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Semi-finalists announced in EVE Online's starship design contest

EVE
CCP
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Last month, EVE Online developers CCP Games teamed up with the folks at deviantART to run an exciting competition. Artists from across the globe were given the opportunity to design their very own starship. For artists, the opportunity to show off their skills to a professional game development studio proved to be a strong motivator. To sweeten the deal, a prize fund worth several thousand dollars was included for the winning entrants. Yesterday, the deviantART team picked 15 semi-finalists from an uncountable number of submitted entries. Congratulations go out to the semi-finalists, who each take home a $50 iTunes gift card.

While the contest has produced some incredible artwork, it seems that not everyone is happy with how the 15 semi-finalists were selected. Some players have complained that the deviantART team removed some excellent entries from the running in favour of submissions that don't really fit with EVE's art style. The 15 winning entries will now be passed on to CCP's very own art department, where deliberations will take place to select the best three entries. The second and third place winners will receive $750 and $500 respectively, while the first place winner walks away with $900. Perhaps more importantly, the first place entry will be transformed into an actual ship in EVE Online, allowing the winner to make a permanant mark on the game.

Players speak and devs deliver: LotRO's new vault system and EU preview event on the way

LotRO
Turbine
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Quite often the mark of a good company is how it responds to player dissatisfaction. While it may be riding high on cloud money as of late, Lord of the Rings Online's recent decisions have not made all of its players happy, and both Turbine and Codemasters are taking steps to rectify these situations.

Although Turbine touted the revised "Vault 2.0" bank system as superior to the old inventory system, many found it difficult to organize and sort. As a result, a new dev diary is showing off the third iteration of the vault system, which uses a cleaner interface of tabs and rows to help players keep their hundreds of items in the proper place. LotRO's Vault 3.0 is far more customizable, can auto-sort items, and even offers tabs to allow players to switch between the vault, wardrobe and shared storage within the same interface.

On the European front, it seems as if there's finally movement toward the promised free-to-play launch with a new preview event. Starting next Monday, October 25th, EU players are invited to hop on to the test server and give it a whirl. As a reward for participating, Codemasters will be gifting 500 points toward the store to all testers. Interested parties may trek over to the preview sign-up page to be a part of this momentous occasion.

New content update adds epic battle to Runes of Magic

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Looking for a challenge to tear up in Runes of Magic? Well, if you think you have what it takes, Runewaker Entertainment and Frogster Interactive have a brand new epic battle for you -- the world boss Amboriar! The new patch, 3.0.5, The Guardian's Awakening, throws open the doors on this new fight for Runes of Magic players, as well as offering new difficulty modes to Raksha Temple for level 58+ players that will scale all the way up to 125% at the diamond level. (We're going to bet there are some equally epic loots to match!)

Along with the new boss battle and more difficult dungeon, this patch also kicks off the Pumpkin Festival, Runes of Magic's Halloween event. Players can pick up quests to protect a pair of pumpkins, smite stinky vegetables, and generally have all manner of silly holiday-themed fun. If you're curious about what this update has to offer, check out the five new screenshots and video of Amboriar below, then pop over to the Runes of Magic site for the full patch notes.

World of Tanks releases two new maps

Wargaming.net's World of Tanks MMO keeps rolling right along, as the development studio announced the release of two new battle maps earlier today. The World War II-based action title features a plethora of historically accurate tanks for players to collect and control and, thanks to the update, also features the Komarin and Cliff locales. Komarin is a small Eastern European village and Cliff is inspired by the shorelines and rock formations of the infamous Normandy coast.

Nick Katselapov, Wargaming.net producer, is excited about the new maps and their tactical gameplay possibiliies. "[These] maps will encourage players to apply even more teamwork and cooperation because they require a totally different tactical approach than any battlefields that World of Tanks has had to offer so far," he said in a press release.

If you're wondering where you can get a piece of this heavily armored action, head over to the game's official website and enlist in the closed beta.

Webzen celebrates Archlord and S.U.N anniversaries

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Noted free-to-play publisher Webzen is celebrating not one, but two MMORPG anniversaries this week. FIrst up is Archlord, the PvP-focused title that offers players the chance to become the titular ruler and indulge in perks such as controlling the server's weather and riding a dragon mount. Webzen has created a special anniversary zone inside the game which will spawn special mobs as well as a gold drop buff for players under level 60.

Soul of the Ultimate Nation (S.U.N.) is also celebrating an anniversary this week, and to mark the occasion, players will receive a 200% XP buff. S.U.N. features hack-and-slash combat, a unique Battle Zone System where players create their own instances, and music by Academy Award-winning film composer Howard Shore.

