free-for-all
Latest
Free for All: Ryzom - when a server merge feels right
I wonder what you readers thought when you read about Ryzom's latest issues. If you've been playing for a long time, you'll feel a sense of deja vu as yet another server merge or account tweak is being forced on the playerbase. If you're not familiar with the game (why haven't you tried it yet?), then it's likely the recent announcement of server merges and character wipes was a sure sign of failure. Ah, failure: the go-to word for those who don't want to investigate the normal goings-on in the MMO world. MMOs, especially indies, can leap from owner to owner and server to server quite easily. It's not unusual to say the least. Ryzom has been through more of these changes than I care to recall, but the core game and long list of veteran characters have remained -- that is, until the developer announced that, along with the merge, characters would be wiped. Players flipped out. The forums were filled with intense conversations, and even non-players were astonished. Consider the Darkfall announcement by contrast. Some Darkfall players are apparently looking forward to the character wipe. But Ryzom is not a FFA PvP title. Roleplayers are very happy in Ryzom; I am one of them. Luckily the developers tweaked the decision, and now I have been playing on my old character, back in the world of Atys. Was the decision a good one? I think so.
Free for All: An interview with disabled gamer Keith 'Aieron' Knight
There are literally millions of disabled citizens in the United States alone. How many of these millions play games or would love to if the developers and hardware manufacturers provided more options for control and accessibility? During my time volunteering with Ablegamers.com, I learned a lot about how disabled gamers are often ignored or simply forgotten during the making of a title. Despite the fact that MMOs are generally more accessible than, say, the latest FPS, the community and developers still have a long way to go. Don't tell that to Keith "Aieron" Knight. Besides having a killer name, he hasn't let his muscular dystrophy stop him at all. Recently he gained a bit of fame after being promoted by the official Guild Wars 2 and AbleGamers Twitter accounts. It turns out he was streaming his gameplay live, along with his webcam, as he played games to raise money for research. When I first tuned in to watch, he had over 3,000 viewers. The chat was mostly civil and showed just how educational it can be to show how a disabled player actually accesses a game. Many in the chat room didn't believe it was real. Why? Well, because Knight can pretty much kick some butt in both Guild Wars 2 and League of Legends... all while playing by using a pen in his mouth and his cheek on the mouse. I had to ask this guy some questions!
Free for All: Killing monsters in my undies in C9
Calling your game an "unrivaled action RPG" is a pretty daring thing to do. After all, we play in a market that offers games like Vindictus, TERA, Dragon Nest, and Dungeon and Dragons Online. Action-based MMOs are nothing new, really, but they do seem to become more extreme with every new title that comes out. Where Vindictus goes for dark realism and DDO strives for classic gameplay, C9, aka Continent of the Ninth Seal, goes for over-the-top combos and incredible boss battles. It delivers on its promises for the most part. I've played pretty much every action-based MMO on the market, and so far, the bold claims seem true: Nothing rivals C9's loud, combo-liscious approach to combat. Not all is perfect, of course, but most of the issues I had with the game resulted from art design or customer service. Those areas might be easier to fix than a boring game.
Free for All: Dragon Nest's Boswell discusses birthdays, rental items
I first got my grubby gamer paws on Dragon Nest at E3 2011. I stood in line to take my turn asking the devs questions, said no to an offer for free booze (it was early, after all!), and was thrown into an impromptu team with another writer who obviously had no single idea about how to play the game. Back then, I was blown away by how stylized and fun the game was. It's still a fun title. If you ever have the hankerin' for beating up some fantastically animated goblins, minotaurs, and other various dungeon scum, download this free title and jump in. It utilizes basic FPS controls, but you have to actually time attacks thanks to a key hotbar that is packed with interesting abilities. The presence of the hotbar and "standard" powers make Dragon Nest an action game set in a standard MMO-combat universe. If you can get comfortable with the setup, you'll be in for many hours of wrist-destroying mayhem! I sat down with Benjamin Boswell, Associate Production Manager for Dragon Nest at Nexon America, to ask him about the game as it reaches its first birthday.
