The MMO industry moves along at the speed of information, and sometimes we’re deluged with so much news here at Massively Overpowered that some of it gets backlogged. That’s why there’s The MOP Up: a weekly compilation of smaller MMO stories and videos that you won’t want to miss. Seen any good MMO news? Hit us up through our tips line!
This week we’ll rejoice that TERA‘s Stepstone update has finally reached Europe, hear from Star Citizen’s lead writer, celebrate Vainglory’s birthday, and more!
New Games and Testing
- Escape from Tarkov: The team’s revealed a little more about this military shooter. The action takes place in a scandal-ridden town that’s been blocked off following a UN conflict. Player mercs will have the choice to side with either USEC (who conducts activities on behalf of a shady corporation) or BEAR (who is reportedly authorized by the Russian government). The team also showed a glimpse into the actual game environment, which you can see above.
Patches and Expansions
- TERA: Patch 36 has finally reached the EU version of TERA. The expansion includes the newbie Stepstone Isle area, better character creation, and tons of quality-of-life improvements.
- Ultima Online: Publish 91 is here and adds veteran rewards, holiday gifts, and more beasts for the Huntmaster’s Challenge. The team subsequently had to hotfix a house storage issue.
- Wizard101: The long-awaited frosty world of Polaris is finally here. The update contains five new zones and a new level cap of 110.
Events and Contests
- Vainglory: The mobile MOBA’s first anniversary is here and the game announced that it will be coming to China soon. Vainglory racked up one million views on Twitch in September.
Odds and Ends
- Star Wars: The Old Republic: A galaxy far, far away (and longer ago) has a new lead writer: Ian Ryan. “Excited to announce that I’m joining @BioWare Austin as the new lead writer on @SWTOR. It’s a great time to return to #StarWars!” he posted on Twitter.
- Neverwinter: Som Pourfarzaneh, the game’s former CM, has a new novel out called Entromancy. He describes it as “a scifi/fantasy/cyberpunk romp in 2076 San Francisco.”
Videos
The folks at Imperial News Network published another Star Citizen interview, this one with Lead Writer Dave Haddock talking about his responsibilities and work on Squadron 42. [Thanks to Vikingr for the tip!]
Anime MMO Kritika Online will soon be adding a new playable character to the mix: Nobleria. What does she look like? What does she do? All is revealed below:
