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NCsoft announces City of Heroes: Going Rogue expansion
Two worlds collide. Loyalties will change. Where will you stand? This is the question posed to us as NCsoft announces the first major expansion for the City of Heroes franchise since the launch of City of Villains in 2005. Going Rogue will be a new experience for CoH fans introducing the 'mirror universe' of Praetoria and an all-new alignment system that blurs the lines between Heroes and Villains.For the first time ever, Heroes can become Villains, and Villains can become Heroes. This is yet another groundbreaking game mechanic that the Paragon Studios folks have introduced in a recent whirlwind of exciting new features. Look out Champions Online and DC Universe Online; City of Heroes is raising the standard of superhero MMOs.Check out the exciting new teaser trailer right after the jump, and to answer any questions you may have, they've compiled a handy FAQ.
Massively webcomic: Grinders - You Reap What You Sow
Today's Grinders takes a little deviation from the earlier formats into a more political satire direction. Still, farming is a hot topic in any reward-driven MMO, and the recent farm wars have made the agrarian playstyle all the more relevant. Still, whatever your stance on the debate, you're always welcome to join those of us chuckling from the sidelines.Have a funny story of your own? Submit your tale complete with a screenshot to lemuel.pew@weblogsinc.com. The best will be tenderized into a square patty and grilled on the barbie for our next luau. Or just put in the comic.%Gallery-63060%Lemuel Pew is a webcomic artist and MMO player with the attention span of a guppy. Between sketching gamers in cartoon form and making too many alts in City of Heroes, he draws an online comic called Blank It. Feel free to watch his Twitter at your own risk.
Champions Online dev diary by comic book writer John Layman
The next major superhero MMO to be released will be Champions Online, based off of the pen-and-paper RPG system and in development at Cryptic Studios, slated to be released in mid-July 2009. To add even more superhero cred to the game, Cryptic has hired writers well-versed in the comics industry like John Layman, of both Marvel and Wildstorm fame. IGN is hosting a Champions Online developer diary written by Layman that focuses on his work at Cryptic Studios. Layman introduces what he does,"I'm the writer-guy for Champions Online, a comic book writer imported specifically to write a comic book themed game. And, just like writing comics, coming up with the right words, concepts, and plots is the very first part of a very long chain of work." He writes about the process of hashing out the best ideas with other Cryptic notables like Jack Emmert, Randy Mosiondz, and Brian Gilmore, and then working to tailor those concepts to 'comic book-ese' that works for Champions Online.
Massively webcomic: Grinders - Switching Roles
Gender issues in MMOs are a low-hanging fruit for lampooning, but today's Grinders comes from Random Button, a girl gamer who sometimes prefers the big goofy characters to avoid attention. Backwards? Maybe. I can't vouch for the genders of the other featured characters, but I do want to thank them for rallying in Atlas Park to get in the feature. Thanks, heroes!Have a funny story of your own? Submit your tale complete with a screenshot to lemuel.pew@weblogsinc.com. The best will be tenderized into a square patty and grilled on the barbie for our next luau. Or just put in the comic.%Gallery-63060%Lemuel Pew is a webcomic artist and MMO player with the attention span of a guppy. Between sketching gamers in cartoon form and making too many alts in City of Heroes, he draws an online comic called Blank It. Feel free to watch his Twitter at your own risk.
Crapgadget: USB abomination edition (with a pinch of superhero)
Seriously, just listen at this and try to stifle your sighs. "Bling Bling USB optical mouse." "Jewel Necklace USB flash drive." "Turtle-Look USB 2.0 Hub with a tray." "Magic Sensor LCD Alarm Clock." "Insect USB Mini Fan." Yes, friends, this is the type of utter garbage we're dealing with in this episode of Crapgadget. Honestly, we're simultaneously astounded and deeply depressed that anyone would even consider dishing out their hard-earned cheddar for any of this rubbish, but we're doing our darnedest to pretend that these were simply created for us to have a laugh at.The week's strongest contender? Some superhero magnet pixels... and that's saying something.Read - Bling Bling mouseRead - Jewel necklace USB driveRead - Turtle USB hubRead - Sensor alarm clockRead - Insect fanRead - Magnetic pixels %Poll-28983%
Massively webcomic: Grinders - Limitless Creativity
Grinders is a weekly cartoon here at Massively devoted to chronicling your adventures in your favorite MMOs! If you have a funny story or just a funny character, submit your tale complete with a screenshot to lemuel.pew@weblogsinc.com. The best will be etched in stone and displayed in the town square for all to see. Or just put in the comic.%Gallery-63060%Lemuel Pew is a webcomic artist and MMO player with the attention span of a guppy. Between sketching gamers in cartoon form and making too many alts in City of Heroes, he draws an online comic called Blank It. Feel free to watch his Twitter at your own risk.
