase War of the Light Part 1 starting January 28th, but everyone can get a preview of the Rage powers in action in the trailer below, and read up more on the DLC in Massively's interview with Creative Director Jens Andersen. [Source: SOE press release]
Alter Ego: Issue #6 - Gargoyles' Gaze
Last time in Massively's DC Universe Online comic, Batman tasked Kid Critical with finding out what Bane's thugs are doing in Gotham City's East End. As it turns out, the enforcers are offloading crates of the masked madman's venom at the Cape Carmine docks. Can The Kid stop them before Bane's strength-boosting street drug makes its way through Gotham's criminal underworld? Find out in Alter Ego: Issue #6 - Gargoyles' Gaze, after the break!
Armories arrive in DC Universe Online
So you're max level in DC Universe Online, and you have a lot of different options available to you. You have a setup you like to use for dealing damage, a setup for healing teammates, even a setup for when you absolutely need to get across an entire zone in less than three minutes. Swapping between those is a bit more taxing, though. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just instantly swap between a full loadout and appearance with just one click? Yes, that's exactly what Armories do: they allowing players to save an alternate build that can be accessed out of combat instantly. A free armory slot is given to every character following a quest, with additional slots (for additional builds) available in the marketplace for $6 (or less if bought in bulk). Each player base can hold four slots for a grand total of 16 Armory slots, giving you plenty of space to store all the alternate builds you could ever want.
Smedley expounds on benefits blunder and SOE's philosophy
When SOE first announced the membership changes coming to some of its titles, the company stirred up a storm that was completely unexpected, according to CEO John Smedley. After listening to the community, the studio reversed parts of the proposal and unveiled an extra benefit: a $14.99 All-Access pass. But even after a few extra posts explaining the changes and the reasoning behind them, there were still some unanswered questions and remnants of confusion from the quick succession of announcements. Why were some titles in SOE's arsenal listed part of the pass but others aren't? Which membership gift is actually the one going forward? When will these changes take place? And what about the European players? I sat down with Smedley to answer these questions and get some added clarity on these changes,
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: 2013 in review for superheroes
2013 was the first year in which City of Heroes didn't exist. The masses of hero fans cried out in anticipation of a new game but found nothing. All there was to be found was a deafening silence and three other games that scratched similar itches but didn't quite manage to hit the same heights. But we've talked about that as much as it can be discussed, and quite frankly I'm more interested in the now. We've got three titles that are still duking it out, trying to find their voices, and so forth. And then we have the header of Plan Z, which covers several different projects but at the same time serves as an interesting look at the community as a whole. So in the wake of a quiet December, let's look back at 2013 for the major titles and for the hopefuls. It was a year in which quite a bit happened, not all of it good, but it was still one that might have a big impact on the future of the superhero MMO field.
SOE considering an one-subscription-covers-all plan for $14.99 a month
SOE President John Smedley took to Reddit today to address the "fear, uncertainty, and doubt" that's been swirling about regarding the subscription changes made to its games, most notably PlanetSide 2 and EverQuest II. While he lists several reasons why the studio is doing this, the main reason is a big change in the works: SOE is considering implementing a one-subscription-covers-all plan moving forward. "We are considering (and are likely going to move forward with) a plan that means if you subscribe to one of our games you are a subscriber to all our games (this applies to PC titles only, by the way) all for the current $14.99 a month," Smedley wrote. "That's a benefit most companies simply can't offer because they don't have our portfolio of games. The goal would be to let you pick an item in each game you play." He implied that this plan will also cover EverQuest Next Landmark and EverQuest Next. Other reasons for the subscription change include helping players buy larger items on the marketplace, internal issues regarding people stockpiling Station Cash, and disparity between computer and console promotions. For a more in-depth look at the subscription plan changes, read our recent Norrathian Notebook column.
Some Assembly Required: Virtual world roundup for 2014 and beyond
Just over two years ago there was a great disturbance, as if millions (or so) of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Yes, something terrible had happened: a beloved virtual world was destroyed. And that left a number of sandbox refugees looking for a new place to call home. At that time, Some Assembly Required offered a roundup of the then available virtual worlds that could possibly offer accommodation, depending on what qualities players most desired in their games. But as things are wont to, they changed; a lot can happen in the MMOverse in 24 months, from additional features in existing games to new games to the loss of more worlds. So it's time to update this list of virtual worlds to reflect 2014 and beyond. Take a look and see what titles or titles-to-be have the sandbox features that best make a game a home for you.
Alter Ego: Issue #5 - Opportunity Knocks in DCUO
Previously in Massively's DC Universe Online comic, Kid Critical teamed up with Batwoman to rid Gotham of the Scarecrow and his hallucinogenic fear gas. Now, a new villain is filling the void, as the masked strongman Bane has set up shop in the city's East End and is terrorizing its citizens with an army of thugs powered by his rage-inducing venom. Can The Kid and the Bat family put a stop to his nefarious plans? Find out in Alter Ego: Issue #5, after the cut!
Massively's winter holidays MMO roundup
The holidays are here! That means the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing, with gifts to get, treats to taste, deals to nab, and plenty of festivities to partake in -- and that's just in the MMOverse! Yes folks, there's a plethora of holiday celebrations out there -- so many, in fact, that it can be hard to keep track of them all, let alone participate to them! If you're trying to catch everything in your favorite games, we're here to help. We've got a round up of the various winter celebrations across the gaming sphere all bundled together right here for you. If something catches your eye, hop in and join in the festivities!
SOE offering free Legendary DC Universe Online access
If you're a former subscriber who has been thinking of heading back into DC Universe Online, you're fresh out of excuses not to, since SOE is giving you a free Legendary membership. It's a temporary deal of course, but you've got until January 15, 2014 to sample the various monthly stipends that come with a premium account and catch up on all the content updates you've missed. It's worth noting that the free Legendary membership is only being offered to former Legendary members who paid for at least one billing cycle between January 11, 2011 and December 10, 2013. Full details are available at the DCUO website. [Thanks Andy!]
