Posts Tagged "Hots News"

• Order and Chaos Online developer discusses server-linking and more

  Hots Games
  

  Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, News items, Mobile, Community Q&A

  In honor of the game’s paper anniversary, Order & Chaos: Online producer Arnaud Bonnard took the time to do some Q&A with user-submitted questions about what is one of the biggest mobile MMOs available.

  Arnaud shared some of the toughest parts of development, which were the pressure of creating a world vast enough to entertain players for months (and now years) and ensuring that everything was as stable and functional as possible from a technical point. He followed up by reliving the joy of a successful launch and the success that the game met with over time. He talked a bit about updates and DLC, which come out every one or two months and are generally still drawn from the original design document for Order & Chaos: Online, given that the world design was much bigger than could possibly fit into the game originally.

  Bonnard also addressed the server separation between Android, iOS, and Mac devices: Not only would it be time-consuming to link all the operating systems, but such a system would mean that patches could only be deployed once every device was supported, which would be tricky and cause too many extra delays. As far as Order and Chaos’ future is concerned, he’s optimistic. There are new graphic features coming down the pipe as well as “lots of ideas for the game” as the company looks forward to another fantastic year thanks to fan support.

  Catch all the intricacies of Bonnard’s answers for yourself over at Gameloft.

  Order and Chaos Online developer discusses server-linking and more originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• DC Universe Online shows off the new Shield weapon

  Hots Games
  

  Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Consoles, DC Universe Online

  Shields generally aren’t thought of as a weapon; they’re usually seen as the exact opposite of a weapon. But in the superheroic milieu, all that changes. A shield is something to be used offensively, and in DC Universe Online‘s next major update, players will get to start wielding the shield for their own superheroic (or villainous) capers. A recent interview with creative director Jens Andersen discusses the intended role of the shield in combat.

  Andersen explains that while the new weapon comes along in a very PvP-centered update, it’s not meant to be used specifically for PvP — the team just wants to have something new for players to enjoy no matter what. In play, shields are similar to a staff weapon, but unlike most other weapons the shield can continue to build a combo after a heavy strike by moving back to light strikes. That should make the shield a very aggressive option — perhaps odd for something that’s not generally thought of as a weapon.

  DC Universe Online shows off the new Shield weapon originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• TERA Tome database unleashes the mysteries of Arborea

  Hots Games
  

  Filed under: Fantasy, News items, TERA, Miscellaneous

  TERA players, have you been spending weeks trying to find that one perfect weapon? Or maybe you just want to know which mob drops the crafting mats you need to pimp out your gear. Either way, the ZAM Network is here to help. En Masse Entertainment has announced on the official TERA site that ZAM’s TERA database, alliteratively named TERA Tome, is live and kickin’.

  The current version of the site includes all of the nifty features that players have come to expect from ZAM’s MMO databases, such as information on quests, items, and abilities as well as helpful forums and comments. Players trying to get a handle on their character’s build should also find the site handy thanks to its useful glyph calculator that allows players to survey all currently available glyphs without the need to set foot in the game. Just head on over to the recently launched site to crack open the tome.

  TERA Tome database unleashes the mysteries of Arborea originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Ex-Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson told board he had cancer

  Hots News
  

  Scott Thompson, who resigned his weekend as chief executive of Yahoo, reportedly disclosed to the company’s board of directors and several colleagues last week that he has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

  The news was reported this evening by the WSJ.

  The disclosure by Thompson, who is 54, came just as pressure was peaking for to step down because of errors on his bio about his academic accomplishments. According to the WSJ’s sources, the cancer diagnosis also contributed to his decision to step down from Yahoo.

  Yahoo announced today that Thompson has resigned as CEO.

  Filed under: VentureBeat

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• Cryptic developer: Star Trek Online PvP is ‘fail’

  Hots Games
  

  Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play

  How many times have you read a forum post that says insert-random-MMO’s PvP sucks? Well, in Star Trek Online PvP actually does suck, and that’s straight from the mouth of a developer. It’s so bad, in fact, that Dan “Gozer” Griffis makes no bones about the fact that it could even be removed from Cryptic’s sci-fi MMO.

  “Right now because PVP is in such bad shape we (the developers) have to decide if we think we can turn this problem around. Participation in PVP-related activities is so low on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis that we could in fact just completely take it out of STO and it would not impact the overall number of people [who] log in to the game and play in any significant way.”

  Griffis goes on to say that he is the only developer currently working on PvP, and as such he has to make some hard choices. He has a plan, and though he hasn’t shared specifics on it yet, he says there are huge changes in store over the next year.

