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David Beckham now co-owns an esports team
David Beckham now co-owns an esports company.
The Daily Grind: What's the ideal guild size in an MMO?
Last week, a Massively commenter mentioned that he was in a 700-person guild in The Elder Scrolls Online. Yep, you read that number right! He inspired an impromptu discussion about the problems inherent in a guild of that size, such as the difficulties of managing it, the potential for dozens of smaller cliques, and the frequently negative impact a big mob of people can have on a server community and a game's development. Personally, I found that a 50-person guild was a real challenge to lead well; I prefer a much smaller group, 20 members or so, just enough that I feel I know everyone well and there aren't competing cliques of people creating drama. Conveniently, that's the kind of guild I'm in, too. How about you? What's the ideal guild size in an MMO? 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!
Crowfall teases fealty system, ad/disad mechanics
Upcoming MMO Crowfall is rolling out new teases this week, including some concept art of guild banners and a screenshot of character creation, which suggests an advantage/disadvantage system no doubt intended to tug the heartstrings of former Shadowbane players. But what has our attention is the newly unveiled fealty chart, which definitely whisks Shadowbane or Asheron's Call immediately to mind. "This isn't a guild org chart," Crowfall's J. Todd Coleman cautions. "We support guilds (and guild structures) but we've laid a different system on top of that, which ties player fealty directly to land ownership. More on that system, and how it ties to siege conquest, will be coming soon." Coleman promises "a more substantial update coming later this week." We've included all three images below.
The Daily Grind: Does your MMO guild use social networking tools?
The apparent popularity of ZergID, the most recent social network and online gathering spot for MMO players and guilds, made me wonder just how many gamers actively use these types of tools. I can remember them at least as far back as the early 2000s, when ezBoard was king (remember ezBoard?!). More modern versions, like Enjin, expanded on the message board format to include profiles and calendars and even DKP. But my guild has shied away from most such tools. We've always had a custom-built website with our own tools, some purchased software and some handcrafted just for us. I wouldn't want to risk losing data on another network, and truthfully, most of my guild's communication is done through other outlets anyway, like Steam, voice chat, and text-based chat channels. What about you folks? Do you use ZergID, Enjin, or other sites to organize or track your friends and guildmates online? 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!
WoW, Guild Wars 2, and ArcheAge are ZergID users' top games
Back in November, we told you about ZergID, a new social networking website aimed specifically at MMO players who are looking for guilds (or friends from games past) across the MMOverse. We spoke to one of the project's founders, Scott Katz, to get more information on how the service's beta is shaping up. Massively: How many guilds have signed up since the launch of beta? Scott Katz, co-founder, Zerg Inc.: We have more than 650 guilds currently signed up for the site, with more joining each day.
Working As Intended: Niche MMOs vs. the everything box
The MMO industry has lately focused on niche titles, niche communities, niche gameplay. It's not one particular niche, mind you. It's lots of different niches, all being catered to in different titles: PvPers, sadistic gankers, raiders, dungeoners, roleplayers, crafters, explorers, achievers, soloers, storygoers, casuals, hardcores, builders, destroyers, the I'm-skipping-class-for-a-week-to-play-games kids, the I've-got-five-minutes-what-can-I-play parents. There's an MMO or two out there for pretty much every one of us -- and for almost no one else. So we dutifully buy the one that beckons directly to us, one of these small-minded "MMOs" that offer rewards for a certain playstyle or two but wilfully disregard every other imaginable playstyle. We applaud these games for having the guts to embrace being "niche" because we are convinced that having lots of little niche games is diversity. And then we wonder where all the players are.
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.
The Daily Grind: Would you spend money in an MMO for your guild?