Free for All: Getting lost in the labyrinth of Wurm Online
Wurm Online is a game of darkness. Really, the entire world is balanced on what will happen after the sun sets. If a player isn't careful, she can find herself lost and alone without a torch to light her path. I don't mean to make the daylight out to be a haven from danger; a player can die during the day as easily as at night. But at least during the day, a far-off shelter can be aimed for. Unless there's fog, of course. OK, look. Wurm Online is a game of super-scary death things, but the night is particularly scary. That's what I meant. When an old Vanguard: Saga of Heroes buddy of mine let me know that he and his friends had built a giant maze in Wurm, one that can actually keep players occupied for hours and can possibly lead to injury or death, I jumped into a tiny rowboat and paddled my way south toward the Deliverance server. I had to see this thing for myself.
Free for All: Xulu Universe is more than Second Life-lite
Xulu Universe is a new world built with far-reaching horizons. In reality, those horizons are within reach for anyone who wants to take the time to travel. If you see it, you can go to it. Xulu Universe is also a world of endless building opportunities as in Second Life, although comparing it to Second Life wouldn't quite be accurate. Where Second Life is a sandbox with no set boundaries, Xulu Universe is more of a standardized experience. Sure, there are plans to allow players to add unique touches to creations, but initially, creators will have access to a limited toolset. Don't let that fool you; the tools are quite robust and easy to use. Last week I joined Xulu Entertainment's co-founders, CEO Nanci Solomon and CTO Joe Santos, for a tour around the new building MMO. We drove, flew, ran, shot, stacked, and jumped through the physics-based world thanks to a new peer-to-peer-styled server plan. What does all of this mean? Click past the cut and I'll do my best to explain what Xulu Universe is all about. %Gallery-164207%
Free for All: Blasting through Clone Wars Adventures' new Carlac content
I love the Clone Wars animated telvesion series on Cartoon Network. So when I heard that Sony Online Entertainment was making the Clone Wars Adventures MMO using the Free Realms engine, I was more excited than a tween with an unscratched Station Cash card on Christmas. Finally I would be able to play in the world of the Clone Wars without having to venture into the lower digit channels! Recently SOE released (somewhat quietly) a new area to explore and conquer. In the Carlac zone, players are tasked with defeating piles of Death Watch baddies and Pre Vizsla. Tune in past the break, where I'll defeat Pre myself!
Gears of War: Judgment multiplayer adds free-for-all mode
For the first time in Gears of War history, a free-for-all multiplayer mode will be included when Gears of War: Judgment launches on March 19, 2013, OXM reports. The first exclusive screen shot above gives us our first taste of Seran-on-Seran combat.It's part of an overhaul that newly-owned subsidiary studio People Can Fly is bringing to the franchise with Gears of War: Judgment – the first new additions shown during E3 were OverRun mode and a revamped control scheme. Gears of War: Judgment, the fourth installment in Epic's saw-em-up series under publisher Microsoft Studios, stands as a prequel and tells the story of Baird and Cole, both on trial for treason, during the war with the Locust.
Free for All: RaiderZ's Mark Hill talks punching, slashing, and beta
I was first introduced to RaiderZ back at E3 2011. The game has been in testing since then and has apparently grown a lot. I've had some time now to try the beta and chop up some monsters, and I have to say that the action is frantic but the open-world is not something I am used to from action-based MMOs. Mark Hill, Senior Producer for RaiderZ, answered my questions and explained just why we should be excited for this new free-to-play title. I'll let you read his answers, but I'd also ask that you try it out when you can. It really is a nice step forward from other action-based titles, but you can judge that for yourself. And after all, we love non-instanced combat, right?
Free for All: Here's looking at you, Remnant Knights
Sometimes I forget how nice it is to jump into a bright, cartoony world. MMOs can be such serious business these days. Remnant Knights, published by GameSamba, fills the need for escape into a wacky world. It's a truly free free-to-play game that hails from overseas. You know the type: a cash shop attached to an absolutely free client, no pay walls like the ones we see in Western freemium titles, gloriously cartoony and unabashedly cute. Remnant Knights plunks players down in a world of two schools: the Owl Academy and the Dragon Academy. I received a higher-level education with my press account, which made me a member of the Owls. Unfortunately there were no available slots left for me to create a new character, but let me tell you what I found anyway. Hint: It's wacky.