ArenaNet community manager debunks Guild Wars 2 rumor

NCsoft
BERJAYA
Guild Wars 2 fans have been enjoying a series of articles at PC Gamer this week, but unfortunately the series came with a bit of misinformation. If you read through the articles, you may have noticed some news regarding dungeons as downloadable content in Guild Wars 2.

The community was buzzing about that possibility until Community Manager Regina Buenaobra stepped in to clarify things: "We have not made a decision on whether to sell dungeon content as DLC, contrary to what the article states. The author of the article jumped to this (incorrect) conclusion based upon his interpretation of Eric's statements."

Eric Flannum released a clarification that stated in part "...our core philosophy--of not requiring you to spend additional money to play the game and not making the game difficult or painful to play in order to encourage you to buy things from the store--still stands." Eric's full statement can be seen within Regina's forum post.

Ask Massively: It's all the fault of this ocelot edition

CCP
BERJAYA
I think it's time that we got a new scapegoat. We have things that we're angry about, and since we are no longer allowed to be angry at World of Warcraft due to reasons, our new target shall be... this ocelot. The one pictured above, just sitting on some rocks like he or she owns the place. (I cannot differentiate from faces whether an ocelot is male or female.) So to heck with you, ocelot! Yeah, you know what you did. Don't think we're fooled by your looking cute.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can make it through the rest of Ask Massively in peace. We will be free to contemplate this week's questions, which cover the upcoming World of Darkness along with reviews and a terrible personal secret. Or just a funny one. Either way, click on past the cut, and send in your questions for next week to ask@massively.com, or just leave them in the comment field. If your question is not answered next week, well, ocelot again.

Captain's Log: Socializing and the quiet of space in STO

STO
BERJAYA
The Star Trek universe caters to a whole lot of different interests. You've got your basic sci-fi fan, who enjoys the shows and movies but doesn't get super into them. You've also got your movie buffs, who perk up for showings of Wrath of Khan or Nemesis (ha!). Futurists marvel at the prophetic nature of old-school Trek tech, and casual fans used to flip on the boob tube to scope out Seven of Nine's ram scoops.

And of course, Star Trek has its die-hard fans, the Trekkers. (What's wrong with calling them "Trekkies," again?) I noticed a handful at New York Comic Con, traipsing about in their uniforms, snapping group pictures, scanning the Anime Festival next door for signs of intelligent life. And that got me to thinking about socializing in Star Trek Online. Why is it often so lonely in space?

WAR preps Daemon Moon Rising event

WAR
BERJAYA
We've been talking a lot about Halloween-themed in-game events of late. Whether it's Middle-earth, Hyboria, or Erinn, everyone seems to be getting in on the act. Not to be outdone, BioWare-Mythic is entering the fray with the forthcoming Daemon Moon Rising event for Warhammer Online, which includes the Daemonball Rally public quest, the Daemon Mask quest, and the High Pass Cemetery scenario battle.

New reward masks are also in store, and you even have a chance to loot last year's Witching Night mask rewards in case you missed them. This year's event is currently ongoing, and will last through Tuesday, November 2nd. Tiptoe over to the official WAR site for all the grisly details.

One Shots: Wheee! *splat*

BERJAYA
Falling damage probably isn't something many of us stop to think about, unless we play Monks, Rogues, or other classes that have the ability to level up a safe-fall type of ability. But for people who have been inhabiting Entropia Universe, falling damage is something new and shiny -- an option that was only recently put in. Today's One Shots from Razormat features the silliness that arose after falling damage was added: players tossing their avatars off the top of the tallest structures they could find! Razormat writes in to explain: "In this picture you can see the avatars in mid-air after they jumped off the Port Atlantis Tower. Recently fall damage was introduced in Entropia Universe, and the players are always looking for new ways to have fun."

Do you take part in a world we don't see often? Want to show off a silly moment from your MMO day? We're always interested in what you're up to. If you'd like to take part, then send your images to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit for sending it in.

Massively Features

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Events Calendar

Name Date
LEGO Universe Launch
Oct 26, 2010
Vindictus Launch
Oct 27, 2010
Cataclysm Launch
Dec 7, 2010
DCUO Launch
Early 2011

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Featured Galleries

One Shots
First Impressions: LEGO Universe
DDO Update 7 Gallery
New Gods & Heroes screenshots
LotRO Fall Festival 2010
DCUO Screenshots - PowerGirl, the Bat Cave, and more
Age of Conan - Wild Lands of Zelata
TERA Race and Class series - entry one
Choose My Adventure: Vanguard

 

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