A recent Gamasutra piece chronicled a monetization design consultant's journey into what he calls a "social elder game." Author Ethan Levy participated in multiple high-end, time-limited guild-vs.-guild events in an unnamed online game to see just how much guild members would need to pay out to keep their guild competitive. Hundreds of dollars later, he was able to push his guild into the top 100 to receive what he called "B tier" gear. In fact, he estimated that the top 100 guilds spent between $85,000 and $100,000 -- just on that one event. I'm willing to give my guildies a lot of things -- Steam games, a spot on my couch, my old video card, thesis proofreading -- but I wouldn't drop that kind of money just to make us competitive in a video game, especially if I felt a studio was being exploitative with its "social elder game." Would you? Would you spend money in an MMO for your guild? How much? 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!
Guild Wars 2 improving megaserver guilds in September
Another feature pack is rolling out for Guild Wars 2 in September, and it's bringing improvements to guild functions along with it. It's starting with the rollout of global guilds, allowing the resources earned by a given guild on all worlds to feed into the same central group, rather than creating small-scale copies of the guild on every individual world. That includes guild vaults, guild merits, and guild influence, all of which will be pooled with the feature pack update. Guild missions and finding allies on different maps will also receive improvements, making it easier to take care of objectives with your friends across the globe. The official post also discusses the language divisions found on European servers, with the team electing not to split players based upon language at this time to bolster population. Read the full update for more details on how the changes will affect guilds and players when the patch goes live in September.
SWTOR's Galactic Strongholds expansion is live
Early access to Star Wars: The Old Republic's Galactic Strongholds expansion is now live for subscribers. BioWare Producer Jack Wood welcomed players to SWTOR's third expansion with a lengthy developer blog about the studio's goals in this housing-centric update, boasting that it offers "something for everyone," whether you want to "sit back and relax in your personal stronghold," establish a guild base, participate in conquest leaderboard content, or take on the new tactical flashpoint, Depths of Manaan. We've included a brand-new guild flagship launch trailer below.
Landmark: Guilds are a go!
It's a very special day for Landmark's community, as after a brief delay yesterday and today, SOE has finally activated guilds in the game. The new system interface allows for guild creation, news, roster, and administration options. The studio says that it deliberately kept the UI simple for this first draft and that it will be refining and adding onto the guild system in the future. Today's patch wasn't just about guilds, however. The team added in glass voxels, ice materials, multi-screenshot functionality for claims, dozens of new party-themed props, and PlanetSide 2 outfit tints. The patch also increased the claim upkeep advance payment to 15 days and synced up friends lists with Steam friends.
Elder Scrolls Online offers new guild heraldry
If you're excited for August's Elder Scrolls Online upcoming update, then today's ZeniMax devblog will be a welcome one... though not one that promises sweeping changes for the game. Specifically, the new post previews some of the new symbols that guilds can adopt as their official crests. "You'll probably recognize some of them, like the symbols for the Divines and the Daedric Princes," write the developers. "Combine these with even more crests, a huge color palette, and different tabard shapes, and your guild will have its own memorable look." We've included the images below. See one you like?
The Elder Scrolls Online's third update lands in August
ZeniMax says that The Elder Scrolls Online's next patch, which includes the preliminary veteran rank system changes and balance fixes previewed in yesterday's dev blog, is officially on the way next month. The patch is coming in early August and introduces armor dyes, guild tabards, public guild store locations, a new difficulty mode for Trials, and plenty of fixes and improvements. You'll be able to personalize your look more than ever before, represent your guild, and charge with them into a new level of challenge. The team has posted a preview video focusing on the many changes to guilds due in the patch. Wanna join our guild? We have tabards, yo! Enjoy the video below.
The Daily Grind: Does your guild stay together between MMOs?
I can't remember the exact moment that my MMO guildies collectively realized, hey, we are pretty good friends and we like each other enough to play other games together so maybe let's do that, but that's more or less what happened. After a few years of trying to figure out our place in the MMO world, we settled down into a pattern: The same core folks migrate to new and old games together and check them out as a cohesive unit. This year has been a bit different, though, as the big releases haven't enticed enough of us or have made it so difficult for our international group to play on the same server that it's not been worth the trouble. What about you folks -- does your guild stick together from MMO to MMO? Or do you join a new guild for a fresh game? 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!