Paragon City streets unusually quiet as meta-humans flock to Architect Entertainment
So far, it seems, NCsoft's City of Heroes/Villains Issue 14 Mission Architect feature has been a cracking success. The zones containing Architect Enterprises have been stuffed to overflowing with users learning the system, creating missions and trying missions out. The Mission Architect system isn't exactly all-singing and all-dancing, as it has to work within the constraints of the existing engine, but it does the job quite nicely, and doesn't have a gigantic learning curve. Users have created and published literally hundreds of missions since Issue 14 went live a few days ago.
City of Heroes Issue 14: Architect is live
Much of our recent coverage of City of Heroes has focused on the Mission Architect, and with good reason. Issue 14 brings player-created content into the superhero MMO, placing the tools the developers have used to create missions in the hands of the players. Essentially, players can create their own playable content and tailor these missions to their liking, right down to the characters and the story itself. In some respects, it takes the UI of the character creation tool and applies it to the creation of actual game content. We had a good look at the potential for user-generated content with the Mission Architect at GDC 2009, while it was still in beta testing. Mission Architect is clearly ready for primetime though; NCsoft has announced that Issue 14: Architect is now live, giving City of Heroes players more control over their gameplay than ever before. The Issue 14: Architect release notes are up and detail the many features the update brings to City of Heroes and City of Villains.%Gallery-45908%%Gallery-48661%
Massively webcomic: Grinders - Things Left Unsaid
Grinders is a weekly cartoon here at Massively devoted to chronicling your adventures in your favorite MMOs! If you have a funny story or just a funny character, submit your tale complete with a screenshot to lemuel.pew@weblogsinc.com. The best will be etched in stone and displayed in the town square for all to see. Or just put in the comic.%Gallery-63060%Lemuel Pew is a webcomic artist and MMO player with the attention span of a guppy. Between sketching gamers in cartoon form and making too many alts in City of Heroes, he draws an online comic called Blank It. Feel free to watch his Twitter at your own risk.
Massively webcomic: Grinders - The Good Ol' Days
Grinders is a new weekly cartoon here at Massively devoted to chronicling your adventures in your favorite MMOs! If you have a funny story or just a funny character, submit your tale complete with a screenshot to lemuel.pew@weblogsinc.com. The best will be etched in stone and displayed in the town square for all to see. Or just put in the comic.Lemuel Pew is a webcomic artist and MMO player with the attention span of a guppy. Between sketching gamers in cartoon form and making too many alts in City of Heroes, he draws an online comic called Blank It. Feel free to watch his Twitter at your own risk.
Introducing the Massively webcomic: Grinders
Grinders is a new weekly cartoon here at Massively devoted to chronicling your adventures in your favorite MMOs! If you have a funny story or just a funny character, submit your tale complete with a screenshot to lemuel.pew@weblogsinc.com. The best will be etched in stone and displayed in the town square for all to see. Or just put in the comic.Well, what's Grinders really about? How about last week's raid-gone-bad, or that time you danced on the head of a giant mob? Or that famous thing that Jenkins fella did? It happens all the time, you just need to write it out and send it in! Be sure to include screenshots so Lem knows what to draw, and include character names, games and even your server so credit goes where credit is due. We look forward to seeing your online tales of wit and woe!Lemuel Pew is a webcomic artist and MMO player with the attention span of a guppy. Between sketching gamers in cartoon form and making too many alts in City of Heroes, he draws an online comic called Blank It. Feel free to watch his Twitter at your own risk.
Caption a Champions Online screenshot, maybe win a beta key
If you've ever seen a screen caption here on Massively (largely supplied by the bloggers who post them) then you've probably thought, "I could do better than that!" If these words have indeed passed through your noggin, then here's your chance to show us how it's done. Cryptic's got yet another contest to win Champions Online beta keys, and this time the prizes go to whomever can make with the fancy wordage.Here are some of our other thoughtful entries for the image above. Also, yes, ours is not a caption and instead a thought bubble. Maybe when Cryptic has a "submit your thought bubbles" contest we'll have a fighting chance. Until then, feel free to gaze at the two new screens that have been released for the contest. Bonus!%Gallery-17946%
Freshly baked Champions Online screens expose environments
For a while we've been worried Champions Online was going to be all jungle and snow, as you can't help but worry about these things when you're looking forward to an MMO. That's all changed now that we've got new screens featuring environments with plenty of personality.Coming from a technical standpoint, these new screens are certainly pushing more visual power than in previous looks at the game. But what really makes them pop is the art direction and, more specifically, the color palette combined with a good dosage of visual fidelity. It's still an incomplete concoction of four-color inspired yet modern visuals, but so long as progress like this continues to occur, a visual concern is highly unlikely on our part.We would be remiss for not mentioning that the cityscape screenshot is probably overall the most impressive, though. It's a hopeful sign that Cryptic will be able to paint some awe-worthy vistas within their new superhero world.%Gallery-17946%
The Digital Continuum: Where mundane and fantastical merge
The wizard leaps across the chasm, deftly avoiding a hurled ball of fire that the Goblin shaman had thrown in a rage. A space fighter weaves through suspended rocks in space as hostile blaster fire scorches the tips of his wing span. A retail employee swings the massive hammer he found in the home improvement section, saving a co-worker from the blood-thirsty sprite from another world?
