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SOE community webcast focuses on Player Studio
User-generated content is an awesome way to breathe life into games (and cash into your wallet, if you don't mind stretching that metaphor to the breaking point). Sony Online Entertainment's Player Studio has been generating interest since its introduction as a way for EverQuest, EverQuest II, Free Realms, and (eventually) Vanguard players to create and sell their own in-game items. In response to that interest, SOE's most recent community webcast focuses the spotlight on the Player Studio, with input from Director of Artistic Development Joe Shoopack, Sr. Manager of E-Commerce Rick Reynolds, and Global Community Relations Director Linda Carlson. Together, they talk players through the idea of the Player Studio and its origins in the wealth of fanart and persistent excitement about the games involved, what sort of effort will go into making items, and the magical journey that a submission undertakes before it emerges as a full-fledged, purchasable asset. While some of the initial item possibilities are still being nailed down, players can expect to be able to submit housing items, weapons, and shields for EQ, cloaks and housing items for EQII, and similar items for the other games. Skip below the cut to let the pros speak for themselves.
MMO Family: How kid-friendly games can treat MMO malaise
Let's face it: It hasn't been a banner year for MMOs. We've witnessed disappointing launches, studio layoffs, and even studio meltdowns. There have been reports questioning whether MMOs are a good investment, and some studios have even signaled that they're shying away from traditional MMO development in the future. With all of these dark clouds looming overhead, it's sometimes hard to stay cheerful about MMOs. But ironically, the kid-friendly genre might actually buck the trend. KingsIsle's launch of Pirate101 and SOE's recent updates to Clone Wars Adventures and Free Realms might help curb the malaise with a blend of old and new styles of gameplay. In this week's MMO Family we'll look at what's new with these titles and why kids both young and old have reason to celebrate.
Smartphones for audiophiles: is the iPhone 5 more musical than its rivals?
Related reviews Apple iPhone 5 Samsung Galaxy S III HTC Sensation XE (first phone with Beats Audio) The love of audio. It's a dangerous condition, because every minute spent obsessing over headphones or specs or conflicting opinions is a minute not spent enjoying your favorite tracks or discovering new ones. That's why a review like this, which compares the iPhone 5 with rival phones based largely on acoustic qualities, runs a high risk of time-wastage -- no one really needs a cacophony of flowery words with no concrete conclusions. How to steer clear of the technological equivalent of a wine-tasting? By trying our damnedest to focus only on the more practical pros and cons of these top handsets, specifically from the POV of someone who listens to a lot of music on their phone. We're talking about someone who likely prefers high-bitrate recordings and who is ready to spend money on something better than the earbuds (or EarPods) that come in the box. In addition to testing Apple's new flagship we'll also look at the iPhone 4S, which is now a ton cheaper than it was a few weeks ago, as well as the Galaxy S III (both the global and the Sprint US version) plus the HTC One X (global and AT&T), and run them all through an audiophile obstacle course that goes right from purely subjective observations through to slightly more scientific tests as well as storage, OS and battery comparisons. There'll also be some consideration of the iPhone 4, Nokia Lumia 800 and PureView 808, although it'll be more condensed. And yes, we'll end up with an overall winner, but the research here is about more than that. Different phones may suit different people, depending on their priorities. Moreover, new handsets are just around the corner -- the Lumia 920, the Note II, the LG Optimus G and whatever other goodies the future undoubtedly holds -- and so it makes sense to have a bed of knowledge against which new entrants can be judged. Interested? Then let's get started.
Jukebox Heroes: Whimsy and oddity
I have two big announcements today. The first is that Jukebox Heroes is switching from a bi-weekly to a weekly schedule, which should delight my 30 readers and cause an epidemic of indifference elsewhere. The second is that we're going to take a week off examining specific soundtracks to have a little fun with how silly MMO studios can get. If you haven't figured it out already, this column is kind of a not-so-subtle outlet for sharing my MMO music collection with you. I don't have any firm method of collection other than I just acquire tracks that my ear tells me I'd like to hear again. So along the way, I've acquired a few oddball pieces that you probably won't find on any OST but that are notable enough to share. In some cases, these tracks represent studios' attempts (successful or otherwise) to let down their hair and be humorous. In others, these songs are parodies or one-time special events. So let's take a sidebar to look at the whimsical and odd songs of gaming.
Why I Play: Free Realms
Free Realms has been going really strong, as far as I can tell, since the beginning. I definitely remember the distinct buzz that came from the beta, and I remember bloggers and podcaster friends proclaiming that the game was going to go gangbusters. We MMOers often forget just what sort of impact certain titles have made on the market. As soon as these special titles are released into the world, we become used to them and often take them for granted. Free Realms has always been one of those special titles. But think about it: We hear from it regularly but often forget to notice just how packed with players it can be and how much variety in gameplay it offers. In fact, Free Realms is probably one of the least appreciated sandboxes in the world of MMOs right now because it has been so successfully integrated into the MMOsphere. Yes, I said sandbox. Yes, I'm serious. I'd go so far as to say that Free Realms is almost a perfectly designed sandbox, although some of its design is not for everyone. Like Mabinogi, another underappreciated open world of a game, Free Realms might turn off the typical sandbox aficionado, who might not like its graphics or young audience. That's unfortunate because the world of Free Realms is more vast that many of us think.
SOE announces Live tournaments, schedule
Sony Online Entertainment is gearing up for its annual Fan Faire SOE Live event in Las Vegas. The shindig starts on October 18th, and this year's edition features a load of tournament-style get-togethers as well as over $30,000 in prizes. Scavenger hunts, boot camps, PvP battles, live quests, and the renowned costume contest are all part of the fun. Most of SOE's game roster will be represented, so whether you're an EverQuest die-hard, a DC Universe Online or Free Realms fan, or you're curious about PlanetSide 2 or Vanguard, you'll want to keep your eyes on Massively for all the latest convention coverage as it happens.
Free Realms previews Sunstone Valley ahead of tomorrow's release
Tomorrow will see a bigger Free Realms than ever before, as SOE is adding a new zone to the game: Sunstone Valley. To tide us over until the release, the studio released a video of Development Artist Misty Michelle giving us a sneak peek of the region. In the video, Michelle delivers both concept art and a few brief clips of Sunstone's environs. "We definitely wanted to go with a new theme," she said, "something players haven't gotten to experience before." Check out the video for yourself after the jump and let us know what you think!
First impressions of PlanetSide 2 through the eyes of an FPS noob
Rather than give anyone the wrong impression, let me begin by saying that first-person shooters are far from being my thing. I don't pant in anticipation for the latest Battlefield or Modern Warfare game. I do, however, like my share of third-person shooters. Global Agenda and the Mass Effect series come to mind immediately. So what in the world would make someone like me interested in Sony Online Entertainment's latest craze, PlanetSide 2? RPGs are my thing, and I have always had respect for SOE as a developer. Despite some obvious mistakes the company's made when under the umbrella of large intellectual properties like DC Comics and Star Wars, SOE has handled its own IPs very well. It was also one of the first Western AAA studios to step into the world of free-to-play (with Free Realms, which continues to perform well). And now PlanetSide 2 proclaims that online FPS titles can not only provide exciting vehicle combat but do so in a persistent world. So when SOE invited Massively to join Game Designer Margaret Krohn on a guided tour of PlanetSide 2, I thought, "Why not? At least I'll get to shoot some people in the face."
Free Realms showing off Sunstone Valley tomorrow
Two months ago, SOE gave players their first look at the Free Realms' new Sunstone Valley zone. But there's always a difference between eyeballing static pictures and seeing a game in action, isn't there? That's why the team is excited to give players a video tour tomorrow of this upcoming area. Starting at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, August 30th, Free Realms developers will broadcast Sunstone Valley's features on Twitch TV. You'll need to be prompt, as the webcast is only expected to take 15 minutes. Sunstone Valley is a rocky canyon that's home to a clan of uppity dwarves, a place called Wheelie Pete's, and the awesome Rumbledome.
The Daily Grind: Do you log in for chance-based daily activities?
Daily quests are a fixture in MMOs. Whether a game is subscription-based or free-to-play, it has a vested interest in cajoling you to keep coming back (and spending money). F2P games in particular have latched on to a very specific type of non-combat daily "quest." In Free Realms, for example, players can spin a wheel once per day to receive a chance at random prizes and rewards. In Glitch, you can shuffle your upgrade cards for a new batch every game day. And the RIFT mobile app provides "Lootables," virtual lottery scratch-off tickets that you can play a few times per day for a chance for, well, loot in the real game. These types of "dailies" can sometimes put players who play in a few long bursts at a disadvantage to those who play in many short bursts. I know I'm annoyed when I constantly feel as if I need to log in and perform routine maintenance on a game so that my "real" playtime is enhanced. And that's without mentioning that some games will happily sell the equivalent of wheel spins to those players who didn't like the results of their freebie. Today, Massively's wondering what you think of non-combat daily quests transparently designed to keep you thinking about the game even when you're not playing it. Do you log in to spin wheels, shuffle cards, and scratch off virtual lottery tickets? Or do you ignore those daily activities? 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!
MMO Family: Clone Wars Adventures' tale of two card games
Even though Clone Wars Adventures is a kid-friendly MMO, I've always been a fan of the title, partially because it sort of came out of nowhere and launched soon after it was revealed and partially because it's done a terrific job of matching content and itemization with the TV series. The Darth Maul content update was a household favorite, particularly because the pint-sized players in the family got a chance at going face to face with one of Star Wars' major baddies after seeing him on the animated show. Talk about an epic moment for a CWA fan! The most recent update, though, left me scratching my head a bit. Clone Wars Adventures has had a trading card game called Card Commander for quite a while. Recently, though, SOE added a completely new trading card game called Card Assault. What's the new game like, and why would an MMO have not one but two card games? This week's MMO Family will take a look at the new game and theorycraft on why we're neck deep in cards!
MMO Blender: Larry's old-school 16-bit MMO
In August of 1991, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System launched in North America, kick-starting what would eventually be the biggest boom in console roleplaying games. Granted, some of us had been playing RPGs on consoles like the original NES, but RPGs didn't see as big a console boom as they did on the SNES. In fact, console RPGs haven't seen the same level of popularity since the SNES. A quick jump over to VGChartz shows us that out of the top 50 games sold world-wide on any individual console, RPGs on the SNES dominated the NES, the Playstation, and even the Nintendo DS, boasting titles like Dragon Quest VI, Final Fantasy III, and Super Mario RPG. If you take into account some adventure games that should be considered RPGs, like Super Metroid and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, then you have arguably the best platform of all time for the genre. Nowadays, with online gaming and indie companies sprouting up all over the place, a 16-bit online RPG would probably sell really well, especially if it took some of the best elements from the classic console RPGs of the NES/SNES era. Isn't that right, Cthulhu Saves the World? Let's see what I can throw together from some of my favorite 8- and 16-bit games.
MMO Family: Open-world combat and old school gaming in Free Realms
There are many times lately when I've experienced the full power of the generation gap. As my kids get older and more game-savvy, I sometimes find myself trying to catch up with how the younger generation games compared to how I did it during the good old days of gaming. So it was a pleasant surprise to see a little taste of old school gaming in the latest update to kid-friendly MMO Free Realms. The normally peaceful Shrouded Glade has come under attack, and players have been swarming to the zone to help turn back the tide of invaders. It's a prelude event that will usher in some new content to the game, and it features several fun activities while the event continues, but the most notable change is the introduction of open world combat. For the first time in Free Realms, the bad guys are out and about in the Glade rather than corralled safely away in instances. That's brought some interesting changes to how players are interacting in game. In this week's MMO Family, we'll look at the Shrouded Glade event in Free Realms and see how it's bringing a little throwback-gaming to the pint-sized gaming generation.
Free Realms prepares for The Gloam Invasion, teases Sunstone Valley
Rally yourselves, Free Realms players; the Shrouded Glade is under attack! In the latest update to Sony Online Entertainment's kid-friendly F2P title, players are tasked with assisting the nature-loving Shrouded Glade Druids and the technological Sunstone Dwarves in the reclamation of their home from the threat of the Gloam, which is warping the glade's former inhabitants into hostile creatures. After players have had ample time to fight back the Gloam in the Shrouded Glade, players will be rewarded with a bit of a respite in the bright and sunny home of the Dwarves, Sunstone Valley. The dusty crags of Sunstone will bring myriad new activities for players, such as fighting in the Rumbledome, exploring the wilderness, or just relaxing at a shady oasis. To get an early look at the two new additions, check out the Free Realms official site.
Free Realms throws itself a nice big birthday bash
MMO birthdays are the best celebrations. Instead of getting your favorite game a lot of presents to celebrate its age, most games give the players presents. So it is in Free Realms, which celebrates its third year of operation today with a number of events and rewards for players. The most basic rewards don't require any real effort on the part of players; just logging in today nets you a Birthday Cake hat, and you can enjoy triple Station Cash for the rest of the day. There's more to the party, however: The game's offering a number of daily quests to help Queen Valerian produce the best birthday party ever. There's also the dread monster Cakenstein, a beast assembled from... well, you can probably guess from the name. The extended events will be running until May 24th, but the Station Cash promotion and the hat are only for today. So if you're a fan of Free Realms, log in and start enjoying the festivities today!
SOE games down Monday for 24-hour maintenance
We imagine that the word downtime makes Sony Online Entertainment employees cringe, convulse, and eye-twitch for hours on end after last summer's disastrous hacker-induced service outage. Happily, though, the next service interruption is planned, and we've got plenty of notice. SOE will be performing maintenance this Monday, April 23rd, and the firm says that all of its game services will be unavailable for approximately 24 hours. The downtime starts at 3:01 a.m. EDT. Commerce transactions and account management functionality will also be affected, so you might as well cross all of your SOE-related plans off Monday's calendar.
April Fool's jokes streak across the MMO community
It may be the weekend, but that's never stopped pranksters in the past from pulling off truly epic April Fool's jokes. Many MMO studios, bloggers, and fan site operators are lining up to take a shot at the jester's crown today, hoping that their blatant (and entertaining) lies will at least amuse, if not trick, players. It would be fool-hardy (har har) to try to round them all up, so suffice it to say that office clowns have been quite busy thus far. From Star Wars: The Old Republic's announcement of playable ship droids and City of Heroes' offer of ludicrous marketplace sales to Blizzard's focus on educational kids games and StarCraft 2's playable supply depots to SOE scaring visitors with Chatdy, the gags are flying fast and furious. We might be the most impressed with a deeply detailed wiki entry for a Guild Wars mission called Annihilator 2: Searing Day, during which players are sent into the past to save Gwen from the G-1000. If you've spotted any other pranks, please share them in the comments!
Freescale intros Vybrid controller line, weds ARM A5 and M4 cores for an asymmetrical bang
Making good on its word, Freescale's line of Vybrid controllers is now ready for prime time multiprocessing. That asymmetrical setup, announced last October, takes the high / low approach we've seen gradually crop up in computing, pairing an ARM Cortex A5 and Cortex M4 in uneven, albeit harmonious CPU matrimony. The company's not targeting this new platform at consumers, though, as that market's already being served by the likes of NVIDIA's Tegra 3. No, this controller arrangement's headed directly for the industrial sector, where medical, point-of-sale and smart energy equipment can benefit from the cores' decreased power demands and ability for real-time control. Eager to dig deeper into this silicon platform? Then feel free to parse through the rest of the company's jargon-y release after the break.
Free Realms shows off a new player condo
Housing is one of those MMO features that's beloved by some, disliked by others, and sadly not nearly as common as it once was. Free Realms has had housing for quite some time, of course, but the development team apparently hasn't felt that player introductions to same have really been up to snuff. So that's why players new and old will be gifted with a new Wilds Condo in the near future, a slice of housing that should give a much better idea of how fun the system can be. Hosted by development artist Misty Michelle, the preview video just past the cut gives players an idea of what's expanded with the new condo. Players will get a lawn, more options to decorate, and more vertical space in the front yard to build a truly impressive dwelling. If that sounds like your sort of thing, take a look at the full trailer to see some of what you can do with your improved starter home right from the start in Free Realms.
Choose My Adventure: The sequel!
When I was halfway through my tenure on Choose My Adventure, I had already made it clear that I wanted to come back around for another pass. After all, I had a grand time in Warhammer Online, and I wanted to see what would happen with another run through the gauntlet. I hadn't expected it would be quite so soon, but here we are: It's time for a sequel adventure. And as we all know, sequels have to be bigger. They have to be louder. And they need a bigger budget. We've got nine games listed past the cut, all candidates for my play for the next several weeks. Some of these games are returning old favorites, and some of them are new to the cut, but all of them should provide for some interesting adventures. So check out the descriptions, make your vote before 11:59 p.m. EST on January 21st, and tune in next week when we kick this sequel off properly.
