Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
E3 2009 Preview: Space MMO Taikodom
“Taikodom” is an upcoming space MMO, developed by Brazilian studio Hoplon Infotainment and published by K2 Network. Part of the recent wave of sci-fi-themed MMOs, “Taikodom” will play like a hybrid of the “EVE Online” and “Jumpgate” models, featuring elements of gameplay that are both hardcore, economically driven, and arcade combat.
One of the unique selling points (and perhaps my favorite part) of the game is that, not only is it a unique world, but it's a fully fleshed out world; the game will feature over 250 years of fictional history.
The basic story revolves around the restriction of earth, with the planet being blocked off and those on it being put into stasis. Fast-forward to the 23rd century, and you – and a whole lot of other earthlings – are suddenly waking up, finding yourselves in the future.
Like the highly anticipated upcoming space MMO “Jumpgate,” “Taikodom” will be based almost entirely around player skill, with players manually controlling their ships and letting their skills at flying determine a majority of the outcome. That's not to say that the ships themselves won't be important, though. There will be approximately 40 base ships available at launch, and each of these will be fully customizable with components, including weapons, which are split between Cannon and Launcher. (Lasers and missiles, basically.)
Larger ships will also control more sluggishly than their smaller, dog-fighter counterparts. So if you get dizzy playing fast-paced flight games or just aren't that good, you could always control a larger ship that may do and take more damage at the expense of agility and speed.
Even if fighting isn't your thing, as mentioned, “Taikodom” will also have a huge emphasis placed on the economy. It will be fully player driven, with a large amount of components and ships only able to be received by obtaining them from skilled player crafters. Resource gathering components like mining are also present, and the best sources of material will come in heavily contested PvP zones, creating a true synergy between the two types of gameplay.
While many of the features in the game are already established in available titles (or done better in upcoming ones like “Jumpgate”), it's the future that holds the most promise for this free-to-play space MMO. What's in store?
For starters, a new tactical type element will be introduced, allowing players to control massive ships with more of an emphasis on tactics and micromanagement than flight skill. Think of the destroyers in Star Wars compared to an X-Wing, and you'll have an idea of the scale they're talking about here.
Also being introduced after launch will be a virtual world aspect, allowing players to leave the comforts of their ship for the gravity and solid ground of earth. (Or space stations, perhaps.) Not much is being revealed about this portion yet – or how extensive it will be – but it's definitely an aspect not properly done in any other similar space MMO on the market – or coming out – so it's definitely something to keep an eye out for.
Not only will the developers reveal these features at a later date, but most importantly, as part of the K2 Network, it's going to be free-to-play (with optional microtransactions to be determined). So even if it does take ideas from both “EVE” and “Jumpgate” and jumble them together, it also does something neither of them will officially let you do: play for free without subscribing to the game. A free-to-play space MMO taking the best elements of “EVE” and “Jumpgate”? Definitely one to keep an eye on.
Posted by Brendon Lindsey
http://mmohub.org/news/e3-09-preview-space-mmo-taikodom/321/
One of the unique selling points (and perhaps my favorite part) of the game is that, not only is it a unique world, but it's a fully fleshed out world; the game will feature over 250 years of fictional history.
The basic story revolves around the restriction of earth, with the planet being blocked off and those on it being put into stasis. Fast-forward to the 23rd century, and you – and a whole lot of other earthlings – are suddenly waking up, finding yourselves in the future.
Like the highly anticipated upcoming space MMO “Jumpgate,” “Taikodom” will be based almost entirely around player skill, with players manually controlling their ships and letting their skills at flying determine a majority of the outcome. That's not to say that the ships themselves won't be important, though. There will be approximately 40 base ships available at launch, and each of these will be fully customizable with components, including weapons, which are split between Cannon and Launcher. (Lasers and missiles, basically.)
Larger ships will also control more sluggishly than their smaller, dog-fighter counterparts. So if you get dizzy playing fast-paced flight games or just aren't that good, you could always control a larger ship that may do and take more damage at the expense of agility and speed.
Even if fighting isn't your thing, as mentioned, “Taikodom” will also have a huge emphasis placed on the economy. It will be fully player driven, with a large amount of components and ships only able to be received by obtaining them from skilled player crafters. Resource gathering components like mining are also present, and the best sources of material will come in heavily contested PvP zones, creating a true synergy between the two types of gameplay.
While many of the features in the game are already established in available titles (or done better in upcoming ones like “Jumpgate”), it's the future that holds the most promise for this free-to-play space MMO. What's in store?
For starters, a new tactical type element will be introduced, allowing players to control massive ships with more of an emphasis on tactics and micromanagement than flight skill. Think of the destroyers in Star Wars compared to an X-Wing, and you'll have an idea of the scale they're talking about here.
Also being introduced after launch will be a virtual world aspect, allowing players to leave the comforts of their ship for the gravity and solid ground of earth. (Or space stations, perhaps.) Not much is being revealed about this portion yet – or how extensive it will be – but it's definitely an aspect not properly done in any other similar space MMO on the market – or coming out – so it's definitely something to keep an eye out for.
Not only will the developers reveal these features at a later date, but most importantly, as part of the K2 Network, it's going to be free-to-play (with optional microtransactions to be determined). So even if it does take ideas from both “EVE” and “Jumpgate” and jumble them together, it also does something neither of them will officially let you do: play for free without subscribing to the game. A free-to-play space MMO taking the best elements of “EVE” and “Jumpgate”? Definitely one to keep an eye on.
Posted by Brendon Lindsey
http://mmohub.org/news/e3-09-preview-space-mmo-taikodom/321/
E3 2009 Preview: MMOFPS Parabellum
“Parabellum” is an upcoming free-to-play MMOFPS. Why the name “Parabellum?” Two reasons. First, it's the name of the first 9mm cartridge for pistols. More importantly, however, it's derived from the Latin saying si vis pacem, para bellum, meaning “If you want peace, prepare for war.” A phrase that perfectly describes the game's world.
Despite the MMOFPS moniker, “Parabellum” isn't quite a massively multiplayer game. Instead of one shared world, players will have their own social areas that they can build and enjoy, such as HQs, where their friends can hang out and get together to play the game.