Free Horde to Alliance Faction Change for Specified Realms
Starting this June 24th and lasting for two weeks, Horde players on the servers Firetree, Frostmane and Bloodscale will be eligible to transfer from Horde to Alliance for free. And to prove their seriousness, Blizzard is going beyond the usual here. Guild leaders who want to faction-change their guild for free will first need to pay for the initial transaction, but will be granted a refund if they change to the eligible faction within the free-faction-change time frame. What this is aimed at, according to the post itself, is queue times (especially in PvP) and it's a direct attempt to reduce them. So if you're a Horde player on those servers and you're looking to swap sides for shorter queues, here's your chance, and you can even bring your entire guild over for free.
MechWarrior Online launches the Clan Invasion
MechWarrior Online has moved forward the internal game timeline to the year 3049, and with the change of date comes a long awaited event: the Clan Invasion. This fictional event in the BattleTech universe will now play out in the online game, as players will fight in notable battles with new 'Mechs on different planets. With the Clan Invasion begun, the team has begun work on creating Units for the game. Units are MWO's version of guilds and will include ranks and chat channels when they arrive in the game proper.
Breakfast Topic: Do you stick with your guild?
In a game as long-lived as World of Warcraft, virtual acquaintances come and go. Players stop playing, guilds break up (or simply grow inactive), and groups of friends move apart. Over the course of WoW's nearly ten-year lifespan, it's hard to blame anyone who's grown tired and walked away. But sometimes guilds stand a longer test of time, passing from leader to leader, maintaining an identity of sorts even though the game -- and the guild members -- may have changed. And for some gamers, who you're gaming with is all that matters -- membership in an agreeable guild is crucial to fun gameplay. For others, tackling content matters more, and those gamers might jump from guild to find a group that best suits them. Today, we're asking whether you've stuck with your guild: do you game with the same group of players day after day, or do you come and go from guilds as your gameplay needs change?
The Daily Grind: Does guild recruitment annoy you?
Developing and growing a guild can be a formidable challenge, especially if an MMO doesn't provide adequate tools for recruitment (hint hint, studios). There are many ways to go about it, from word-of-mouth to posts on the official forums. But I've noticed that one tactic that certain guilds use is to spam recruitment messages over and over in lowbie zones and city centers. This... started to really bug me the other day while playing WildStar. Seeing a message once was fine. Seeing the same message every five or 10 minutes felt like there was an annoying alarm clock that kept going off and the only way to shut it up was the ignore button. Does guild recruitment annoy you? What are some dos and don'ts that guilds should follow in this regard? 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!
Working As Intended: The forgotten fields of Green Acres
My first trip to Ultima Online's Green Acres was in 1998. The first guild I'd ever joined had just split up into a bunch of... let's call them "philosophically incompatible" groups, and I was still hanging out with some of the shadier types because I was a clueless teenager in my first MMO and wanted desperately to fit in and hadn't yet figured out where I belonged. "Hit this rune," my new guild leader commanded. His favorite murderin' weapon was a poisoned warfork. He was not a nice man. "I'm being evicted from my safehouse in Green Acres. Help me move my crap."
Vendetta experimenting with mobile microtransactions
Guild Software announced over the weekend that its long-running Vendetta Online MMORPG will explore microtransactions on certain mobile devices. Vendetta, a space sim sandbox that offers single-shard gameplay across operating systems including Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS, has been running since April of 2002 and has heretofore subsisted on the subscription model. Guild says that subscribers "will still get everything, across all platforms, without any need for these types of optional purchases." Microtransactions will be exclusively for Vendetta pilots on Lite accounts, and the structure of the cash shop will "require refinement and continued feedback from the userbase." Guild concludes that a hybrid business model is "an expected necessity on mobile," and it is working to adapt and court additional players.