Free for All: Zentia closes, MilMo's Junebud declares bankruptcy
It's always a sad day when a favorite game or games announce some bad news. Over the last week, I read about two of my favorite titles -- Zentia and MilMo -- coming to a end way too early. Both announcements surprised me, but these days there are so many games in so many different genres across so many different devices that any game that becomes successful is somewhat of a triumph. I can list off many, many MMOs, all vying for the attention of players' time and money. That list would reach into the thousands once I counted in the ever-expanding mobile and social market. Heck, a representative from an international games group told me at E3 a few years ago that hundreds MMOs were due out of the East within that year alone. In the case of Zentia, the closing is not as unexpected. There hasn't been much at all happening with the game for quite a while. MilMo, on the other hand, was a complete surprise.
Free for All: The best weather systems in free-to-play
Perhaps someone can explain my obsession with in-game weather systems. I remember interviewing the lead designer for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes a few years ago. I had to stop him and ask for more details about the weather system the game used. He told me it was on a separate server, a pretty fancy program that ran independently of the rest of the game. It sounded as if he was telling me that there were real storms brewing in the game and the system knew when and where they were happening. I was fascinated. How cool it is to imagine in-game clouds forming at one point of the world and slowly moving across the land until the sky begins to rain on your character's head? Sadly, in-game weather seems to be either a low priority or a hard system to tackle. I'm guessing it's a combination of both. So I searched out those few MMOs that feature an impactful weather system. Not coincidentally, they also happen to be some of my favorite MMOs.
Free for All: A roundtable look at Maestia
You might have tried out Maestia recently, thanks to our recent beta key giveaway. If not, don't worry: The game is in open beta and waiting for you to jump in. Wanting to learn more about the upcoming game, I sat in on a conference call with Alex Kim, Denny Kwon, and Garrett Cecchini of publisher Gravity Interactive. We discussed how the game will work and where it breaks from other foreign imports -- and doesn't. In fact, a "standard" experience was something the developers bragged about, meaning that control schemes and the overall experience would feel familiar. As I found out during the interview and later as I played the title myself, the familiarity was nice, but I found the many unfamiliar systems to be much nicer. I don't like to write about a game until I have had a chance to at least play through it for a while, so now that I have spent some time killing monsters, burning through quests, and enjoying the sights, I'll tell you what I found.
Free for All: Why the unlimited trials of RIFT, WoW, and Ryzom are perfect for me
I think there are some pretty basic but complicated concepts going on behind MMO gaming. There always have been. There's some sort of driving force that makes many of us want to reach that max level or grab every last achievement or (in my case) get to a comfortable level and stay there. I did it in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes: I reached level 32, cast a spell to stop my character from gaining anymore experience, and continued playing and exploring the game. Not only was I tired of leveling, but I knew that if I continued to level, I would probably continue to try to level. Like I said, it's a basic driving force. We all have them inspiring us to play in different ways. I don't want to reach max level. Not really, anyway. I want to have a unique character, one who is fragile in some ways and strong in others. When I do reach higher levels, I start to feel generic and a bit too powerful. I want to have some force stop my character, to give him his own maximum level while others reach the true maximum level. Unlimited free trials have shown me just how fun it is to have a sort-of-max-level character within a game filled with other max levels. It's like playing a different race or class, something unique.
Free for All: Ryzom might still be the most original MMO there is
It seems, even to me, that I tend to dislike more games than I like these days. Not only do I think there's a lack of really good "AAA" titles, but I also find a lot of yucky gameplay in titles from all sizes of developers from all over the world. Yes, I dislike as many indie MMOs, if not more, than AAAs. But the latest title I give the snooty stinkeye to has to be The Secret World. I'm half-kidding and will be reserving much of my opinion for later on after I have played it for longer, but right now, I'm just not blown away by it. I'm not immersed or sucked in as much as I would like to be. That could change, of course. Then I log back in to a game like Ryzom and see just how far things have come. That is to say, not very far. After all, if you really look at what Ryzom does (and you have no excuse; it's free to play to half max-level now), it will sort of depress you that no other games are being made like it nowadays. At least, not exactly.