How will they play? That depends. The game does feature a campaign mode which was described as exciting and unique, but little information was revealed at this time. What we do know is that the campaign is “like the TV show 24.” Will players play anti-terrorist specialists, or Jack Bauer himself? Who knows.
That's unlikely, though, as character customization is a large portion of the game's appeal. Players will be able to completely customize all sorts of gear for their avatars. From snowy camo to punk rock apparel, much is possible in the world, especially when you can edit the colors and texture of the piece. Obviously, being a free-to-play MMOFPS microtransactions will give players the ability to get some different pieces; but the good news is they'll get nothing unique. Anything you can buy, you can earn by playing. Paying just gives it to you sooner and with less time required.
Not only can players fully customize their character's apparel, but weapons are also customizable. With approximately 30 weapons at launch, there's already going to be a big selection. What you can do, however, will ensure that your weapon matches your theme. Have a punk rock guy? Then go ahead and make your AK-47 gold-coated with a pink laser sight.
The non-campaign portion of the game is heavily based on instances by selecting a map, and then duking it out with other players. (In other words, traditional FPS multiplayer.) Right now, in the closed beta, there are 4 maps available, but at launch there will be 10-12, all based on real areas of New York City, which the developers have used as inspiration for their launch zones.
Eventually, new cities will be added, with new maps. Which cities? No one knows yet, but examples of both American and international hotspots were cited as possibilities, should demand for a new area be high enough.
Playing the game, it felt just like other high profile shooters. Players could shoot to kill with headshots, there were plenty of sniping and ambush opportunities available in the back alley level, and each person truly did look unique. Ultimately will “Parabellum” have enough to entice gamers who are already playing multiplayer FPS games that they've loved for years? That's the million dollar question. But compared to many of the free MMOFPS games I've played over the years, this is definitely near the top of the list in terms of quality and depth – and it's not even finished yet.
Posted by Brendon Lindsey
http://mmohub.org/news/e3-09-preview-mmofps-parabellum/322/
Despite the MMOFPS moniker, “Parabellum” isn't quite a massively multiplayer game. Instead of one shared world, players will have their own social areas that they can build and enjoy, such as HQs, where their friends can hang out and get together to play the game.
How will they play? That depends. The game does feature a campaign mode which was described as exciting and unique, but little information was revealed at this time. What we do know is that the campaign is “like the TV show 24.” Will players play anti-terrorist specialists, or Jack Bauer himself? Who knows.
That's unlikely, though, as character customization is a large portion of the game's appeal. Players will be able to completely customize all sorts of gear for their avatars. From snowy camo to punk rock apparel, much is possible in the world, especially when you can edit the colors and texture of the piece. Obviously, being a free-to-play MMOFPS microtransactions will give players the ability to get some different pieces; but the good news is they'll get nothing unique. Anything you can buy, you can earn by playing. Paying just gives it to you sooner and with less time required.
Not only can players fully customize their character's apparel, but weapons are also customizable. With approximately 30 weapons at launch, there's already going to be a big selection. What you can do, however, will ensure that your weapon matches your theme. Have a punk rock guy? Then go ahead and make your AK-47 gold-coated with a pink laser sight.
The non-campaign portion of the game is heavily based on instances by selecting a map, and then duking it out with other players. (In other words, traditional FPS multiplayer.) Right now, in the closed beta, there are 4 maps available, but at launch there will be 10-12, all based on real areas of New York City, which the developers have used as inspiration for their launch zones.
Eventually, new cities will be added, with new maps. Which cities? No one knows yet, but examples of both American and international hotspots were cited as possibilities, should demand for a new area be high enough.
Playing the game, it felt just like other high profile shooters. Players could shoot to kill with headshots, there were plenty of sniping and ambush opportunities available in the back alley level, and each person truly did look unique. Ultimately will “Parabellum” have enough to entice gamers who are already playing multiplayer FPS games that they've loved for years? That's the million dollar question. But compared to many of the free MMOFPS games I've played over the years, this is definitely near the top of the list in terms of quality and depth – and it's not even finished yet.
Posted by Brendon Lindsey
http://mmohub.org/news/e3-09-preview-mmofps-parabellum/322/
E3 2009 Preview: First Look - Heroes of Telara
A few days ago, a trailer for the upcoming fantasy MMORPG “Heroes of Telara” was released, revealing its existence to the world. (Even though those of us attending E3 have already had emails about it for a few weeks.) After watching the trailer, a lot of gamers (myself included) came away thinking, “Looks good, but just another fantasy MMORPG.” After seeing the game in action and actually learning about its feature, it's definitely going to be something to keep an eye on; and, right now, it might even be the most promising upcoming MMORPG of 2010.
As we gathered from the trailer, “Heroes of Telara” fits into the fantasy category. However, it's what Trion classifies as “stylized but realistic fantasy.” In other words, it may look like there are magical forests and magic throughout the land, but it also has a realistic styling to it, counter to most fantasy MMOs where players play giant dancing bulls and miniature cat-like martial artists.
The art as a whole looked great – especially for what is likely an early build – but the most promising features of the game are its truly unique aspects, including the technology behind it.
Trion's biggest boast is the technology powering their game(s). While most MMORPGs and MMOs utilize client-based gaming, with most of the content on the side of the client requiring large patches (or patches in general) when content is changed, “Heroes of Telara” is going to be a server-based MMORPG. What this means is that the developers can add new content such as quests, events, new monsters, etc. and have them happen on the fly, without players having to prepare with a patch.
In addition, the server load is going to work in a much different way than MMOs on the market. In most MMORPGs, server processing power is broken up by geographic aspects. So if 200 people are fighting a monster in an area, the area will lag. But in “Heroes of Telara,” if 200 people are fighting a monster, the game will pull some of the processing power from something not being used (like crafting or NPC movement) and throw it behind combat, to help combat lag.
So sure, the technology behind the game sounds great. But what about the game itself? Granted I only saw a brief playing session, but some of the features in this MMORPG are basically an answer to things every longtime MMORPG player have wanted.
First and foremost, there's no longer a need for alts. Once you create your character, if you head into a town you can change your class. Each class levels independently – they're just all tied to the same character. So if your friend is a mage and you're a mage, you can switch over to warrior, and not have to log out or switch characters.
Not only can you switch classes, but the game features a system known as the “subclass card system.” Basically, monsters and quests will drop subclass cards. Using one of these cards will change your character's subclass, giving you new unique abilities further customizing your class. Some of them shown include Berserker, which turned a warrior into an offensive area-based fighter; and a “gravelord,” which allowed the player to summon skeletons and shoot bolts of demonic energy.
Being able to switch both your class and subclass for your situation is a huge part of the game's strategy. Whenever you're playing, quests and heroic events (as well as larger multiple player/regional events) will start up on the fly. The one shown in the demo involved the town of “Smith's Haven” being attacked by imps. The result? The town burned down. After killing imps, a major demon appeared. The berserker warrior tried to attack the demon, but the demon had a point blank knockback that wouldn't let a warrior within range. So after switching to the gravelord subclass, he could send in skeleton servants, and cast ranged attacks until he was weak enough to finish him off by switching back to berserker and using a lunge attack. After the demon's death, the event was complete, the town rejuvenated, and a huge crowd of players raucously cheered the successful hero while confetti rained down from windows and roofs of buildings above.
So will the game turn out as great as they're making it out to be? It's still too early to tell, and it's never good to base everything off of a single staged demo. Right now, though, it's shaping up to be the most promising MMORPG of 2010. Now we'll just have to see if it can keep that title, especially with a few days of E3 left to go.
For more MMO and MMORPG previews from E3 2009 check out a list of our complete coverage on MMOHub.org.
Posted by Brendon Lindsey
http://mmorpgmmorpg.com/news/e3-09-preview-first-look-at-heroes-of-telara/222/
As we gathered from the trailer, “Heroes of Telara” fits into the fantasy category. However, it's what Trion classifies as “stylized but realistic fantasy.” In other words, it may look like there are magical forests and magic throughout the land, but it also has a realistic styling to it, counter to most fantasy MMOs where players play giant dancing bulls and miniature cat-like martial artists.
The art as a whole looked great – especially for what is likely an early build – but the most promising features of the game are its truly unique aspects, including the technology behind it.
Trion's biggest boast is the technology powering their game(s). While most MMORPGs and MMOs utilize client-based gaming, with most of the content on the side of the client requiring large patches (or patches in general) when content is changed, “Heroes of Telara” is going to be a server-based MMORPG. What this means is that the developers can add new content such as quests, events, new monsters, etc. and have them happen on the fly, without players having to prepare with a patch.
In addition, the server load is going to work in a much different way than MMOs on the market. In most MMORPGs, server processing power is broken up by geographic aspects. So if 200 people are fighting a monster in an area, the area will lag. But in “Heroes of Telara,” if 200 people are fighting a monster, the game will pull some of the processing power from something not being used (like crafting or NPC movement) and throw it behind combat, to help combat lag.
So sure, the technology behind the game sounds great. But what about the game itself? Granted I only saw a brief playing session, but some of the features in this MMORPG are basically an answer to things every longtime MMORPG player have wanted.
First and foremost, there's no longer a need for alts. Once you create your character, if you head into a town you can change your class. Each class levels independently – they're just all tied to the same character. So if your friend is a mage and you're a mage, you can switch over to warrior, and not have to log out or switch characters.
Not only can you switch classes, but the game features a system known as the “subclass card system.” Basically, monsters and quests will drop subclass cards. Using one of these cards will change your character's subclass, giving you new unique abilities further customizing your class. Some of them shown include Berserker, which turned a warrior into an offensive area-based fighter; and a “gravelord,” which allowed the player to summon skeletons and shoot bolts of demonic energy.
Being able to switch both your class and subclass for your situation is a huge part of the game's strategy. Whenever you're playing, quests and heroic events (as well as larger multiple player/regional events) will start up on the fly. The one shown in the demo involved the town of “Smith's Haven” being attacked by imps. The result? The town burned down. After killing imps, a major demon appeared. The berserker warrior tried to attack the demon, but the demon had a point blank knockback that wouldn't let a warrior within range. So after switching to the gravelord subclass, he could send in skeleton servants, and cast ranged attacks until he was weak enough to finish him off by switching back to berserker and using a lunge attack. After the demon's death, the event was complete, the town rejuvenated, and a huge crowd of players raucously cheered the successful hero while confetti rained down from windows and roofs of buildings above.
So will the game turn out as great as they're making it out to be? It's still too early to tell, and it's never good to base everything off of a single staged demo. Right now, though, it's shaping up to be the most promising MMORPG of 2010. Now we'll just have to see if it can keep that title, especially with a few days of E3 left to go.
For more MMO and MMORPG previews from E3 2009 check out a list of our complete coverage on MMOHub.org.
Posted by Brendon Lindsey
http://mmorpgmmorpg.com/news/e3-09-preview-first-look-at-heroes-of-telara/222/
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
'Runes of Magic' reaches 1 million players...
Frogster wants everyone to know how awesome their free-to-play MMORPG "Runes of Magic" is, as it recently passed the one million player mark in Europe and North America. "Hey, we are awesome. Look at how many people love us!" is what I imagine they would say if they could without sounding ridiculous.
"We at Frogster have been looking for a real hit title for two years and are happy to have found one this last year with 'Runes of Magic,'" summed up Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive Pictures AG and CEO of Frogster Online Gaming GmbH. "We are convinced that with the up-coming offering of additional language versions we will achieve further strong growth in Europe," Weidenhaupt continued.
I'm pretty sure this is the third announcement regarding "Runes of Magic" in three days. Maybe Frogster just likes making big announcements about their hit MMORPG every day so they can eat a lot of cake at the office? Hey, I would do the same thing.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 15th, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
'Runes of Magic' reaches 1 million players...; http://ping.fm/i2cYs
Frogster wants everyone to know how awesome their free-to-play MMORPG "Runes of Magic" is, as it recently passed the one million player mark in Europe and North America. "Hey, we are awesome. Look at how many people love us!" is what I imagine they would say if they could without sounding ridiculous.
