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Grab a pint with free Dragon Age: Inquisition tavern songs
The songs that fill the tavern at Skyhold are now yours for the downloading, for free until February 9, when they will be sold on "popular digital platforms," BioWare says. The download includes sheet music, as well. "If you've indulged in the opportunity at Skyhold's tavern to enjoy a break from the demons and Venatori, chances are you've heard some of the bard's lovely songs," BioWare writes. "Although bards do perform to entertain travelers, they also serve a greater purpose: to carry the tales of triumph and tragedy across the land. We've received many inquiries from our fans asking where they can get these songs, and we're thrilled that you're enjoying them as much as we do." The tavern songs from Dragon Age: Inquisition are performed by Elizaveta and written by Hollywood composer Raney Shockne. [Image: BioWare]
The Daily Grind: Where did all the MMO bars go?
No, not those bars. The fun kind of bars. Massively reader Serrenity recently posted a provocative comment lamenting the loss of gathering places in MMORPGs: "Why aren't there many bars in games anymore? There's virtually no communal space. In capital cities everything has a numbers-related function -- learn to craft, spend money, repair your gear, auction, etc. [...] Everything is purely functional in games, without any 'flavor,' to the point of being the digital equivalent of getting socks for Christmas." And Serrenity is right. Many MMOs don't have bars or taverns or cantinas anymore, and those that do usually fail to imbue them with a purpose, but it wasn't always that way, so why and how did it happen? Where did all the bars go, and do we need them back? 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!
The Daily Grind: Which game has the best taverns?
I love me a good tavern in an MMO. Taverns are so iconic to fantasy games and literature, being a place where adventures begin, fellowship is begun, and a respite is enjoyed. In MMOs, they're usually wonderfully detailed buildings that are perfect for roleplay, a quick stop to sell some loot, or even the odd quest or two. Pretty much every fantasy MMO has them (and some of the non-fantasy ones as well). I think they make the world feel more lived in; a tavern is pretty much a home-away-from-home for the world-traveled adventurer, after all. Lord of the Rings Online has some of my favorite watering holes in plenty of varieties, especially the newer ones in Rohan. If you're partial to taverns too, which game do you think has the best ones? 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!
The Daily Grind: Do narcotics belong in MMOs?
Be it a sci-fi cantina or a fantasy tavern, your MMO's local watering hole no doubt offers a very specific sort of drug: alcohol. But you might have noticed that non-alcoholic drugs aren't usually given the same chance to virtually corrupt you as do more comfortable vices like extreme violence, gore, thievery, and physics-defying cleavage. Immersion-centric players might argue that narcotics add to the gritty realism of many game worlds and aren't really different from other mind-and-body-altering substances like booze, but developers seem wary of wading into that territory. Star Wars Galaxies, for example, launched with canon-correct spice (complete with "downer" effects) but ended spice production with the NGE. And Lord of the Rings Online implemented Tolkien's famous pipeweed but has resisted bestowing beneficial effects on those who smoke it, probably for fear of encouraging "bad" behavior, triggering political drama, or jeopardizing its age rating. What do you think -- do narcotics belong in MMOs? 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!
Neverwinter tempts your lust for glory with its first teaser trailer
Like any good Dungeons & Dragons session, Neverwinter's maiden trailer begins in a fantasy tavern, where locals and adventurers are mingling and swapping stories. Everyone is curious about a pitched battle that happened the night before on a bridge, but only one mysterious figure is able to tell them the truth. Hint: Die rolls out the wazoo. While brief, this teaser trailer is our first glimpse into Cryptic's latest MMO offering, and while it doesn't go into game mechanics, it does show off the engine, the fighting effects, and even tantalizes with a bit of voice-over. But it's your opinion that truly matters, so hit the jump to see the full reel and let us know in the comments what you think!
The Daily Grind: Do you banksit?
In every MMO with a bank, players banksit. OK, so people preferred to cantina-sit in Star Wars Galaxies, and entire guilds banksat in Ultima Online as a show of strength, but they just prove the rule: Gamers love to be seen, and they flock to the most active spots in the game to make sure that happens, even if it means standing around all day pretending to shuffle Very Important Items in their storage vaults while feeling superior to any newbie who enviously inspects their gear. In many cases, players are deliberately banksitting instead of sitting in their player cities, homes, guild halls, or other game-issued gathering spot, like taverns or inns, never mind the fact that said players could be out actually adventuring, and because of that, "banksitting" is almost a dirty word in some MMOs. So do you banksit? Do you do it while waiting for something more interesting to happen, like a queue popping or your buddy hopping online? Do you do it to people-watch, to see and be seen? Do you banksit to truly feel how massive and busy your chosen game is, to meet new people and enjoy the thrum of activity? Or do you think the whole concept of hanging out at a bank is just as silly in a game as it is in the real world? 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!
The Perfect Ten: The secret lives of NPCs
It is fun, I've decided, to overthink things in life. This is especially relevant in MMOs, where we've long since taken absolutely bizarre staples as the accepted status quo. Sure, it's all polite fiction that allows developers to merge necessary game mechanics with a veneer of credibility, but many elements of MMOs simply fall apart when put under the microscope. Case in point, the NPC. Is there a figure in online games that more symbolizes the thin barrier between the server database and user playerbase than the non-player character? NPCs exist to fill the world with warm bodies so that places don't feel empty, yet they also exhibit no more life than a mannequin with a tape recorder strapped to its back. These cardboard cutouts of the MMO scene are either reanimated corpses struggling to remember basic quest-giving instructions, or else they're prisoners of a foul witch who has struck the entire land with a paralyzing spell. So even though it's 2011 and you'd think that NPCs would be showing us more signs of life than swiveling slightly when we approach, I'm happy to jump in and offer my opinion as to the secret life of these figures. What makes them tick? What do they get out of helping -- and prodding -- us into action? Why don't they ever sleep or use the bathroom? Just who are these people we encounter and dismiss every day?
