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Rise and Shiny: BatMUD
Here I am making myself crazy once again. Why? Why do I insist on visiting games that I know will provoke issues both physical and mental? I guess it's because lately I have been fascinated with MUDs, or multi-user-dungeons. They are better described as text-based MMOs or choose-your-own-adventure books written with thousands of other players. It's a fascinating concept, especially when you consider how dissimilar it is to today's modern, easy-to-play offerings. The ancient design of the MUD now feels fresh, so much so that I have decided to dedicate a future article about the possibility of MUDs' viability in today's three-dimensional world. I have found some good and some very bad over the last several weeks. I've also stumbled across brand-new versions of the migraines that often bother me when I concentrate way, way too hard on PC text. I have to admit that my issues do not seem that common, but it is important to look at a game from all angles, even from the angle of someone who has specific issues. BatMUD has tested my patience over the last few weeks and several hours. It's also shown me some wonderful adventure and sparked my imagination.
Previously on MV TV: The week of May 12th
What a week of livestreaming! We've got quite the variety and tons of hours of video to watch. What's that? You had to work and missed half of the cool streams we showed? Don't worry! I gather all of the best streams from the week's collection and list them for you right here. Still, you need to bookmark our livestream page so you can see which videos are going to be shown during the week, but if you miss any, you can check out the recap here. That's why we do it. This week we had a lot to offer. First we had good old Mike jumping into EVE Online for some space action, then into TERA for some scantily clad combat! He then explores some of the great browser-based game Drakensang Online. MJ brought a ton of goodies to the streaming table, goodies like a run-through in EverQuest II, some base-jumping in City of Heroes, a bit of hardcore survival in Xsyon, and a flight around the beautiful lands of Aion. I rounded out the end by streaming some BatMUD, a cool MUD that has been around since many of you have been in diapers! Click past the cut and grab some popcorn. Keep the butter light but add some salt. Thanks.
MV Guide: May 14 - 20, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively Stream Team logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises each week, so you'll find a variety of titles to watch. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, or simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule, and let us know if there's a specific game you'd like to see streamed next week!
Rise and Shiny: Dark Legends
Dark Legends, the new title from mobile MMO king Spacetime Studios, is already creating a buzz with its liberal use of an energy pool that is sapped as players go through standard gameplay. If this mechanic were packaged any differently and inside a sandbox, it's possible that people would call it "realistic" or "hardcore." Unfortunately, problems set in as soon as players realized that playing the game for hours on end would require some infusion of real-life funds or the ability to kill pretty large chunks of time in non-combat areas. I would argue that the gameplay does not have to be designed for marathon gaming sessions. It's very possible that the "casual" part of the game's description actually means "casual." I still had issues with the mechanic; don't get me wrong. But if I was bothered by anything it would be Dark Legends' lack of borrowing features from Pocket Legends, Spacetime's flagship mobile MMO, which offers actual persistent areas and other MMO staples. Of course, it's possible that Spacetime is simply trying something new. Heaven forbid it should attempt a new design!
Previously on MV TV: The week of May 5th
Ah, early summer. The air outside is crisp and clear, filled with possibilities. And pollen, lots and lots of pollen. Let's all just avoid that mess and stay inside watching videos all day, huh? In fact, let's start with a series of really cool videos hosted by your favorite MMO site staff! Luckily for you, I have quite a few nice streams to show you this week. Last week's were good -- don't get me wrong -- but this week? This week will live on in your memory until the day you die. We'll start with a bit of EVE Online and TERA gameplay hosted by Mike, then MJ takes over and shows us some EverQuest II, a chunk of Aion, and a batch of City of Heroes craziness. I square off things nice and neat with a visit to Glitch's new housing system. Be sure to bookmark our Livestream schedule page right here so you can follow what is happening in the world of Twitch.tv streaming each week. Now click past the cut and get to viewing!