"We at Frogster have been looking for a real hit title for two years and are happy to have found one this last year with 'Runes of Magic,'" summed up Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive Pictures AG and CEO of Frogster Online Gaming GmbH. "We are convinced that with the up-coming offering of additional language versions we will achieve further strong growth in Europe," Weidenhaupt continued.
I'm pretty sure this is the third announcement regarding "Runes of Magic" in three days. Maybe Frogster just likes making big announcements about their hit MMORPG every day so they can eat a lot of cake at the office? Hey, I would do the same thing.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 15th, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
'Runes of Magic' reaches 1 million players...; http://ping.fm/i2cYs
MMOhub; 'Runes of Magic' reaches 1 million players...
Frogster wants everyone to know how awesome their free-to-play MMORPG "Runes of Magic" is, as it recently passed the one million player mark in Europe and North America. "Hey, we are awesome. Look at how many people love us!" is what I imagine they would say if they could without sounding ridiculous.
"We at Frogster have been looking for a real hit title for two years and are happy to have found one this last year with 'Runes of Magic,'" summed up Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive Pictures AG and CEO of Frogster Online Gaming GmbH. "We are convinced that with the up-coming offering of additional language versions we will achieve further strong growth in Europe," Weidenhaupt continued.
I'm pretty sure this is the third announcement regarding "Runes of Magic" in three days. Maybe Frogster just likes making big announcements about their hit MMORPG every day so they can eat a lot of cake at the office? Hey, I would do the same thing.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 15th, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
http://ping.fm/SRhsK
"We at Frogster have been looking for a real hit title for two years and are happy to have found one this last year with 'Runes of Magic,'" summed up Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive Pictures AG and CEO of Frogster Online Gaming GmbH. "We are convinced that with the up-coming offering of additional language versions we will achieve further strong growth in Europe," Weidenhaupt continued.
I'm pretty sure this is the third announcement regarding "Runes of Magic" in three days. Maybe Frogster just likes making big announcements about their hit MMORPG every day so they can eat a lot of cake at the office? Hey, I would do the same thing.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 15th, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
http://ping.fm/SRhsK
MMORPG 'Zu Online' introduces 'X-Weapon Plan'...
Despite receiving mostly negative reviews, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" has already made more than $130 million in the US box office since opening two weeks ago. Apparently attempting to piggyback on a bit of that fame, IGG has come up with the "X-Weapon Plan" for their free-to-play MMORPG game, "Zu Online."
According to the company's release, this plan is designed "to help players get the Spars they need." It's not really explained, except for this statement from IGG: "Look to the Item Mall and you’ll see were re-introducing Medium Attacking Spars and Medium Defensive Spars." Ok...
So what do you think? Am I right in my assumption that this is a shameless attempt at riding on the fame of another property, or is it coincidental?
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 15th, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
mmorpg, mmo, games, free, online
http://ping.fm/rkg1o
According to the company's release, this plan is designed "to help players get the Spars they need." It's not really explained, except for this statement from IGG: "Look to the Item Mall and you’ll see were re-introducing Medium Attacking Spars and Medium Defensive Spars." Ok...
So what do you think? Am I right in my assumption that this is a shameless attempt at riding on the fame of another property, or is it coincidental?
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 15th, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
mmorpg, mmo, games, free, online
http://ping.fm/rkg1o
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Winch Gate lifting 'Ryzom' into pay-to-play
Well, developer Winch Gate Property, Ltd previously said they would change the business model of their MMO "Ryzom" and turn it from a free-to-play MMORPG into a pay-to-play MMORPG, and by golly, that's exactly what they're going to do.
Beginning sometime next week (unfortunately no exact dates are given), if you want to continue playing you'll have to cough up some dough. The pricing is about on par with most other MMOs, but that's not really the point here. The point is that a developer obviously can't make up their mind on how their videogame is going to make money. If I was a citizen of this virtual world, I'd be crapping my little electronic trousers right about now.
Keep an eye on this case, as Winch Gate is treading in some very dangerous water. Worst of all, they're all alone and in the dark.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 13th, 2009
Beginning sometime next week (unfortunately no exact dates are given), if you want to continue playing you'll have to cough up some dough. The pricing is about on par with most other MMOs, but that's not really the point here. The point is that a developer obviously can't make up their mind on how their videogame is going to make money. If I was a citizen of this virtual world, I'd be crapping my little electronic trousers right about now.
Keep an eye on this case, as Winch Gate is treading in some very dangerous water. Worst of all, they're all alone and in the dark.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 13th, 2009
Space MMO 'Cosmic Supremacy' now available
Feeling an urge to play a space-themed MMO after watching J.J. Abrams' incredible "Star Trek?" Why don't you give "Cosmic Supremacy" a try. (Forgive the cheese, but the release schedule of the two pieces of media remains a little too close to be a coincidence.)
Formerly known as "Space Civilizations," "Cosmic Supremacy" is a turn-based multiplayer strategy game where players command their own civilization and are tasked with exploring the surrounding galaxy, discovering new solar systems, colonizing other planets, and essentially being a groovy dude. Of particular interest to nerds like me who love to personalize every aspect of a game, players can customize every ship in their fleet.
I hate copying and pasting an entire paragraph of a press release into one of these news announcements, but there's something you need to read...
"As a game in the 4X genre (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate), 'Cosmic Supremacy' draws inspiration from the hundreds of browser-based games out there, but we did not want to add yet another one - instead we took the basic idea to the next level; the Fifth X: eXperience. 'Cosmic Supremacy' is played with a very slim downloadable client allowing features that other games can only dream of. We left the shortcomings of existing games behind and designed 'Cosmic Supremacy' from the ground up to be the best game in its class."
See that? That's just a small snippet of the PR bologna we have to put up with each and every day. Ugh.
Anyway, if you decide to give this new space MMO a shot, feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section below.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 13th, 2009
Formerly known as "Space Civilizations," "Cosmic Supremacy" is a turn-based multiplayer strategy game where players command their own civilization and are tasked with exploring the surrounding galaxy, discovering new solar systems, colonizing other planets, and essentially being a groovy dude. Of particular interest to nerds like me who love to personalize every aspect of a game, players can customize every ship in their fleet.