  [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

  Cryptic developer: Star Trek Online PvP is ‘fail’ originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Guild Wars 2 hosting a surprise stress test next Monday

  Hots Games
  

  Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, real-world, Previews, News items, Guild Wars 2

  Are you in withdrawal after the last Guild Wars 2 testing weekend? Feeling the need to get back in the game, even if it’s just for one night? If so, you’re in luck, as the team has just recently announced that the game will be performing a surprise stress test on Monday, May 14th between 2:00 p.m. EDT until 9:00 p.m. EDT. It’s a chance to log back in, play for a bit, and get more of a taste for the game over those seven hours.

  Worth noting is that the stress test is only for pre-purchasers, but beyond that there are no specific test requirements — you can continue using the characters you created during the beta weekend. Players may experience some slight performance issues, since the purpose is to try and alleviate issues before the next beta weekend rolls around. So if you’ve pre-purchased the game, get ready to head back to Tyria in less than a week’s time.

  Guild Wars 2 hosting a surprise stress test next Monday originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• HTC chief Peter Chou to run Olympic torch relay, invade hostile territory

  Hots Technology
  

  The Summer Olympics in London are quickly turning into mobile-themed games: along with Samsung’s official role in handling mobile payments, HTC is now stepping up with its own, if modest, contribution to the athletic get-together. CEO Peter Chou will be one of the Olympic torchbearers and carry the flame on July 6th, three weeks before the opening ceremony in Stratford. Officials say the torch run is to honor Chou’s contribution to the mobile industry and the benefit he represents to Taiwan, although we can imagine that Chou wouldn’t mind crashing a Samsung party with a torch in one hand and a One X in the other. He may just want to steer clear of Samsung’s Mobile Pin stores while he’s at it.

  HTC chief Peter Chou to run Olympic torch relay, invade hostile territory originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 22:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Free Realms throws itself a nice big birthday bash

  Hots Games
  

  Filed under: Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play, Free Realms, Family

  MMO birthdays are the best celebrations. Instead of getting your favorite game a lot of presents to celebrate its age, most games give the players presents. So it is in Free Realms, which celebrates its third year of operation today with a number of events and rewards for players. The most basic rewards don’t require any real effort on the part of players; just logging in today nets you a Birthday Cake hat, and you can enjoy triple Station Cash for the rest of the day.

  There’s more to the party, however: The game’s offering a number of daily quests to help Queen Valerian produce the best birthday party ever. There’s also the dread monster Cakenstein, a beast assembled from… well, you can probably guess from the name. The extended events will be running until May 24th, but the Station Cash promotion and the hat are only for today. So if you’re a fan of Free Realms, log in and start enjoying the festivities today!

  Free Realms throws itself a nice big birthday bash originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Realms Online introduces the Lamai

  Hots Games
  

  Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Races

  Adding a new race to a factional PvP game is always a dicey proposition with regard to faction balance, but Realms Online is taking a measured approach with its newest race. The diminutive Lamai have just been added, and they aren’t beholden to any single faction — they can join any realm and play as any class. That flexibility is meant to reflect their nature as an ancient race that left the planet ages ago.

  Of course, there’s also the problem that if you’re enticed by the new race, you’ll have to start all over from the first level. As a promotion to help players interested in playing a Lamai, GameSamba is offering a sale on experience boosts in the game’s shop. It’s 25% off of level 30 scrolls, and 10 XP boosters for the price of eight. Not a bad deal if you want to level a new character, whether it’s a lamai or something else.

  [Source: GameSamba press release]

  Realms Online introduces the Lamai originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Yahoo needs help: Market cap down, stocks down, employee count down

  Hots News
  

  Yahoo has lost significant market share, reduced its staff multiple times, and its market cap continues to dive. But chief executive Scott Thompson is trying to rehydrate what is currently his raisin of a company by killing off unnecessary products and restructuring the organization.

  The media giant is struggling to stay relevant while other companies take facets of its business and do it better. Yahoo News? Aggregated from all the other blogs and news sites out there who know what they’re doing. Answers? Made better by Quora. Search? Dominated by Google. Mail? Made less spam-y by Google. Maps? Let me stop there.

  Since 2006, Yahoo’s market cap has taken a dive from a high of $55.60 billion to $18.8 billion today. Along with this decline, Yahoo is also losing revenue while continuing to increase costs. Indeed, the company seems a little desperate, even earning its own nickname as “patent troll” after suing Facebook for infringement in March.

  But they’re trying to dig themselves out. In 2008, Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s former CEO decided to cut his staff by 10 percent. In 2012, Yahoo’s current CEO Scott Thompson followed suit at cut staff by 14 percent. The hope is that this will reduce Yahoo’s costs, and allow it to be nimbler and raise its stock price, which hasn’t hit above $20/share in three years.

  All in all, we’ve only seen the beginning of Thompson’s reign over the media company. The CEO announced a plan to kill off or combine a number of unnecessary products and help streamline operations. These could include a few of the products mentioned above including Maps, Messenger and Answers.

  Check out the infographic below:

  Infographic via Hightable; Yahoo car image via Thomas Hawk/Flickr

  Filed under: media

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