MV Guide: May 7 - 13, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Rise and Shiny: Looking back on two years and making changes
This column will turn two years old on May 8th, 2012. I'm proud of not only the fact that I have been able keep up the column with a decent amount of content and writing that has slowly gotten better over that time but also the fact that I have introduced the readers of Massively to so many games that they wouldn't otherwise have known about. Recently, I have increased my efforts by streaming odd and indie games as well as writing about the relatively new world of mobile MMOs. This might all seem like I am attempting to build some sort of indie hipster street cred, but the totally honest truth is that nothing thrills me more than exposing a new game to the world or giving an older game some much-needed sunlight. If someone posts, "This game is still around?" in the comments section, I call that a win. From now on, I am going to tweak how I do things for Rise and Shiny in order to raise the quality of coverage. Let me explain how as well as give you a few figures to illustrate just how many titles I have covered.
Previously on MV TV: The week of April 28th
Ah, another fine week of streaming videos! Who needs television when you have such killer content right at your fingertips, for free? Well, we need Game of Thrones, but other than that, we'll stick by Massively TV! Be sure to bookmark our livestream schedule page so that you won't miss any of the cool videos. Sign up, join in the chat room, and participate! This week we had Mike back with his EVE Online and RIFT streams, followed by MJ with a ton of great stuff, including Aion, Lord of the Rings Online, TERA and City of Heroes! Woo! I finished up by showing viewers how to build clothing attachments in Second Life. So stop reading this and click past the cut. Check out the videos and let us know what you think in the comments section. Here, have some popcorn.
MV Guide: April 30 - May 6, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Rise and Shiny: Gemstone IV
This article was a long time coming. Not only have I avoided taking a look at any sort of pure MUD for many years, but I meant to write this up last week but real life interrupted my plans. I just didn't think it was fair to write up a first impressions based on only a few hours of play. I was quite hesitant to take a deeper look at Gemstone IV mainly because I knew that the non-stop reading would surely create more migraines that might derail my work again. I was very worried, actually. Luckily, the Gemstone IV client is customizable enough to allow me to create a "book-style" experience: black text on a white background. I don't think I'm alone in my inability to view bright, colored text on a dark background comfortably. If I were, popular websites would still look like they were from 1996. We've moved past ugly fonts and horrible color combinations. Unfortunately it took me most of the time with Gemstone IV just to learn how to play, make the text comfortable to read, and understand what my character was supposed to be doing. Once I got comfortable, though, I honestly had one of the most enchanting times in a game yet.
Previously on MV TV: The week of April 21st
What a week it has been in Massively's world of streaming games! We have a little bit of something for all types of viewers. Hardcores, roleplayers, explorers, crafters and lazy-bums like yours truly: We have something for all of you. Be sure to bookmark our livestream schedule page so that you can always see the schedule ahead of time. It's much easier to plan your life around our videos if you know the schedule early. Invite your friends... we love to hear from new people in the chat room! This week, we had some EVE Online adventuring with Mike followed by his attempt at Drakensang Online, a browser-based action MMO. Adventure Mike took a spin in the way-back machine and streamed some EverQuest, and MJ scored some time in EverQuest II, a chunk of Vanguard, and Aion. She's been a very busy streamer! Lastly, I took a look at Gemstone IV, a fantastic MUD that almost brought tears to my eyes. Tears of frustration, but many tears of joy. Let's get to watching!
MV Guide: April 23 - 29, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Previously on MV TV: The week of April 14th
So you accidentally missed your favorite MassivelyTV livestream featuring your favorite Massively personality or writer? Don't worry; we'll forgive you as long as you promise to bookmark our MassivelyTV guide and check back on this weekly recap. That way you are sure not to miss another stream, and you wouldn't need to come back to us, begging for a link. You could also follow Massively on Twitter, one of the best ways to be alerted to new things. This week we featured a Tboo Thursday, one of our most popular livestreams, which stars resident APB: Reloaded expert Taryn. We also had some more World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria action from Richie, a bit of newbie content in EverQuest II with MJ at the helm, a quick introduction to skybox building in Second Life hosted by me, Mike's return to EVE Online in his shiny new Drake, and Adventure Mike's leap back into Final Fantasy XIV. Pretty exciting stuff if you're into giant rats, explosions, beautiful sunsets, and piles of bullets.