I hate copying and pasting an entire paragraph of a press release into one of these news announcements, but there's something you need to read...
"As a game in the 4X genre (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate), 'Cosmic Supremacy' draws inspiration from the hundreds of browser-based games out there, but we did not want to add yet another one - instead we took the basic idea to the next level; the Fifth X: eXperience. 'Cosmic Supremacy' is played with a very slim downloadable client allowing features that other games can only dream of. We left the shortcomings of existing games behind and designed 'Cosmic Supremacy' from the ground up to be the best game in its class."
See that? That's just a small snippet of the PR bologna we have to put up with each and every day. Ugh.
Anyway, if you decide to give this new space MMO a shot, feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section below.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 13th, 2009
New browser game for adults, 'Disciple'
If you are an adult looking to try out an MMORPG or are a teenager and just feel you are mature for your age, you may enjoy checking out a newly launched browser game, "Disciple." Resistor Productions has put together this fantasy battlefield geared toward adults; almost the entire game is based on the writings of Tobias R. Batton.
The game is also delivered entirely over the web browser, so no separate download is required. This will be great for those who like to sneak in a little gameplay at school or while bored at the office.
Aphelion, "Disciple's" fantasy world, is violent and bloody with battles between you and other players. Fights between opponents sometimes last until death while trying to earn points, armor and weapons to gain player ranking. "Geldors" are the in-game version of money and are acquired from wins and losses. You can also join a clan of disciples (or as some of us call it: a guild) to help you against enemies.
There will be three classes, races and deities to worship. There will of course be quests, but your choices in those quests will determine the play-style of your character.
"Disciple" is free-to-play, however you can enhance your in-game content with a monthly subscription fee.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 13th, 2009
The game is also delivered entirely over the web browser, so no separate download is required. This will be great for those who like to sneak in a little gameplay at school or while bored at the office.
Aphelion, "Disciple's" fantasy world, is violent and bloody with battles between you and other players. Fights between opponents sometimes last until death while trying to earn points, armor and weapons to gain player ranking. "Geldors" are the in-game version of money and are acquired from wins and losses. You can also join a clan of disciples (or as some of us call it: a guild) to help you against enemies.
There will be three classes, races and deities to worship. There will of course be quests, but your choices in those quests will determine the play-style of your character.
"Disciple" is free-to-play, however you can enhance your in-game content with a monthly subscription fee.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 13th, 2009
Get hitched in 'Deco Online' for a limited time
From now until June 9, players in the free-to-play MMORPG “Deco Online” ”... can don wedding gowns and tuxedos acquired from the in-game item mall and attend a ceremony officiated by their favorite game master,” as the press release notes. In other words, for a limited time you can get married.
Wait, what? Try as I might, I don’t understand why people would want to get married in an MMORPG. But then again, there’s a lot I don’t understand in this world so I’ll try not to spend too long analyzing the logic behind a virtual wedding ring. But why would developer Joymax only offer this option for a limited time? It’s a permanent feature in many titles, and, in a way, the focal point of one particular game. I hope the option to get divorced is still available after the event concludes.
In other “Deco Online” news, Joymax also wants you to know that the guerrilla event ends on July 7 and that the revised item mall makes it easier to purchase in-game items.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 13th, 2009
Wait, what? Try as I might, I don’t understand why people would want to get married in an MMORPG. But then again, there’s a lot I don’t understand in this world so I’ll try not to spend too long analyzing the logic behind a virtual wedding ring. But why would developer Joymax only offer this option for a limited time? It’s a permanent feature in many titles, and, in a way, the focal point of one particular game. I hope the option to get divorced is still available after the event concludes.
In other “Deco Online” news, Joymax also wants you to know that the guerrilla event ends on July 7 and that the revised item mall makes it easier to purchase in-game items.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 13th, 2009
'RuneScape' lightens offence policy
The tribe at "RuneScape" has decided to lighten up a little with their new Offence System. By no means are they ignoring offences, but they are willing to give their players a second chance and believe that people learn over time from their mistakes. (Instead of getting a slap on the hand with a ruler, you're just being put in the corner with a cone hat.)
Offences that you made over a year ago could quite possibly be gone from your record. You will no longer receive black marks for your mistakes and will instead see the offences on the Offence Appeals page. There will be two pillars: one that records offences that are bad enough to result in being banned, and another pillar that records offences that only result in being muted. This will make it easier to see where you stand within "RuneScape" law.
Players that have an account that is currently banned or muted will be allowed a chance to submit an appeal. Then the "RuneScape" support team (jury of your peers) will reassess your offences and decide if you're guilty or not guilty. This will especially benefit those who have had their account stolen and abused. In addition, if you have ever had a membership on the account and have put in a large amount of game time, after 21 days, you will have another opportunity for an appeal.
Some organization has been implemented for the reporting of abuse. Here are the three headings in which you can categorize your reports under:
Honour - Offences in relation to cheating such as scamming, real-world trading, macroing, etc.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - Offences related to inappropriate behavior like bullying, obscene language, discrimination, etc.
Security - Offences related to real-world safety such as requests for real-life contact information, advertising, etc.
Receiving a mute or in-game ban will also result in the same action on the forums. This so players are treated equally when they are playing the game and when or on the forums.
If you currently have a ban or record of an offence, you might want to check out the status of that record because these changes could effect how long that offence will last. Since this whole new offence system is a large change, the website features have already been launched, but the in-game interface will be released with this week's server reboot.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 13th, 2009
Offences that you made over a year ago could quite possibly be gone from your record. You will no longer receive black marks for your mistakes and will instead see the offences on the Offence Appeals page. There will be two pillars: one that records offences that are bad enough to result in being banned, and another pillar that records offences that only result in being muted. This will make it easier to see where you stand within "RuneScape" law.
Players that have an account that is currently banned or muted will be allowed a chance to submit an appeal. Then the "RuneScape" support team (jury of your peers) will reassess your offences and decide if you're guilty or not guilty. This will especially benefit those who have had their account stolen and abused. In addition, if you have ever had a membership on the account and have put in a large amount of game time, after 21 days, you will have another opportunity for an appeal.