Free for All: The old becomes new on Ragnarok's classic server
Ragnarok Online might seem very familiar to many of my readers. In fact, if you are from a certain age group, the group that grew up with the internet instead of watching it come into being while you were already living on your own, you might have played Ragnarok Online. I can often tell a Ragnarok fan as well. They're OK with the grind as long is it pays off in the end, and they usually have a pretty exact way of looking at MMOs. I have yet to find a Ragnarok player who is over 30 and who roleplays more than anything. In other words, Ragnarok has affected almost an entire generation of MMO gamers. Personally, I always enjoyed the graphics of the game when I got a few chances to play it, but the overwhelming world and gameplay was a bit too much, and I didn't really enjoy the entire experience. Well, good news for me! I can now roll on a brand-new, old-school server that promises to be more like something from the early days of the game. The best news? All players will start off on the same page. Want to know more? Keep reading because I sat in on a conference call with Ragnarok producer Jason Koerperich to talk about all of the changes.
Free for All: The coziest places in free-to-play
Cozy. It's a word that seems more at home in a Martha Stewart magazine than in the column for a website about MMORPGs. Cozy can mean quite a few things, but I love the way that the word can instantly make sense to almost anyone. Think about it -- think about what cozy might mean to you. It means a place that makes you feel warm or safe, a place that begs you to stay for a while. The reason I am so attracted to cozier spots in MMOs is because they can be few and far between these days, or they exist but the content pushes you through so fast that you forget to stop and relax for a while. That speedy content, in my opinion, has helped bring roleplay to its knees. I remember when it was more common to be roleplaying instead of the opposite. These special, inviting spots slow us down and help us remember that we're playing multiplayer games, games with other real people who are experiencing the same places we are at the same time. So, here is a small list of five of the most coziest places in free-to-play. In my opinion, of course. Feel free to add your own.
MMO Blender: Jeremy's unholy MMO concoction
Have you ever wished MMO developers could put away their checkbooks, pluck out the best bits of their respective MMOs, and weld them together to construct the megalopolis of MMOs? We do too! So today, we're launching a brand-new opinion column, MMO Blender, in which the Massively writers will mix and match their favorite features from existing MMOs for your amusement. But do our choices create a perfectly honed machine or a lumbering, speechless frankenstein of an MMO that deserves to be put out of its misery? First up: Livestreamer extraordinaire and Contributing Editor Jeremy Stratton with a potent, sandboxy blend of Fallen Earth, EVE Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and more. Wet your whistle after the break and look for more MMO Blenders from the rest of our staff in the coming weeks!
Free for All: Second Life, the little 75 million-dollar engine that could
Do not call Second Life a game. If you find yourself in the position of describing the game at all publicly, be prepared to be corrected: Second Life is not a game; it's a world. Let me amend that: Second Life is an experience, a world, a game, or whatever the players, residents, and consumers want to call it. In fact, the Linden Lab baby is whatever you want to make of it, and I have seen many, many sides of it over the last eight years since I joined the experience. Don't worry; this column will not be a fanboy rehash of the successes of Second Life and will not be a recount of my favorite memories. Instead, we'll focus on facts to prove just how incredible this latest ninth anniversary is.
Free for All: How MUDs can stay relevant in today's 3-D world
My latest passion is MUDs, or multi-user-dungeons. Essentially, they are text-based MMOs. Imagine a choose-your-own-adventure book that is played with hundreds or thousands of other players. I have found more freedom in the text-based worlds of some titles, freedom to make the character I want to make. I've also found many of the common, underlying problems with MMOs in MUDs as well. These are issues that might have started with MUDs, being that they are some of the oldest multiplayer games in existence today. I wanted to take a look at how many of these MUDs could keep themselves in the game. It's not as though they need the help; many of them have been steadily chugging along for a decade or more. What I would like to see is many of them add more players, add to their developer teams, and actually stick around for 10 more years. Is it possible? I think so.
