Author: Admin

Why Changing The Layout Was Necessary


tumblr_lvvicjvedD1qgusdbo1_500

Was changing MMO Fallout’s menu layout necessary? I would argue yes.

  1. Individual categories for games didn’t help organization, it harmed it.
  2. Our metrics show that few actually used them.
  3. Filing games into categories of “listed,” “covered but not listed,” and “not listed” was a massive waste of time.
  4. Always trying to compact space.
  5. I keep a list of people who actually care about which games are listed on this website. It is empty.
  6. The growing number of categories didn’t help server stability.

So what does this mean for categories? Right now I have three main categories which will be expanded to:

  1. News
  2. Editorials
  3. Games
  4. Reviews
  5. Previews

Reviews and Previews replace “Why Aren’t You Playing,” and “Beta Perspective,” but only because having that on the menu would take a lot of space. The “(p)reviews” we do will remain mostly the same, impressions pieces which highlight positives and negatives of the games without a final overall score. Overall, not a whole lot is going to change here.

The process is mostly to make the website more accessible, as well as more manageable by myself.

The Phoenix Project Is Now City of Titans


slider-big-1

Missing Worlds Media has made it official: The Phoenix Project, codenamed for the upcoming spiritual sequel to City of Heroes, will be called City of Titans. While originally the Phoenix Project Kickstarter campaign was supposed to begin September 8th, unfinished paperwork and some restructuring of the team caused a few delays. The good news is that everything has been square away, and the Kickstarter is set to launch October 2nd. Speaking to Incgamers, President Sara Quinn thanked the community for their support.

“We are immensely grateful to our community for their continued support and understanding at this somewhat fraught time. They have been amazing, and without the morale boosts they provided, this would have been much harder on all of us.”

You can check out City of Titans at its main page.

(Source: Incgamers)

The Old Republic Accidentally Breaks Client, It's Fixed Now


cathar

The good news is that Star Wars: The Old Republic is now safe to launch. Players who logged in earlier today were surprised to see that their clients had already begun downloading patch 2.4, which isn’t supposed to go live until tomorrow. I say surprised because upon the client restarting, they found out that the game had to completely redownload, all twenty gigabytes. The response to players affected? Bioware suggested maybe not playing until tomorrow’s maintenance, unless you’re alright with sitting through the download.

As some of you have already noticed, we unintentionally released the patch data for Game Update 2.4 this afternoon at 2:46 pm CDT before its scheduled deployment. If you have already begun patching or completed patching, we recommend that you do not run the Launcher until after tomorrow’s maintenance. If you do not run the Launcher until tomorrow, you will only have to patch Game Update 2.4. If you do (or already have) run the Launcher again prior to tomorrow morning’s update, you will need to re-download the entire game client.

The update has been fixed, although people who began patching will still have to download the client, just not as much.

The previous patch data has now been restored. If you are just now logging in, you are fine to play normally. Those of you affected by the patch this afternoon should exit the game and either repatch immediately or wait until after tomorrow morning’s update. Please note that if you repatch today, it will be a larger patch – around 12 gigs, rather than a more normal sized patch tomorrow.

Is it working or is it broken? Only sith deal in absolutes.

(Source: The Old Republic)

The Old Republic Accidentally Breaks Client, It’s Fixed Now


cathar

The good news is that Star Wars: The Old Republic is now safe to launch. Players who logged in earlier today were surprised to see that their clients had already begun downloading patch 2.4, which isn’t supposed to go live until tomorrow. I say surprised because upon the client restarting, they found out that the game had to completely redownload, all twenty gigabytes. The response to players affected? Bioware suggested maybe not playing until tomorrow’s maintenance, unless you’re alright with sitting through the download.

As some of you have already noticed, we unintentionally released the patch data for Game Update 2.4 this afternoon at 2:46 pm CDT before its scheduled deployment. If you have already begun patching or completed patching, we recommend that you do not run the Launcher until after tomorrow’s maintenance. If you do not run the Launcher until tomorrow, you will only have to patch Game Update 2.4. If you do (or already have) run the Launcher again prior to tomorrow morning’s update, you will need to re-download the entire game client.

The update has been fixed, although people who began patching will still have to download the client, just not as much.

The previous patch data has now been restored. If you are just now logging in, you are fine to play normally. Those of you affected by the patch this afternoon should exit the game and either repatch immediately or wait until after tomorrow morning’s update. Please note that if you repatch today, it will be a larger patch – around 12 gigs, rather than a more normal sized patch tomorrow.

Is it working or is it broken? Only sith deal in absolutes.

(Source: The Old Republic)

Neverwinter Readying Server Mergers


Neverwinter_Screenshot_JeweloftheNorth_012513_jpeg2

Neverwinter’s upcoming server merger is no surprise, the company has been straightforward about the fact that the three servers were there to spread out launch traffic as much as possible, and that they would be combined as soon as possible. In an FAQ posted to the Neverwinter forums, Perfect World has noted that the merger is close to being ready and will be rolled out as soon as possible.

We have always been fans of the single-shard model, and like our previous games, we’ve always wanted to optimize Neverwinter’s infrastructure to be able to meet this goal. We are excited to be close to meeting this goal and are excited about allowing all players in our game world to be able to communicate and group with one another.

The good news is that thanks to Perfect World’s unique handle system, players do not need to worry about changing their character name or guild name even if there are duplicates. When the merger does go through, all auctions will automatically expire and either sell to the highest bidder or return to the seller if there are no bids. Astral Diamond exchange orders will be withdrawn as well, and all mail and currencies will be merged to the new server. There is no timeline on when the merger will take place other than “very soon.”

Check out the entire FAQ at the link below.