Writer Marv Wolfman signs up for DC Universe Online
Earlier this week we heard about a secret comic book "legend" joining the DC Universe Online development team. The silhouetted individual was supposed to be revealed at New York Comic Con next weekend. Of course, you didn't expect it to remain a secret until then, did you? The latest issue of Wizard magazine (via BigDownload) has let the Black Cat out of the bag: writer Marv Wolfman will be enlisting with previously revealed comic veterans Geoff Jones and Jim Lee and the rest of Sony Online. The creator of Blade and writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths will be expanding and adding to the narrative already written by Jones, while Lee is handling the art direction. Even though the surprise has apparently been spoiled, you'll still be able to enjoy a brand new playable demo at the convention. Look for the DC Universe Online panel on Saturday, February 7.
Jim Lee on his influence over DC Universe Online
When it comes to the super-hero genre in massively multiplayer online games, two new names seem to be on the lips and hearts of all man-children (and we're hoping a fair number of women, too): Champions Online and DC Universe Online. The latter title is of particular interest, given how it builds on the DC Universe comics legacy which is significantly older than your average gamer. Given how much comics legend Jim Lee is involved with fleshing out the DC setting into an online world as the title's Executive Creative Director, Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield interviewed Lee about the extent and scope of his influence over the game. The interview is a good read, showing us a bit about Lee's approach to DC Universe Online, both in terms of his overarching view of how the game should be, and his attention to detail. It also touches upon what it's like for Lee to step away from the flexibility he's always had with 2D, and into the more concrete 3D of game design. Did you enjoy this? We've donned our capes and tights to explore SOE's DC Universe Online in-depth. Come explore more of Metropolis and Gotham with your friends at Massively!
Two delicious DC Universe Online 'preview doughnuts'
We've found two freshly baked DC Universe Online informo-doughnuts for your consumption. Now, while the Crispy Gamer doughnut is a bit smaller, it's also lightly crisped with a pinch of humor and will leave you surprisingly satisfied by the end of your meal. Way to live up to the name, crispy! On the other hand, IGN's doughnut is much bigger overall and even has a few new pieces of information regarding character creation and progression baked right into its creamy center. However, you'll have to chew your way through the slightly stale exterior in order to get to that warm, gooey information.Which doughnut should an adventurous reader pick? If you're like us, just eat both! Don't worry about the dizziness and urge to punch your stomach repeatedly aftewards -- that's completely natural. Did you enjoy this? We've donned our capes and tights to explore SOE's DC Universe Online in-depth. Come explore more of Metropolis and Gotham with your friends at Massively!
The 26 Shields of City of Heroes
When we logged into City of Heroes to check out the new Shield powerset released in yesterday's Issue 13 patch, the one thing that we were not expecting was to find 26 shield types to choose from. It took us quite a while to settle on a shield, as our impulse was to have them all. Once we did make our selection though, it dawned on us that we should share this amazing catalogue of bodily protection with the rest of the world.We'd like to stress that this isn't every mutation of all the shields, otherwise this would be called "The 4,532 Shields of City of Heroes" and that just doesn't have the same ring to it. Plus, we value what little social lives we actually have. So without further day we present to you, our dear Massively readers, the 26 shields of City of Heroes.%Gallery-38575%
The Digital Continuum: Fantasy's upcoming vacation
Is the MMO fantasy genre finally ready to relax and take its long overdue vacation? It does seem to be the case, as nearly all of the highly anticipated titles in the coming years are exceptionally not high fantasy or even really general fantasy. So while the sun is setting on the age of fantasy, a new dawn appears to be rising elsewhere. With it comes a tidal wave of new genres into the industry, some new and others a bit more familiar. Don't believe or agree with me? Keep reading and maybe you'll change your mind.
Cryptic reveals first Star Trek Online in-game trailer
This download is for all of you -- us included -- who've been patiently awaiting the arrival of some in-game footage of Cryptic's Star Trek Online. Everything you're seeing in this trailer is in-game footage and while the art direction is a tiny bit "cartoonish" for our tastes it's certainly not bad by any means. Though we do have to admit that EVE Online looks like it may trump Star Trek Online in terms of shockingly beautiful objects floating around in space. It's still early though so all bets are off. In fact, for all we know there could be some crazy black holes or binary star systems just waiting for the chance to grab ahold of our jaws and slam them to the floor.We do have to admit that the combat looked pretty well developed for a game that just got announced. The fact that there's both space-battles and in-ship battles being shown in the first trailer gives us hope for an earlier-than-expected release date. We guess that we'll just whittle our time away with some superhero MMO until that time comes. Right, Cryptic?
