Dragon Bash hits Guild Wars 2 today, and if you haven't yet checked out our video preview of the festivities, what are you waiting for? Dragon Bash is a holiday event, so much of what we'll be seeing in this update will be temporary content. These limited-time events have been the subject of much conversation in the community of late and, consequently, they're the topic of today's video edition of the Flameseeker Chronicles. Let's get to it!

Continue Reading

Back in the golden days of video games, there was no such thing as a soft launch. Nintendo didn't send out test copies of Super Mario World to special "backers," and Sega didn't ship half-finished Sonic games with promises of further content updates. Games, for the most part, were played only after they were finished, printed, packaged, and shipped. Even on PC, beta testing was more of an earned honor exclusive to players that showed dedication to a title and its community.

Here in these modern times of Internets and always-ons, however, things are different. It would seem as though developers need only make enough game content to shoot a reasonably convincing trailer before the publishing team can begin collecting money by slapping a "BETA" sticker on the webpage and offering fans early access.

Over the last few years soft launches have become increasingly common -- especially for creators of online games. The line between "in testing" and "done" is becoming blurred, and publishers are reaping the benefits while players suffer.

Continue Reading

Turbine has released a brand new trailer for its closed beta MOBA, Infinite Crisis. This trailer shows off the game's Coast City map, featuring a two-lane-style layout with a top and bottom lane crammed with turrets and an important middle area known as The Wastes.

The map also features control points known as Power Relays that enable a team to gain the patrol view advantage of The Wastes.

You can see the entire Coast City trailer just after the jump.

Continue Reading

After last week's initial open beta details for Wargaming.net's World of Warplanes, today we get a date for that open beta. Beginning on July 2nd, players will not only join the public testing but see several new features, including "in-game tactical tips to help pilots learn the ropes of aerial combat, the implementation of crews and crew skills, access to consumables and premium ammo, a brand-new tutorial, [and] two new in-game maps."

For more information on joining the open beta, head on over to the North American or European World of Warplanes websites and check out the brand-new E3 trailer after the jump.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Continue Reading

I love seeing people turned on to MMO music, particularly after it's gotten such a bad rap over the years. But for the new fan, it can be a daunting proposition to start up a collection. After all, it's not as if you can go down to your local vinyl shop, peruse a stack of 45s, and come out with a full set of SOE's greatest hits. Only a fraction of MMO scores are available for purchase these days, with the rest being free, packaged in with collector's editions, out of print, or just tucked away inside of game files somewhere.

So how do you get started on building up a robust library of MMO music? If you don't have deep pockets, which scores would I recommend you pick up first? Well, my friend, I've given it some thought and have put together a guide to six essential purchases that will get you off to a great start. Don't thank me; thank music. And also me because I did this hard work.

Continue Reading

Following WildStar since its first cinematic trailer way back when has been an interesting experience, partly because I've been so consistently lucky. I started following the game when we knew virtually nothing, and for all I knew then it could easily have turned out to be a game I'd never willingly play. That hasn't been the case, but the earlier you get on board with a game, the more your enthusiasm consists of a thin hope and some vague notions.

Of course, Kickstarter projects are based almost entirely on you being a fan without ever playing the game. But for some people, following a game that's only been announced is setting yourself up for disappointment. So how far in advance will you get excited about a game? Do you get psyched from developer diaries and early screenshots, or do you wait until you play a beta build and find out the game is fun?

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!

During tonight's Sony press conference at E3, Bungie revealed a fresh new trailer with some gameplay bits for its upcoming co-op FPS, Destiny, a game many MMOFPS fans would gladly claim as one of theirs. With thanks to our sister site Joystiq, we've embedded it after the cut. Expect no less than breathtaking vistas, terrifying dropships, and guns that are on fire.

Continue Reading

Bethesda has just announced plans to bring The Elder Scrolls Online to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in spring 2014. Sony confirmed during its conference at E3 tonight that the PS4 will be the first platform (or possibly just the first console -- it's unclear) on which the ESO beta will be available. The game was slated to release on PC this fall, but the press release (and a tweet from Bethesda's Pete Hines) seems to imply that the PC launch window has also been delayed to next spring: "The game will launch on these consoles, in addition to the previously announced PC and Mac versions, in Spring 2014."

