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Officers' Quarters: 3 resolutions to improve your guild in 2013
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. If your guild has been struggling during the last weeks of 2012, now is the time to take steps that ensure a better 2013. Here are three ways you could get the New Year started off right. 1. Add fresh blood to the officer ranks. Are your current officers pushing themselves too hard? Or are they doing barely anything at all? If so, then it's high time you took a look at what needs to be done around the guild and who's actually doing it. You may have some lame-duck officers who shouldn't be officers anymore, and some hard-working regular members who deserve a promotion. Adding new officers -- and/or culling useless ones -- can energize your leadership corps. Having more hands to man the ship can spread the work around and ease burnout symptoms. New officers also means new ideas that can spark new guild activities or better approaches to old ones. New officers can also inject some much-needed enthusiasm as they seek to make their mark and prove to the vets that they are worthy of the rank. If your guild has been stagnating lately, a new officer or two can liven things up.
APB celebrates Steam anniversary with free cigars
There are anniversaries and there are anniversaries. Steam anniversaries are apparently a thing now, as Reloaded Productions is celebrating All Points Bulletin's debut appearance on the digital distribution platform, as well as its official relaunch day. According to the studio, APB has proven incredibly popular on Steam during its year run. Chief Marketing Officer Rahul Sandil conveys the company's appreciation: "We want to thank our player community and our friends at Steam for all the support and love they have shown APB Reloaded for the last year. With over three million downloads delivered, APB has established itself as one of the hottest game franchises in the online games industry. Over the next few days we will be making other exciting announcements about the expansion of the APB franchise, so stay tuned." To celebrate the anniversary, the studio is discounting the ATAC 424 NCFP 3 weapon in the store and handing out free cigar and celebrate emotes to all players. [Source: Reloaded Productions press release]
The Soapbox: I demand to pay more for this!
Champions Online launched amidst a bunch of controversy. Admittedly, this was back in a time when we as a community had a much lower bar for controversy, but still, there were accusations and recriminations flying around like, well, superheroes. One of the chief complaints was that the game had a subscription fee, but it also had a cash shop right from launch. Scandalous! These days we don't blink too much at this sort of thing. Pretty much every game in the world has a cash shop now, and the rare exceptions are games that try to pretend it's something else. But there are still a lot of people who object to the idea, who would much rather have a subscription or nothing or see everything from the cash shop free to subscribers. I am not one of those people. In fact, I'm happy when a game goes into the free model or just opens up a cash shop of any stripe. The way I see it, there are some definite upsides to having a cash shop.
Get your Black Friday MMO deals here!
If our gift ideas for MMO gamers wasn't enough to get you started with your holiday shopping, then how about a full-fledged roundup of the many, many great deals floating around on Black Friday? That's right: Without putting on your pants, you'll be able to get in on some incredible promotions for this busy shopping day. Even if you're just buying for the most special person in your life (yourself), we still give you permission to splurge. All of the big deals are past the cut, so what are you waiting for?
RIFT unveils Return to Telara promotion
It's time once again for the Ascended of Telara to answer the call-to-arms with yet another Return to RIFT promotion to celebrate the imminent launch of the game's first expansion, Storm Legion. From now until Sunday, November 11th, Trion Worlds is inviting new and returning players to jump into the game for five days of free gameplay leading up to Storm Legion's launch. During this free play time, players will be able to "go hands-on with sweeping Soul changes and dive into a pivotal World Event that shatters the peace on one continent... and opens the gates to two more." It certainly sounds as if Trion has an exciting experience in store for players, whether they're returning veterans or green recruits, so if you want to get in on the excitement, just head on over to the RIFT official site for all the details.
Microsoft offering free Media Center upgrade to Windows 8 Pro users until January 31st 2013
Home theater PC enthusiasts weren't too thrilled when Microsoft announced that it was stripping Media Center and its codecs for DVD playback and broadcast TV from Windows 8 in favor of a paid add-on. The folks from Redmond are offering a temporary reprieve, in an effort to reward early adopters. Windows 8 Media Center Pack is for free to customers who purchase Windows 8 Pro... at least until January 31st 2013. This promo requires that you enter your product key at the company's website in order to receive your free upgrade. Sadly, when the discount period for Pro upgrades ends, so too does the ability to score Media Center for free. Microsoft never revealed the price for its Media Center Pack, only referring to it as "economical." While we appreciate affordable software, there's nothing more cost effective than a freebie. [Thanks, Neal] Update: As commenters (and tipsters) have pointed out, the Media Center upgrade is available to non-Pro users for $9.99 or €9.99, respectively. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Write fiction for EVE Online, win fabulous prizes
EVE Online lends itself to stories. Not just news stories, although those crop up with fair regularity, but stories about the vast and hostile galaxy filled with spaceships, mining, and corporate warfare. If you've got a story to tell about the game, then you're in luck: An officially endorsed writing contest has just been announced, judged by representatives of CCP Games. And the prizes are nothing to sneeze at, including a new graphics card, a year's worth of PLEX, and over 20 billion ISK. The contest offers two ways for players to enter. First, you can write up a wholly fictional story based entirely in the lore, or second, you can write up an account of events centered around your characters in the game. Either way, contest entries are expected to be between 1500-5000 words in length and must be submitted by December 2nd. If you've got a story to tell, take a look at the full contest page and get writing.
Officers' Quarters: Leaks in the ship
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. You know things are bad in your guild when a newly appointed officer decides to leak private officer information to nonofficers. This week, an officer/raid leader seeks advice for a guild that feels like its sinking. Hi Scott I belong to a small social guild with less than 400 on the roster. Given that a lot of people have alts the number of players is going to be a lot less than that, though I'm not sure of the actual figure. Recently the GM posted on the MotD that the guild needed new officers and could people please send him recommendations. The next day I logged on and saw 4 people being congratulated on their promotion. I'm a senior officer in this guild and I had thought that it would go to a vote before anyone was promoted. . . . I asked the GM why we needed more officers and what their responsibilities would be. His response was "we're down to 16 and need more for advisor's and to help the guild". None of the officers currently have specific duties and everything falls to three of the senior officers, myself and two others. Most of the officers don't even attend the meetings he promoted them to advise at. This morning I logged on to drama as the new promotion (that I'd had reservations about) had leaked some officer notes to their friends in the guild. These notes I admit weren't flattering but they were accurate of their behaviour which is why there were there.
Anarchy Online offers subscription bonuses
Anarchy Online wants your business,- and it's prepared to undertake a fair bit of bribery to make that happen. Funcom is offering a pair of promotions for new and existing players who choose to subscribe any time between now and November 12th. For new players, AO will dish out more bonus items the longer you stay subscribed. These bonuses include Funcom points, a luxury apartment, fancy armor, and even all of the Anarchy Online expansions. Existing players who sign on for a 12-month subscription will get over $100 of bonuses including Funcom points, all expansions, armor, and consumables.
Torchlight II gives away its full soundtrack
Can you not wait for Torchlight II's release on Thursday? Do you need some form of the game right now before you lose your mind? If that's the case, you may wish to seek professional help, as that's not a normal level of excitement. But you can also sate that urge by downloading the game's full soundtrack right now completely for free off the official site, all 28 tracks mastered in professional quality for anyone who wants them. If you'd rather have a physical disc in an attractive jewel case, well, that's an option as well. The download contains a high-resolution booklet that you can print out and assemble at your leisure. The 120mb download might be a bit onerous for anyone still on a dialup connection, but everyone else should be able to nab the full soundtrack in a matter of moments. Completely for free. Who says we can't have nice things?
TERA on sale again, merge details revealed
Yo dawg, Amazon heard you might like TERA, so it's giving you TERA when you buy TERA so you'll have two copies of TERA. Bizarre though it might sound, it's the truth. Purchase a digital download version of TERA on Amazon right now for $9.99 and you'll receive a second key for the game as well at no additional charge. It's worth noting that this deal is valid for only the downloaded version; the retail version does not have the same price discount or special offer. The deal doesn't technically reward you with an immediate copy, instead providing a $9.99 promotional credit that can be redeemed only on a second copy of TERA. This credit is valid until October 15th, but the promotion ends on September 22nd. If you and a friend have been tempted to give TERA a shot, now is obviously the time to jump in, although you may want to wait for a day as the game is merging down to three servers tomorrow. In fact, En Masse has just officially announced the names of the new servers and revealed additional details about the merges on the TERA website. [Thanks to potatochobit for the tip!]
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Hooray for the existence and removal of City of Heroes' Tweet Code Thursdays
I've given Paragon Studios a lot of grief over the past year and a half or so. I don't think this is unwarranted; the studio is still feeling out how City of Heroes works in the free-to-play marketplace, and part of my job as an opinion columnist is to occasionally mention that the emperor's new dress code could use the addition of some actual clothes. But we're still talking about a game I like run by a studio I like and staffed with people genuinely attempting to make the game as good as it can be. So when I have the opportunity to give the team behind City of Heroes props, I'll take it. And this week, I can give it props for a bad idea and then further props for apparently realizing that this was a bad idea. I'm talking about the Tweet Code Thursday giveaways that the community team had been running via social networking. It's an idea that deserves tons of respect for the attempt and tons more respect for the cessation of same.
APB: Reloaded drops a major patch with major promotions
It's patch day for APB: Reloaded with one of the larger patches in the game's lifespan. Patch 1.9.0 has gone live and brought along brand-new Activities. Activities are special side missions that players can complete during Fight Club; they take the form of minor challenges in three tiers of difficulty and provide an optional goal for players looking for bigger rewards. The patch also brings a new store with new outfits and weapons, and of course there are several bug fixes and balance changes. But if you're not lured in by the promise of a new patch, the staff at GamersFirst has put together several promotions to encourage players to jump into the game once again. Until the end of the month, 20% of funds spent in the game's store will be refunded to the players (with the refund taking place after the promotion ends). Players will also be given a free code for Joker tickets to start outfitting their characters, also good until the end of the month. If you're happily shooting away or you've taken a break, now would be the time to jump into the game and give it a shot.