Some organization has been implemented for the reporting of abuse. Here are the three headings in which you can categorize your reports under:
Honour - Offences in relation to cheating such as scamming, real-world trading, macroing, etc.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - Offences related to inappropriate behavior like bullying, obscene language, discrimination, etc.
Security - Offences related to real-world safety such as requests for real-life contact information, advertising, etc.
Receiving a mute or in-game ban will also result in the same action on the forums. This so players are treated equally when they are playing the game and when or on the forums.
If you currently have a ban or record of an offence, you might want to check out the status of that record because these changes could effect how long that offence will last. Since this whole new offence system is a large change, the website features have already been launched, but the in-game interface will be released with this week's server reboot.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 13th, 2009
MMORPG 'Magic World Online' celebrates anniversary
No self-respecting MMORPG developer would allow a holiday to go by without including some kind of celebration in their title, and this includes any and all relevant anniversaries. With that in mind, it could be said that developer Ingle Games Ltd. has announced the one year anniversary celebration for their MMORPG with legal bots, "Magic World Online."
From May 12th to June 15th, special items called "For 'Magic World Online' 1st anniversary celebration" will drop from monsters. They can then be exchanged with the MWO Ambassador for "special gifts." (Speaking of drops, Blessed Crystals can also be gained at a higher rate.)
Additionally, you might want to take a visit to the auction house and peruse the items, as Ingle Games notes countless items "which are better than ever" will be placed there.
So one month to celebrate a one year anniversary? By the time the festivities are over it will be time to celebrate some other holiday and/or anniversary number or two. I can't say I'm complaining, though.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 12th, 2009
From May 12th to June 15th, special items called "For 'Magic World Online' 1st anniversary celebration" will drop from monsters. They can then be exchanged with the MWO Ambassador for "special gifts." (Speaking of drops, Blessed Crystals can also be gained at a higher rate.)
Additionally, you might want to take a visit to the auction house and peruse the items, as Ingle Games notes countless items "which are better than ever" will be placed there.
So one month to celebrate a one year anniversary? By the time the festivities are over it will be time to celebrate some other holiday and/or anniversary number or two. I can't say I'm complaining, though.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 12th, 2009
IGG previews new 'Angels Online' PvP system
A new PvP system will be available in free-to-play MMORPG “Angels Online” with its next expansion, “House Party.” Publisher IGG posted a preview of this new feature called Angel Arena. Apparently, this is “totally different” from the Totem Battle and Holy Battlefield.
Only level 60+ players are able to sign up and engage in this event.
To sign up, players can go to one of the four main cities, Palm Base or the Angel Lyceum, to find Battlefield Angel who will teleport them to the Sign-up Office. There, you can sign up and choose to join in on or be a spectator to the battle.
Once the event starts, those players participating will be teleported to their appropriate battlefields. The system will automatically count down 5 seconds in the World Channel. After 5 seconds, each Angel that is participating has to find a blue circle on their feet. Once this has happened, they can begin to slaughter each other.
If a player dies in the Angel Arena, they are unable to join that battle again. They can watch from the sidelines and will not lose any exp after death. But if they are offline during the battle, they cannot join in even if they login.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 12th, 2009
Only level 60+ players are able to sign up and engage in this event.
To sign up, players can go to one of the four main cities, Palm Base or the Angel Lyceum, to find Battlefield Angel who will teleport them to the Sign-up Office. There, you can sign up and choose to join in on or be a spectator to the battle.
Once the event starts, those players participating will be teleported to their appropriate battlefields. The system will automatically count down 5 seconds in the World Channel. After 5 seconds, each Angel that is participating has to find a blue circle on their feet. Once this has happened, they can begin to slaughter each other.
If a player dies in the Angel Arena, they are unable to join that battle again. They can watch from the sidelines and will not lose any exp after death. But if they are offline during the battle, they cannot join in even if they login.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 12th, 2009
Cigarette usage influences Eastern MMO design
Last Friday, MIT's Sloan School of Business hosted a business in gaming conference where panelists from 2K Boston, Sanrio Digital, Mythic Entertainment, and Turbine discussed, among many things, the current state of the industry. Even former baseball All-Star, and founder of 38 Studios LLC, Curt Schilling, joined the fun.
As the Journal of New England Technology noted, Sanrio's Robert Ferrari talked about the difference between Western and Eastern MMO design, which prompted Mythic's Eugene Evans to point out one very unlikely influence: cigarettes. Evans said all games developed for the Asian markets need to be played with one hand so that a cigarette may be held in the other.
I don't smoke, so please understand when I say "gross."
In all seriousness, now I understand why their economy isn't doing so bad. The country receives a 20% tax on virtual income and the revenue gained from smoking, according to a December 17 announcement, is expected to generate almost $9.5 billion following another tax hike. Additionally, revenue gained from online gaming is on the rise due in large part to the increased proliferation of PCs in homes and internet cafes.
With all that in mind, are you at all surprised that the Chinese government has ordered government employees to smoke more?
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 12th, 2009
As the Journal of New England Technology noted, Sanrio's Robert Ferrari talked about the difference between Western and Eastern MMO design, which prompted Mythic's Eugene Evans to point out one very unlikely influence: cigarettes. Evans said all games developed for the Asian markets need to be played with one hand so that a cigarette may be held in the other.
I don't smoke, so please understand when I say "gross."
In all seriousness, now I understand why their economy isn't doing so bad. The country receives a 20% tax on virtual income and the revenue gained from smoking, according to a December 17 announcement, is expected to generate almost $9.5 billion following another tax hike. Additionally, revenue gained from online gaming is on the rise due in large part to the increased proliferation of PCs in homes and internet cafes.
With all that in mind, are you at all surprised that the Chinese government has ordered government employees to smoke more?
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 12th, 2009
8450 video game jobs lost since July 2008
Some suggest the video game industry's rapid growth within the last ten years most closely resembles the over-inflation of a balloon or a bubble, and that it will soon burst, sending jobs, careers, and aspirations to the wayside. Perhaps in support of this claim, independent market analyst Wanda Meloni estimates that 8,450 people in the industry lost their jobs since July 2008.