MV Guide: April 16 - 22, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Rise and Shiny: Stronghold Kingdoms
There are certain designs in the MMORTS genre that have frankly started to burn me out. I was a bit worried that I had reached my tolerance point and would not be able to stomach another city-builder until I had put some time between me and my latest preview or first impressions. It's an amazing genre, and as I have argued before, it's more MMO than most MMOs. As in many genres, successful design is copied. The ironic thing is that all of these copies often dilute the market, making it worse on everyone. As much as I love the genre, I am a bit sick of running into the same design, stereotypical settings, and mechanics. Of course, we cannot take these copies and paint the whole genre with a terrible brush; if we did that, all of MMOdom would be in trouble. Still, I'm sick of it. Luckily Firefly Worlds, maker of Stronghold Kingdoms, has a very persistent "PR ninja" who made a point to poke at me on Twitter. Usually, we funnel all PR contact to our lead editors for organization purposes, but hey, I can't resist a nice voice and a lovely looking game... and I have a high tolerance for fun people.
Previously on MV TV: The week of April 7th
Oh hey, guys and gals, did you know that it was just Friday the 13th? Yes, it was. Don't worry; you'll have nothing but good luck on this week's recap of livestream goodness. If you missed a stream that you really wanted to see, or if you've never tuned in to check out what we do, head on over to our Twitch.tv page and keep an eye out. Be sure to bookmark the livestream guide as well so you can keep up with the current schedule. We have a lot of variety in our line-up, so it's always good to check back! This week we had some great stuff! MJ has been streaming like her life depends on it lately, first jumping into EverQuest II, then spending some time in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. She had to pay some attention Aion, of course, and there, she showed off some player housing and took a trip on an airlink. Mike was back in EVE Online avoiding death-rays and spacemen and later found himself dead in RIFT... again. The Mists of Pandaria have tempted Richie once again, and thankfully our cameras were there to capture it. Meanwhile, I spent some time boating in Second Life and gave a first look at Stronghold Kingdoms. Just look at that lineup, will you? We're proud! Now click past the cut and get to viewing!
MV Guide: April 9 - 15, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
Rise and Shiny: Zandagort
Zandagort, a very independent browser-based MMORTS by Zanda Games, really holds a lot of promise. I want to get that out of the way first. Potential, unfortunately, has nothing to do with a player's current experience with the game. No one sits at his PC or laptop and says, "Man, I sure am excited about what this game could be, so I'll keep playing." But that very potential often makes me a little depressed. Potential for good also means potential for bad; if a game is unfinished and has the chance to grow, there's likewise a very real possibility that the game could fester, lose development love, or worse yet, die on the vine. There's no guarantee that even a "AAA" massive-budget game like Star Wars: The Old Republic or RIFT will last forever or even a good amount of time. Who knows? Usually with an indie game, if it isn't shining and picking up an audience relatively quickly, it just might be in trouble. Zandagort has an audience; I can see players in the outer reaches of space. I am not going to pass judgment on the number of players simply because indie budgets are often easily supported by a smaller playerbase, but I wonder what type of audience it is. I am open-minded and enjoy the occasional slog through an intense "spreadsheets-in-space"-style game, but Zandagort really wore down my patience.
Previously on MV TV: The week of March 31st
What a week, huh? We had all sorts of great livestreaming for you to enjoy. If you missed some of the cool things we put on live during the week, no worry! Just check back here every week and you'll be able to recap many of the best moments from our week of live video games. Each week is something new, and this week is no different. We've got quite the variety! This week, we have Mike jamming on some EVE Online and then jumping into RIFT for horrible magical adventures. Richie ventured into the Mists of Pandaria beta for World of Warcraft to show off cute, cuddly, and furry butts while wielding a weapon of destruction! I had to check out some of the good and bad points about Second Life's Linden Homes, free structures that come with any premium account; I also jumped into Luvinia Online to participate in a huge PvP event, and let me just give you two words to entice you to watch: giant chickens. Blake took some time to shoot things in Global Agenda, and finally, we had MJ taking on some Bristlebane quests in EverQuest II, following it up by attacking stuff all over Aion! Check us out!
MV Guide: April 1 - 8, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
