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Epic Games Store will randomly ask users to rate games to prevent review bombing
Epic is trying to improve cross-play for all platforms too.
Venmo now lets users hide their friends lists following Biden discovery
Venmo has started rolling out a change in users' privacy settings that would allow you to hide your friends list.
The Think Tank: Keeping in touch with the friends in the magic box
Earlier this week in the comments of the article about MMO social network ZergID, readers went off on a tear about how MMO players keep in touch and communicate with guildies and friends beyond the game -- as my mom used to say, the people in the magic box. What quickly became obvious is that there's no one accepted method. Social media, forums, chats, IMs, Steam, and this crazy invention called a telephone were all mentioned. I thought we could use a more formal discussion, so in today's Think Tank, I asked the Massively writers how they keep in touch with guildies and MMO friends when they're not playing or when they're between games... if they keep in touch at all.
Do we need bigger friend lists?
This is a problem I hear about, but don't actually have, because I'm not a terribly friendly person. Try not to be shocked. But I do have some friends, and a lot of those friends are very friendly people (they'd kind of have to be to be my friends, I suppose) and they often complain that they're full up on friends. I'm not sure how one can possibly manage that many friends, but nevertheless there are folks who have completely used up all one hundred potential friends and want/need more. However, it seems they may have to wait a while. Bashiok had this to say on twitter: @BulletCatcher02 It's something I hear tale of our http://t.co/OzS6N5CG1E team actively working toward, but it's actually a complex issue. - Bashiok (@Bashiok) October 8, 2014 This is one of those issues that makes me wonder. For one thing, the battle.net friends list actually extends past World of Warcraft - it has to be coded to work with Diablo III, Starcraft II, Hearthstone and soon Heroes of the Storm. That's a lot of different games with different code, and WoW is certainly the oldest of them. I can imagine the limits of the oldest game holding back the development. Still, for the friendly souls among us, I hope it gets solved soon.
Here's a look at March's Xbox One update
Microsoft has released a preview video detailing the new features and enhancements coming in next month's Xbox One firmware update, including improved party chat functionality and friends list features. Starting next month, Xbox One player parties will have party chat enabled by default -- a change spurred by frequent user requests. The Xbox One's improved interface will clearly differentiate between in-game competing players and cross-game chat within parties, and party invitations will specify player requests for chat, gameplay, or both. Players will also be able to check up on what their friends are doing more quickly starting in next month's update, as friend status can now be accessed with three button presses or a single voice command. The update additionally introduces a message shortcut menu, and friends may now be identified as "favorites," giving them priority and list placement over followers and acquaintances. If you're looking to maintain a tidy friends list, you might want to start mentally ranking your friends by how much you like them. Friendship quotient, incidentally, is determined by frequency of real-world interaction divided by cheap Titanfall kills. Judge your friends harshly. [Image: Microsoft]
PlayStation 4 friends list will accomodate up to 2,000 of your best buds
So it seems that PlayStation 4 owners will have more friends than their Xbox One counterparts -- well, you know, in theory, at least. Sony announced this morning, by way of rather chipper Q&A video, that the PS4 will have a Party Chat to call its own, along with friends lists that support up to 2,000 users -- that's double the number that Microsoft announced toward the end of May (though, all said, both numbers are a big improvement over the last gens' 100-person cap). Good news for social PlayStation gamers, though you might want to start saving up now -- that's a whole lot of extra birthdays gifts next year.
Ouya won't ship with online chat, friends lists, achievements
When the Ouya is deployed to Kickstarter backers on March 28, it will be short a few online features: online chat, friends lists and achievements, specifically. These features will come to the tiny Android console later in the year, an Ouya representative tells The Verge. The Ouya will support online multiplayer, as long as developers build that functionality into their games.Ouya opened its storefront to developers last week, bulking up its games offering prior to launch. Those who didn't donate to the Ouya Kickstarter will be able to purchase a console for $99 in June, online or in physical stores.
Wings over Atreia: Twelve things to be thankful for in Aion
I can't really help it. I was trying to pen an article or a guide about any of a number of features in Aion, but my mind kept wandering back to the spirit of Thanksgiving. This time of the year I just get to feeling so extra thankful for those things that make life better, easier, and more enjoyable. So instead of fighting it, I decided to go with the flow and just share some of the top things I am grateful for in Aion. As luck would have it, once I started this top 10 list, I kept thinking of more things, as you no doubt noticed by the title! I am sure I could keep adding, but the article had to stop at some point, so I ended my list at 12. Take a look at what made the cut and see if anything from your own list made it on mine.
Airtime testing new video post features, improved buddy list
Remember Airtime, the Facebook-integrated video calling / media sharing service with a Chatroulette flavor? Well if not, we don't blame you -- usage stats suggest it hasn't quite taken off, but maybe the new features it's testing will secure a few more fans. No longer is the service restricted to the here and now, as the major change is all about video posts. Use Airtime to record a message and you can post it to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or via a traditional email to get the conversation started. Friends can then reply to your message through Airtime with a video post of their own, and so on. Its buddy list has also been given a little love, so now it shows friends as online, idle or offline, and details your interaction timeline. Whether the features are enough to inspire wider uptake is questionable, but for the few that actively use Airtime, the updates are out in the wild now on a "limited public release."
Guild Wars 2 wants you to play with your friends no matter what
"Whenever we design a new feature we always ask ourselves how it impacts our players' ability to play with their friends," ArenaNet's Eric Flannum stated about Guild Wars 2. In an interview focused on connecting players together, Flannum made it clear that the team was looking for every possible opportunity to pave the way for social hookups. Flannum addressed the specifics of how Guild Wars 2's servers work in relation to transfers. While there is a traditional paid transfer service (which can be used only every seven days), all players will have the ability to hop over to friends' servers as a guest. Player team-ups are further made possible by the dynamic level-adjusting system that scales players down to the zone they're occupying. This process is made easier by ArenaNet's decision to make friend lists and guilds account-wide instead of specific to a server. So while each guild has a home server, other chapters can exist elsewhere. Flannum also said that the team is carefully structuring its PvP system so that it will be free from potential abuse by server guesting.
Super Mario 3D Land comes with new 3DS firmware
Japanese Super Mario 3D Land carts have started dropping into 3DS slots, and early reports from the country indicate that the game comes packed with brand new firmware for the system. What does the firmware update do, you wonder? Apparently, it makes the portable's friends list a bit more functional -- a button will now allow you to join a friend's game in progress. It seems that the update isn't an early release of the upcoming November one, which brings a variety of features. The firmware update also adds a modification to the console's ability to play flashcarts, a notorious game piracy culprit on portable consoles. Like most game-based firmware updates, the cart requires the update before allowing the user to access Super Mario 3D Land, so, uh, resistance is kinda futile. It's unclear whether the same firmware update will be present on US and EU carts when the game ships in the coming weeks, but we've asked Nintendo for clarification and will update the story if we hear back.
Warspear Online update features new currency, numerous gameplay tweaks
If you've never heard of Warspear Online, now's a great time to broaden your horizons. The mobile MMO from AIGRIND has just released its Legacy of Berengar update which brings "many changes and improvements" to the fantasy title. Chief among these changes are the miracle shop and miracle coins, the latter of which serve as a new currency available for real-world money. Also noteworthy is the addition of a friends list, a minimap, two-handed weapons and heavy armor, and new rune and crystal special items that players may slot in their equipment to enhance its characteristics. Warspear has also transitioned from a ranking system to a leveling system, and there are various tweaks and bug fixes in the update as well. The official Warspear forums feature a post with all of the details, so be sure to head over and give it a look-see.
Masthead releases first Earthrise expansion, reactivates old accounts
Today marks a significant milestone for Earthrise, the indie sci-fi sandbox from Masthead Studios. A rather large patch has made its way to the live servers, and the changes are so numerous that Masthead's press release labels the update as Earthrise's first expansion. The big kahuna in terms of new content is the Territorial Wars functionality, and the patch notes mention new zones with bases ripe for the capturing as well as the ability for guilds to construct various economic and military structures. Speaking of guilds, leaders can now make use of a new ranking and permission system, and Earthrise now sports both friend and ignore lists in addition to improved client performance. The patch also brings a laundry list of weapon effect changes, combat re-balancing, and bug fixes, all of which are viewable via the patch notes on the official Earthrise forums. If all that's not enough to whet your appetite, consider that Masthead has reduced the initial client cost by 40% as well as gifted all previous account holders with 10 days of free play.
Google code reveals inner Circles, a social secret weapon?
Nothing livens the day like a blurry screen grab of some Javascript, especially when it hints at the ghostly form of a social networking tool that doesn't officially exist. The code was spotted hiding in plain sight at Google Profiles by Austrian blogger Florian Rohrweck, who fortunately enjoys browsing computer-speak more than playing in the park. Rohrweck noticed the word "circles" used repeatedly in the context of people adding and maintaining groups of contacts, and made the connection to the Google Circles social networking platform that was feverishly rumored and then vehemently denied earlier this year (a saga fully recapped at the More Coverage link). It's impossible to know whether these few lines of code represent a forthcoming service, another social layer on top of existing services, or just pure experimentation on the part of Google devs. In any case, the circular references have apparently now been zapped, leaving us with nothing more than that screen grab -- oh yeah, and Facebook.