ZeniMax has also today released a brand-new trailer to coincide with the announcement; we've tucked it behind the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in! Additional source: Bethsoft press release.]

Continue Reading

Here's another one for the is-it-or-isn't-it-an-MMO file courtesy of E3 2013. The Crew, a racing title from publisher Ubisoft, boasts a "persistent online world" that spans the entirety of the United States.

The Escapist reports that other drivers encountered by the player may be AI, but they may also be other player characters. Ubisoft's press conference revealed that the game has no lobby system, so players can chat, group, join crews, and play through group content in the game world proper. Vehicle customization is apparently a big deal as well, as is the ability to "infiltrate and take over a criminal organization one city at a time."

[Update: Joystiq reports that the title will be coming to PC and next-gen consoles. Click past the cut for a demo video. Thanks to Paul for the official website link!]

Continue Reading

Ubisoft has announced Tom Clancy's The Division, a "massive online" title about which very little is known. Game Informer labels it an "MMO shooter," but thus far there is no information about the number of supported or simultaneous players or whether or not the title will feature some sort of persistent world.

The website says that Ubisoft has "designed the title without classes and with solo play in mind," including a flexible build system, instanced encounters, and group content that encourages players to actually group due to a lack of difficulty scaling. Touch Arcade reports that tablet players can jump in as drones alongside regular players.

You can view a gameplay teaser after the cut.

[Thanks to Paul for the official link!]

Continue Reading

Fans of indie MOBA Rise of Immortals were disappointed to learn that the game's recent relaunch has been a failure and developers have been forced to close the doors at the end of the month. Third-person SMITE is seeing more success with its own open beta, and this week it added new character Athena, the God of Wisdom. League of Legends announced its plans for DreamHack Summer 2013, and Machinima published an incredible documentary about famed tournament team Counter Logic Gaming.

Blizzard revealed this week that Diablo III will be coming to the XBox 360 on September 3rd along with the previously announced PS3 release. Path of Exile gave all players a free passive skill reset with patch 0.11.0 this week and officially started its first ever four month long Anarchy and Onslaught leagues.

David Braben discussed seamless docking transitions in a new Elite: Dangerous progress diary video this week and took on board outside investors to bolster its existing budget secured through crowdfunding. Star Citizen showed how its towering budget will be put to use with a video tour around the cramped studio that developers hope to move out of soon in search of a larger office space.

Continue Reading

It's a good day to be Chris Roberts or one of the Cloud Imperium game developers working on Star Citizen. The upcoming space sim sandbox finally conquered the $10 million crowdfunding summit earlier this afternoon, and as a result, CIG will build its own motion capture studio.

"We hit the unbelievable mark of ten million dollars and, as promised, we're adding an Optitrack motion capture system to our production pipeline in order to build the best, most immersive gaming experience that only a PC game can deliver," says the entry on CIG's YouTube portal.

Head past the break for a video message from Roberts and a sneak peek at the Optitrack tech.

Continue Reading

TUG has officially achieved its first stretch goal! That goal is alchemy, and the nerds at Nerd Kingdom are pleased to announce that TUG's Paypal crowdfunding initiative is moving right along. You might recall that the firm's successful Kickstarter project pulled in over $293,000 for its fledgling sandbox, and now that Paypal donations have pushed the whole shebang over the $300,000 hump, it's time to start getting excited about stretch goals.

Alchemy is "an intermediate to advanced process of creation that may lead to darker practices and unlock things you perhaps should not have," Nerd Kingdom says.

One thing is certain: Many players have returned to Star Trek Online since the Legacy of Romulus expansion was released. Many new players have also given Star Trek Online their first try and are suitably impressed with the game's improvement. Bug patches are forthcoming, and server crashes have been reduced over the past couple of weeks.

Many players who have started new Romulan Republic characters and have reached level cap (50) are now turning their attention to the endgame material. Still others have decided to start their very first Klingon character. But what about stuff that isn't about Legacy of Romulus? It just so happens there are lots of "little" items to cover, so join me while I go over some of the news and tidbits that have popped up recently.