Breakfast Topic: Different states of rest
While I was reading Adam's piece on the patches of yesteryear, I discovered something I didn't know. You need to understand that I missed the beta phase and didn't even know WoW existed, so I never really looked into how the game has changed for the better. So, I was fascinated to learn that during the beta it wasn't just normal or rested XP but fatigued and exhausted as well. While no longer in the game, I think it's a really interesting idea. Indeed it's something which would make WoW a lot more interesting and also make sure people didn't play for 12 hours straight. Perhaps when you first log on, you'd be rested and fresh from your nap in an inn. After a couple of scuffles you'd be normal (as in the game now) but as you did battle with critters and mobs this would change. Perhaps if you did too many battles you'd become fatigued as your armor degraded and then, if you died too much, exhausted and forced to nip to town for a stiff drink and repairs.While normal and rested XP have always been the boon and bane of the leveling toon, do you think a system like this would work? Would it make WoW a little more challenging, even for folks at the level cap (sans experience gain of course)? Did you play WoW when Patch 0.6 was released, what did you think of the differing levels of XP? Do you think something like this should be returned to the game?
Breakfast Topic: Do you treat Azeroth as a virtual extension of the real world?
It never ceases to amaze me how huge Azeroth is. As I've leveled and explored, installed expansions and patches, that wonder has never left me. But of course, one of the reasons I like WoW so much is it's not all about fighting and killing things twenty times larger than me. This week I've been fishing in the Dalaran fountain, along with half of my server. No, don't worry, this is not going to be a repeat of our earlier Breakfast Topic, even if It's a skill I've been trying to level for ages. So I'm fishing and I suddenly see my GM waving at me, dressed in her fishing gear (which also seems to include an Elegant Dress). So I invite, we get on voice chat and start talking while we fish, discussing everything from our real lives to the most recent wipe on Sapphiron. It takes me back to the days in my previous guild where I would meet a friend of mine to do some questing and then we would retire to a tavern, buy drinks, find chairs and chat over voice. Considering she lived four hours from me, it was the closest we could get to a girl's night out in the pub. It's little things like this which make me thinks WoW is not just a game, it's a virtual world. More often than not, I log on not to play but to chat with friends who are scattered across Europe. Do any of you out there treat WoW as a virtual extension of the real world? Do you meet friends for a night out or use voice chat in lieu of a telephone call or in-game mail over email? Speak up, constant readers, and drop your comments in the usual place.
Aurora Feint II: The Arena adds asynchronous multiplayer, in-game messaging
Our good friends at Massively got an opportunity that turned us green with envy -- they got to sit down with the devs of Aurora Feint, one of our favorite iPhone games, and see how its fulfilling the "MMO" promise they've been offering up since it first debuted on the App Store. The new game is called Aurora Feint II: The Arena, and while it doesn't exactly offer real-time MMO gameplay, it does let players compete with ghosts -- the game will record what you or your friend plays, and then offer up that re-play as an opponent. There's also a new "Tavern" feature which will let players leave messages to each other from right in the game.And the goals don't stop there -- they're working on a third version of the game, which will eventually feature an offline MMO mode, as well as a very, very deep experience for a fairly casual iPhone game. "Warcraft on the iPhone" -- it's not a phrase I'd use to describe Aurora Feint yet, but it's one the creators will happily use for the future.The early MMO features are in the App Store right now -- the app will normally be priced at $9.99, but it's currently in there for $7.99 during the holidays (the free, non-MMO version is still there as well). Pretty amazing -- this was one of the games that jumped to the forefront in terms of presentation and quality right when the App Store opened, and it doesn't look like the creators have any plans to slow it down. Gallery: Aurora Feint 2 - The Arena
Insider Trader: Faction recipes for the rest of you
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Over the past few weeks I've been discussing the factions that hold recipes for the various professions, and how deeply liked you'll have to be to get your grubby hands on them. Almost all of the profession recipes have been covered, from the amazing and profitable acquisitions down to the pointless and boring. Of course, there are still a few straggler recipes out there that are meant for players whose professions are not getting much faction love, and therefore cannot make up an article of their own.This week I'm going to finish up the series by discussing the rest of the faction recipes, the ones for cooking and engineering. Although there are not many, and some are not even very good, the series just would not be complete without them. Formulas for enchanters Designs for jewelcrafters part one, and part two. Plans for blacksmiths. Recipes for alchemists. Patterns for leatherworkers. Patterns for tailors.
A look at Warhammer Online's Guild Taverns
If you've got a guild in Warhammer Online that's level six or higher, then you can gain access to Taverns. These places of social gathering are located at each faction's capital city, permitted that city is at least rank two. The forces of Order gather at Sigmar's Hammer, while Destruction gather at The Viper Pit in The Inevitable City. Entry at guild rank six is gained by speaking to the Guild Merchant just outside of either Tavern. You could also try to punch the merchant in the face, but that's not likely to work out well, even for an Orc.Mythic plans to offer various NPC vendors and services within the Tavern based on your Guild rank. Examples given include a flight master, crafting merchant, renown merchant, siege merchant and a Guild Standard merchant. One especially interesting service is offered at Guild rank 16 and opens up a "Guild Leader Hall" that only guild leaders and officers may enter. This hall offers a rest bonus, giving all those inside rested experience. It doesn't really seem like the rested state is any better than a normal rested state, so don't flip out like a Witch Elf or anything just yet. Check the gallery for some images of the two Taverns and for more detailed information on the various merchants and services, head below the break.%Gallery-21881%