Masthead releases two-month Earthrise roadmap
It's been nearly two months since the launch of Earthrise, and Masthead Studios is moving forward with long-term development plans for the sci-fi sandbox MMORPG. In a press release this morning, the Bulgaria-based dev team laid out a list of new features planned for integration in April and May. Citizens of Enterra will be getting some direction in the form of minimap quest hint indicators, alleviating the confusion that often results when searching for various objectives. Earthrise crafters will be able to produce paint that can be used on armor, weapons, and vehicles, and guild diplomacy mechanics will give leaders the ability to both declare war and cultivate allies. As a result of the February Choose Your Game Feature voting, resurrection mechanics will be coming to Earthrise, and player parties will also be able to share battle points and karma from defeated enemies. Finally, various technical and performance-related tweaks are in the offing, including customizable chat windows, a friends/ignore list, AI improvements, and shadow enhancements.
Xbox Live friend limit to increase to 1000, Xbox Germany says [Update: Not in next update, says Major Nelson]
It looks like our brilliant plan to stop playing Halo 2 (which was helped along by Microsoft's removal of Live support for Xbox 1 games) worked! According to a deleted Facebook announcement from Xbox Germany, the friend list cap on Xbox Live is being boosted from a paltry 100 to a ridiculous 1,000. "How many friends do you have?" the (Google-translated) announcement read. "Not enough? Then you looking for new friends on the Finder tab!" (View the full announcement and translation after the break.) Strangely, neither the embiggened friend list cap nor the "Finder tab" are present in our preview version of the upcoming Dashboard update. We're still locked in to the smaller, more intimate, friend limit. We're checking with Microsoft now to determine when this update will roll out to you and the masses of people waiting to be muted by you. Update: It appears that the "Finder tab" feature refers to the "friend finder" on the Xbox Facebook site; not a part of the Dashboard. Update 2: Major Nelson tweets,"We will not be expanding the friends list as a part of the next Xbox Live Update." That's not to say the friends list cap won't eventually be tweaked -- merely that it's not one of the changes included in the pending fall update.
Free for All: So, what does "MMORPG" mean?
As a reader of Massively, you should have a pretty good idea what MMORPG means. Not just what it stands for, but what it feels like, looks like, and behaves like. The problem is, despite common definitions, the games keep coming in different shapes and sizes -- and from all over the world. While I receive many comments about the Western coverage that Massively features, I would only be doing half my job if I reported on only the latest half a dozen games to break the multi-million-dollar budget mark in America. The world is a smaller place, especially now. And across the world there are MMORPGs that are being played and enjoyed in many different ways. There are PvP games, games that place players into instance after instance with only a handful of other players, all while offering the potential to hang out with thousands of other people. Is an instanced combat game still an MMO? How about a game like Mabinogi, which maintains a persistent world, but is broken into several invisible channels for players to skip in to and out of? This is impossible, but I think I will try to define exactly what MMO means -- now, in this current market.
Real ID security concerns
Ever since the Real ID friend system was announced, players have voiced concerns about hackers and phishers exploiting this system. They're worried that hackers will move through a group of Real ID friends like a wildfire during a drought. While it is always good to have concerns about account security, sometimes paranoia is a bit too much. Yes, you do need your friend's email address to add them as a Real ID friend. However, that is the last time you'll ever see that email address in your game client -- once you hit the "Send Request" button, that's it. There is no way to look up that person's email address from the interface again. The only personal information in the client after that is your friend's name. Just remember that this system is meant for your real-life friends and family and not for some guy who was a good healer in your ICC PUG last week. If you don't know where to go to knock on the person's door if something happens to your account, then don't share your email address.
Battle.net will integrate with Facebook
Blizzard has just announced that you will be able to pull your Facebook friends into your Battle.net friends list. They will be testing this functionality soon in the StarCraft II beta. Since we know that the Battle.net functionality will come to WoW before Cataclysm, that means we'll be able to import our Facebook friends into our WoW friends list at that time. This is just another example of the worlds of Facebook and MMOs colliding. Vaneras -- Battle.net Facebook Integration The action taking place on the battlefield is just one part of the StarCraft II experience -- we're also working to make sure that you can easily connect, communicate, and play with your friends. To help accomplish that, the new version of Battle.net will offer integration with Facebook. This new functionality will start off by allowing you to quickly import Facebook friends into your Battle.net friends list, and additional features will be added over time. source Of course, the integration will be voluntary. This announcement does not mean that all those friends you have in Facebook just to increase your mafia will automatically know you are playing WoW. You will choose if you want to integrate and which friends to import. The full PR announcement after the break.
PSA: Last weekend to play Xbox 1 games on Live
This is it. Cue The Doors record, because next Thursday, April 15th, Microsoft will be turning out the lights on the servers that run original Xbox games on Xbox Live, which means that this weekend will be the last non-workdays you've got to play Star Wars: Battlefront 2, Crimson Skies, or Halo 2 online. If it's any consolation, remember that the reason for the shutdown is that older hardware on the service is keeping Microsoft from being able to update things like the friends list limit, so in this case, change should bring some welcome progress. But as for us, we'll be vegging out all day on Sunday playing Conker: Live and Reloaded. We just called Aunt Emma to tell her this weekend's visit will have to wait -- something more important has come up. [Thanks, Chris!]