(Source: Neverwinter)

MMOrning Shots: Deep Thoughts


ffxiv_09302013_094604

Today’s MMOrning Shot comes from Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. I’m not sure if the guy staring off into space is deep in thought, contemplating the vast unexplored wilderness that is the universe. Either that, or he thinks I am a bot and is in the middle of reporting my character to customer service. I suppose that isn’t as deep.

ArcheAge Russia's Free To Play Borders Pay To Win


archeage

ArcheAge in Russia is making its way down free to play lane, and according to an announcement by Mail.ru, plans to offer even more for free than its Korean counterpart. Russian players will be able to level all the way up to end-game without paying a single ruble, and will have access to building houses and farms. Players who want to pony up some cash will be able to buy premium access which, at $10, features faster labor points recovery, 20% experience and 50% drop rate increases, and a stipend of Arc, the ArcheAge currency used on a mostly cosmetic cash shop. Arcs can be obtained in-game without spending anything.

Where ArcheAge is dipping its toes into alleged pay to win is in the ability to purchase labor points. Labor points are most easily compared to the energy from social games. Gathering and crafting costs labor points from your finite pool, which regenerates over time. The announcement has drawn ire from players who believe that the presence of labor points in the cash shop will unbalance the game’s economy.

(Source: MMO Cast)

ArcheAge Russia’s Free To Play Borders Pay To Win


archeage

ArcheAge in Russia is making its way down free to play lane, and according to an announcement by Mail.ru, plans to offer even more for free than its Korean counterpart. Russian players will be able to level all the way up to end-game without paying a single ruble, and will have access to building houses and farms. Players who want to pony up some cash will be able to buy premium access which, at $10, features faster labor points recovery, 20% experience and 50% drop rate increases, and a stipend of Arc, the ArcheAge currency used on a mostly cosmetic cash shop. Arcs can be obtained in-game without spending anything.

Where ArcheAge is dipping its toes into alleged pay to win is in the ability to purchase labor points. Labor points are most easily compared to the energy from social games. Gathering and crafting costs labor points from your finite pool, which regenerates over time. The announcement has drawn ire from players who believe that the presence of labor points in the cash shop will unbalance the game’s economy.

(Source: MMO Cast)

Turbine's Billing Server Explodes, Issuing Refunds


helms_deep_en

Turbine is in the process of issuing refunds after a major glitch caused a number of players to be charged multiple times for their subscriptions. The number of charges varies widely from player to player and bank to bank, with some reporting as little as a couple of extra charges and others reporting into the hundreds. The unfortunate collateral damage is that the multiple charges also seem to be setting off fraud alerts, resulting in the banks automatically freezing said accounts, while many customers whose banks did allow the charges were forced to watch their funds drop to zero or below. To make matters worse, this issue occurred on a Friday, meaning anyone whose bank account was drained/frozen will not have access to their money over the weekend and into midway through next week.

Turbine has posted a notice with a phone number, asking anyone who is hit by penalties or fees due to the charges to call them. The developer is in the middle of processing refunds for the erroneous charges.

If you do not see the refund on your statement after a few days, if you incurred any penalties due to the charges, or if you need further assistance with your account or billing, our Customer Service Agents will be happy to take care of you. You can get in touch with Account Support by going to support.turbine.com, then clicking on “Support Center” and “Submit a Ticket.” Players can also contact Account Support toll-free at 1-855-WBGAMES (Account Support Hours: 10am – 7pm Eastern Time 7 days a week (GMT -5).)

MMO Fallout recommends that any players who were affected immediately contact their banks, as well as any companies who will be expecting a payment from you over the next week to explain the situation and hopefully come to an agreement. Be proactive, it isn’t a guarantee but you’ll come out a lot better than if you just wait for them to contact you. Customers who feel that they have been severely damaged (and I emphasize severely) by this billing error, whether it be damage to your credit score, heavy late fees or interest rate hikes due to late payments, etc, should take a look at the following guides on filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve, the IC3, and check the following list on how to contact your state’s Attorney General.

(Source: Turbine)

Turbine’s Billing Server Explodes, Issuing Refunds


helms_deep_en

Turbine is in the process of issuing refunds after a major glitch caused a number of players to be charged multiple times for their subscriptions. The number of charges varies widely from player to player and bank to bank, with some reporting as little as a couple of extra charges and others reporting into the hundreds. The unfortunate collateral damage is that the multiple charges also seem to be setting off fraud alerts, resulting in the banks automatically freezing said accounts, while many customers whose banks did allow the charges were forced to watch their funds drop to zero or below. To make matters worse, this issue occurred on a Friday, meaning anyone whose bank account was drained/frozen will not have access to their money over the weekend and into midway through next week.

Turbine has posted a notice with a phone number, asking anyone who is hit by penalties or fees due to the charges to call them. The developer is in the middle of processing refunds for the erroneous charges.

If you do not see the refund on your statement after a few days, if you incurred any penalties due to the charges, or if you need further assistance with your account or billing, our Customer Service Agents will be happy to take care of you. You can get in touch with Account Support by going to support.turbine.com, then clicking on “Support Center” and “Submit a Ticket.” Players can also contact Account Support toll-free at 1-855-WBGAMES (Account Support Hours: 10am – 7pm Eastern Time 7 days a week (GMT -5).)

MMO Fallout recommends that any players who were affected immediately contact their banks, as well as any companies who will be expecting a payment from you over the next week to explain the situation and hopefully come to an agreement. Be proactive, it isn’t a guarantee but you’ll come out a lot better than if you just wait for them to contact you. Customers who feel that they have been severely damaged (and I emphasize severely) by this billing error, whether it be damage to your credit score, heavy late fees or interest rate hikes due to late payments, etc, should take a look at the following guides on filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve, the IC3, and check the following list on how to contact your state’s Attorney General.

(Source: Turbine)