Subscribe to TERA's newsletter, get free stuff for the game
The people at En Masse Entertainment want you to read the TERA newsletter. But they're not going to spend a whole lot of time boring you with its virtues. No, they're just going to straight-up bribe you with the promise of free character goodies. All subscribers to the newsletter with an active TERA subscription will receive a code for a free Black Bandit Mask as long as they've signed up to receive the newsletter by 2:59 a.m. EDT on July 26th. If you aren't currently signed up to receive the letter and have a burning need to cover your face, you can sign up under Account Management on the official site. The codes for the masks will be distributed along with the next newsletter, which will include instructions on how to redeem them. It's a neat little promotion to ensure that players are kept in the loop about the game's development with just a little extra bribery.
World of Warcraft skills in the workplace
WoW players usually spend a large amount of their leisure time in game. It's a shame that so much of what we do in Azeroth doesn't translate well on Earth. I spend a few hours a week farming herbs while digging for artifacts. If I were writing a performance review for myself (I can't stand those), how could I list that? Ability to perform tedious tasks patiently. I don't think my supervisor would be impressed. But most people agree that quite a few skills we acquire and hone in WoW are useful into the workplace. Recently, Neri at Neri Approves! blogged about how being a guild master helps her outside of the game. Warcraft Street's Frinka tackled the same topic, but her angle is gold earning.
Storm Legion will include RIFT for free
RIFT is gearing up for its first expansion later this year, but the staff at Trion Worlds doesn't want to lock out people who've never tried the base game. That's why you don't have to worry about buying an expensive expansion on top of a main game: Storm Legion will apparently include the full version of RIFT along with it, allowing new players to pick up the expansion and experience both the core game and the additions without restriction. Of course, this sounds like less of a deal if you already own RIFT, but you're covered there as well, as existing players can expect a price discount on purchasing the expansion. So if you want to enjoy the increased level cap, better crafting, and new souls, you won't have to pay full retail price for the experience. It's a good deal for existing fans and new players alike -- and one that may help encourage more players to give Storm Legion a shot.
Rusty Hearts unleashes the Month of the Dragon
It's the Month of the Dragon in Perfect World Entertainment's free-to-play beat-'em-up, Rusty Hearts. Throughout the month, players will have the opportunity to snag the rare three-piece Dragon Armor costume set and a unique Mini-Bone Dragon pet. The first piece of Dragon Armor up for grabs is a dashing pair of boots styled after the claws of a dragon. So what are the folks at PWE asking for this new finery? They want players to head over to the official Rusty Hearts Facebook page and share it with their friends. After the page has reached the goal share-count, "the items will be inserted and [players] will be able to wear the most bone-chilling costume pieces ever seen in Bramunez." If the Facebook page manages to reach 100,000 Likes during the Month of the Dragon, PWE will also be rewarding 1,000 lucky players with the Mini-Bone Dragon pet. So get to it, social-media people, and earn yourself some new threads.
AdventureQuest Worlds releases its first two action figures
Action figures are a great accessory for any video game. Sure, most of us have passed the point when we would use them to stage elaborate battles in the backyard, but it's nice to have something on hand to play with during load times. That's part of the reason that AdventureQuest Worlds is getting into the market with its first two figures, representing Artix and Sepulchure, available in Toys'R'Us stores nationwide starting on May 23rd. Even if you're not normally the sort to buy action figures, Artix Entertainment has sweetened the deal by making sure that each figure comes with a special in-game house, special armor and weapons, and five playing cards for the game's tie-in card game. If you don't want to wait for them in stores, you can also purchase them directly from the company's online store starting May 18th. The team put together a small stop-motion animation piece as well to celebrate the upcoming figures because honestly, if you've spent this much time thinking about buying an action figure, don't you deserve a toy commercial to cap it off? [Source: Artix Entertainment press release]
City of Heroes announces Paragon Market Freebie Fridays
Everyone loves free things, and the folks at Paragon Studios know it. That's why the studio has announced a new treat for City of Heroes players: Paragon Market Freebie Fridays. The program is exactly as it sounds: Every week, the studio will choose a new item to be that week's freebie. Players then simply have to log on during the specified time frame, claim their free items, and enjoy! That's all there is to it, folks. The premiere Freebie Friday will be taking place this week, beginning on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. EDT and ending at the same time Friday, giving players 24 hours to claim their free stuff. The announcement states that the freebies "could be almost anything currently available in the Paragon Market," so be sure to log in each week and get your goodies!
Raptr rewards gamers for playing with discounts, beta keys, and more
Do you wanna earn fabulous prizes just for playing your favorite games? Of course you do. Well, you're in luck because Raptr has just announced its new Raptr Rewards program, which is "a program to reward active gamers with real rewards just for playing their favorite games." The program is "on track to offer over 350,000 rewards totaling $1.3 million [US] in value just in the first month of launch." The prizes that are available for dedicated players are myriad, ranging from discounts on Gunnar brand gaming eyewear to beta access for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and much more. The full details of the available rewards and how to earn them can be found on the official Raptr site, so go check it out, then start playing for your prizes. [Source: Raptr press release]