Continue Reading

So apparently some of you have operatives who have successfully infiltrated the Massively secret lair because someone has gotten a peek at my master plan... I mean, to-do list... and jumped ahead to this week's topic without me! I know we've talked before about how the real-world setting of The Secret World makes it ideal for blurring lines between game and reality, but I wasn't expecting this. Well, no matter. You cannot thwart the master plan; it has already begun. *maniacal laugh*

This stage of my brilliant scheme involves taking a closer look at another little nugget found in the May Game Director's Letter. On the surface we see that The Secret World will be getting even filthier at the conclusion of Issue #7 as the nefarious filth will actually break through the Tokyo gate and begin to infect Agartha itself. But more than that, we are witnessing the implementation of a long-term event that will continue to give new content as it progresses. Could this be the harbinger of dynamic events to come that will breathe more life into the world? We can certainly hope!

Continue Reading

It's been one week since Defiance came down with a nasty cold, which means there's (theoretically) only one week remaining to jump in on some of the game's contagious festivities. Trion Worlds reminded players today that beginning at 3 p.m. EDT (12 p.m. PDT), the second week of Defiance's The Plague event will be live.

Players of Defiance will find a new mission, new siege events, a new pursuit, and a bunch of emergencies to handle as they wander through the bombed-out ruins of the Bay. There are also data recorders to collect and special rewards for players who complete plague-related challenges.

No specific end date has been offered, but the Defiance television show will address The Plague event on June 17th. If you play Defiance and haven't had a chance to check out The Plague, it's probably best to get in soon, just in case.

8 Bit Studios describes its new MOBA, Skara: The Blade Remains, as "an experience with the action of Street Fighter inside a story and land like World of Warcraft, all blended into a fast-paced Call of Duty style arena." If you're not sure what that looks like in action, well, neither are we.

Luckily for our strained imaginations, 8 Bit has just released its first Skara gameplay trailer. The video showcases some of the title's arena combat, with the 8 Bit team noting that this trailer reflects the status of the game after around five months of development.

With 19 days and £135,000 ($200,000-ish) to go on its Kickstarter campaign, Skara has a ways to go before reaching its funding goal. Check out the trailer after the break.

[Source: 8 Bit Studios press release]

Continue Reading

E3 has only just begun, but we've already received some pretty big news on the MMO front: Wargaming.net has announced that its absurdly popular free-to-play bash 'em up, World of Tanks, will be launching on the Xbox 360 this summer.

The Xbox 360 version of the game has been "tuned specifically" for the console and will feature 15-on-15 matches. World of Tanks Xbox 360 Edition will remain free-to-play, as long as you're an Xbox Gold subscriber.

The E3 trailer is behind the cut.

Continue Reading

When WildStar comes out, it is going to have raiding. It's going to have the sort of raiding and group content that is meant to be challenging. No facerolls intended here; you'd better bring your A-game on raid night, or you will be facedown in the dirt so often that people will think you're doing a performance piece on the Kennedy family tree.

I am not a lover of raiding. This is not difficult to find evidence of on this site because I've talked about the issues with group-only endgame antics on more than one occasion. Heck, I wrote about how raiding turns you into a horrible person. So you would think I'd look at what we know about WildStar's endgame and start facepalming, possibly whilst shaking my head and muttering obscenities.

But I'm not. I'm totally cool with what we've been told so far about the endgame because there's much more than just the raiding aspect in the game, and I'm intrigued by how it's working out.

Continue Reading

Every once in a while I get intrigued by Marvel Heroes, and then I do a bit of research and I remember that it forces me to play as a pre-existing comic book character rather than an avatar of my own creation. I love superhero MMOs, see, but dude, that's a complete deal-breaker. Half the fun of my favorite superhero MMO -- DC Universe Online -- is coming up with both character concepts and superheroic costumes.

The other half of the fun is the IP, but that's neither here nor there, at least for this edition of Leaderboard. What about you, Massively voters? Does MH's lack of original avatar options turn you off or is the rest of the game enjoyable enough even with that restriction? Vote after the cut!

Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!

Continue Reading