According to Gamasutra, Meloni used Game Developer Research's Game Developer Census 2008 report to "calculate the current percentage of game industry layoffs in North America at 12%, based on the census report's tally of 53,900 workers."
I get it. A lot of people were laid off, but as user "gen ideer" noted in the comments section of the article, any number of these individuals might have found employment elsewhere in the video game industry since that time.
Sales across the industry are up this year (especially in our our free-to-play MMO sector which has seen exponential growth), so if you drank the doom and gloom Kool-Aid, spit it out. Times are tough, but all things considered the video game industry is doing quite well.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 12th, 2009
According to Gamasutra, Meloni used Game Developer Research's Game Developer Census 2008 report to "calculate the current percentage of game industry layoffs in North America at 12%, based on the census report's tally of 53,900 workers."
I get it. A lot of people were laid off, but as user "gen ideer" noted in the comments section of the article, any number of these individuals might have found employment elsewhere in the video game industry since that time.
Sales across the industry are up this year (especially in our our free-to-play MMO sector which has seen exponential growth), so if you drank the doom and gloom Kool-Aid, spit it out. Times are tough, but all things considered the video game industry is doing quite well.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 12th, 2009
'Destiny Online' holds 2-week long b-day party
“Destiny Online” is one year old and its celebrating its cuteness with some activities. Sorry, there is no “Duck, Duck, Goose” or “Pin The Tale On The Donkey” games planned, but a 5-day-long double exp event and other activities are going on right this minute.
Late last week and this past weekend, there were double and triple exp days for those who actually knew about the 5-day exp event. It’s funny, but no relatively popular news site even knew about this event until five days after it’s already started.
One of the activities enables you to make off with a lover and elope if you want. There is no requirement of level of friendship points for marriage during this event; just make sure your significant other is of age or when the rules are back in place, it may be a bit awkward for you.
Fairy Dew can be used on pets that are above level 80 and “Destiny Online” has provided you with more choices in hairstyles since looking like a clone is not particularly cool these days.
“Destiny Online” is the first MMORPG that “Pays U 2 Play,” because spelling out “you” and “to” is just too hard. But seriously, this means that for each two hours that you are logged in the game, you earn two Gold Points. These points can be used to buy nifty items from the Destiny Item Mall, complete with Cupcake Tanning Spa and Nails by Kitty. Maybe that last part isn’t true, but the fact that you can earn Gold without doing any work makes this game a little more interesting than perhaps the others that are otherwise the exact same game.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 12th, 2009
Late last week and this past weekend, there were double and triple exp days for those who actually knew about the 5-day exp event. It’s funny, but no relatively popular news site even knew about this event until five days after it’s already started.
One of the activities enables you to make off with a lover and elope if you want. There is no requirement of level of friendship points for marriage during this event; just make sure your significant other is of age or when the rules are back in place, it may be a bit awkward for you.
Fairy Dew can be used on pets that are above level 80 and “Destiny Online” has provided you with more choices in hairstyles since looking like a clone is not particularly cool these days.
“Destiny Online” is the first MMORPG that “Pays U 2 Play,” because spelling out “you” and “to” is just too hard. But seriously, this means that for each two hours that you are logged in the game, you earn two Gold Points. These points can be used to buy nifty items from the Destiny Item Mall, complete with Cupcake Tanning Spa and Nails by Kitty. Maybe that last part isn’t true, but the fact that you can earn Gold without doing any work makes this game a little more interesting than perhaps the others that are otherwise the exact same game.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 12th, 2009
Limited 'Mortal Online' beta needs testers
Why hire an extra dozen or so gaming enthusiasts to test your still-in-development title when another (or maybe the same) group is willing to do it for free? Apparently that's what what "Mortal Online" developer Star Vault is doing with the upcoming MMO's beta.
In order to "effectively focus on some particular features," Star Vault is inviting "only a handful of applicants" to the first wave of the beta, which has been split into two parts. Melee combat is the focus of this phase, and neither magic nor mounted combat will be allowed in the artificial and empty test-island where all users will be taken.
If melee's not your thing but you still find yourself with one of the few invitations, you can still check out the character creation process, which seems a little more in-depth than most titles, thanks largely due to the "blood-mix system." Star Vault writes, "Races in 'Mortal Online' are not static, and all races within a species will be able to interbreed, giving you the option to choose your ancestry and heritage in detail." Additionally, the company notes "Both visual appearance and attribute caps will be dependent on the mix." Settle down, furries; there's only Orcs, Elves, and human-types in "Mortal Online."
Anyway, if joining in on such a limited beta sounds groovy to you, go ahead and apply for an invite on the official "Mortal Online" site. Personally, I'd rather wait and play the title when it's more feature-rich, but I can understand why some of you might want to check it out ASAP. If a Batman MMO was being made, I'd try and test a wire-frame only version for free.
Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame right now.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 11th, 2009
In order to "effectively focus on some particular features," Star Vault is inviting "only a handful of applicants" to the first wave of the beta, which has been split into two parts. Melee combat is the focus of this phase, and neither magic nor mounted combat will be allowed in the artificial and empty test-island where all users will be taken.
If melee's not your thing but you still find yourself with one of the few invitations, you can still check out the character creation process, which seems a little more in-depth than most titles, thanks largely due to the "blood-mix system." Star Vault writes, "Races in 'Mortal Online' are not static, and all races within a species will be able to interbreed, giving you the option to choose your ancestry and heritage in detail." Additionally, the company notes "Both visual appearance and attribute caps will be dependent on the mix." Settle down, furries; there's only Orcs, Elves, and human-types in "Mortal Online."
Anyway, if joining in on such a limited beta sounds groovy to you, go ahead and apply for an invite on the official "Mortal Online" site. Personally, I'd rather wait and play the title when it's more feature-rich, but I can understand why some of you might want to check it out ASAP. If a Batman MMO was being made, I'd try and test a wire-frame only version for free.
Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame right now.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 11th, 2009
The Weekly Grind: Last Week in MMO News (Week of 5/11/2009)
"The Weekly Grind" is a new weekly feature for the MMOLife sites, collecting the past week's biggest headlines for the most popular MMOs, free or not. If you want to catch up on what you may have missed in the world of non-free games, this is your chance to do so.
Your Prophecy in a Crystal - A few weeks ago Square-Enix released a mini expansion for "Final Fantasy XI" entitled the "Crystaline Prophecy" for merely ten dollars. The people over at World of Fighting?" The9, a Chinese website which owned (and lost) the property rights to the Chinese version of "World of Warcraft," might be venturing into new territory with "World of Fighting." Way to get back at the big guy, The9! Just make sure you don't do any obvious copying...
Moogle groupie - The "Final Fantasy XI" community team is going on tour -- a virtual tour! So if you wanna become a groupie, all you gotta do it follow them around. Check them out when they make their stops at popular "FFXI" podcasts such as Pet Food Alpha, He Says She Says, and Limit Break Radio. The tour will last from May 6th until the end of the month.
New kid in class - When one asks you who led the way to open RvR (realm vs realm) gameplay, many would say Mythic with "Dark Age of Camelot" and "Warhammer Online." Well there is a MMO straight out of Asia that is expected to bring that similar RvR action to the states, for free. It's called "Aika," and you can check out the English teaser here.
Recycling talent - Sure, "Mythos" as we knew it might be dead (or is it?), but the team moved on as Runic Games, the studio that is in-development of a "Diablo"-esque MMO entitled "Torchlight." When you have a team that consists of "Diablo" and "Mythos" vets, good things are bound to come out. I'm just glad they continue to use their talents in the right places.
Am I attacking with honey? - Betas are there for a reason, and that reason is for players to play a game that is still in-development and to help the developers out in ironing out the bugs and problems. Well for those who have not yet played but seen the video posted on combat in "Earthrise," the action was just a bit too slow and not as hectic as everyone thought. Good thing the developers have ears and listen to their players, that's what I call good BlizzCon is coming back in full force again later in the summer. If you plan on attending such an extraordinary event, you can start reserving your tickets on May 16th, or stream most of the show through pay-per-view Direct TV. Don't you love choices?
And in this corner! - What would you do if the game you spent years making got a really low score? I'm talking a 2/10 score? Lead Developer Tasos for "Darkfall" is in this predicament, and he didn't take this low blow nicely. In fact he wrote a long forum post about the whole situation. Ooh, I just love dirt; this could get ugly! In this corner we have "Darkfall's" response, and over here we have Eurogamer's response.
I'm leaving, and suing you for $24 mil - The legendary Richard Garriot (formerly) of NCSoft must be pretty frustrated that his game "Tabula Rasa" failed miserably. But did NCSoft fire him, or did he leave at on his own? Well the big difference comes down to contracts and finances; you can never be too sure. So Garriot called up his lawyer and found out he can sue for fraud, and so he did.
One massive world - You've got two types of MMOs: server based and non-server based. "World of Warcraft" is server based; you create a character on a specific server and you can only interact with those in your server. "Guild Wars" is non server-based in the fact that it's run on one huge server and you "zone into" specific "rooms" of that area. "Champions Online" is planning on doing the same thing for their game, getting rid of the server shards and going one big massive world.
Happy 6th Birthday! - Boy, May is the month for MMO birthdays its seems. Our next lucky game is "EVE Online," which celebrates 6 very successfully years in the MMO market. Along with celebratory rewards and events, CCP has announced that the game has over 300k unique subscribers. Congratulations, guys!
Happy but not satisfied - "Warhammer Online" has definitely had its ups and downs since its release last fall. From laggy end game to difficult class balancing, it has had its share of criticism. But for all of those players who stayed loyal and are sticking it out, Mythic is grateful. How many stuck it out you ask? Around 300k, which is good, but definitely not great, at least not for EA.
Dine with Turbine - Do you live in Europe? Do you enjoy playing 'Lord of the Rings Online?' Well today is your lucky day! Play.com has a special promotion just for you. To help celebrate the second anniversary of the game, from now until May 17th, you can enter to win a free trip from London to Boston to visit the birthplace of "LoTRO.'
Parks and Recreation - Are you telling me you never had the thought of one day naming a park? Well what if I told you that if you name a park in the new "Champions Online" you could win a beta key? Sounds intriguing, right? I'm sure it can't be too hard -- just name a superpower and combine it with a locale type and there you go. Maybe something like Towering Inferno Plaza.
Deep space update - For those of you interested in the up-coming sci-fi based "Black Prophecy" MMO, the community posted its second update with goodies such as interviews and explained game mechanics. Head on over and see what's in store for us in this particular part of deep space.
The ring is back! - No I am not talking about "that" ring. I'm talking about the Anniversary Ring that you get with each celebrated year of "Final Fantasy XI." Amongst other player rewards, the one that most players are clamoring about is the Anniversary Ring that gives you a boot in EXP gain. This certainly is a month of giving.
The Republic's arsenal - Bioware recently introduced a new class for their highly anticipated "Star Wars: The Old Republic." The Republic can feel a bit more safe when they find out they will have a bunch of gun toting Troopers running around protecting that what is right and sacred. This isn't your regular run of the mill soldier, oh no, I'm talking Trooper, folks, find out for yourself.
That's it for this week. Along with more birthday celebrations we talked about cool promotions, lawsuits, big summer events and virtual tours. That's a lot for one week, but covering such a big part of the gaming sector doesn't come easy. We'd like your opinion on the events that unfolded this past week, so drop a comment, and until next time, keep grinding!
Check out last week's Weekly Grind here!
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 11th, 2009
Your Prophecy in a Crystal - A few weeks ago Square-Enix released a mini expansion for "Final Fantasy XI" entitled the "Crystaline Prophecy" for merely ten dollars. The people over at World of Fighting?" The9, a Chinese website which owned (and lost) the property rights to the Chinese version of "World of Warcraft," might be venturing into new territory with "World of Fighting." Way to get back at the big guy, The9! Just make sure you don't do any obvious copying...
Moogle groupie - The "Final Fantasy XI" community team is going on tour -- a virtual tour! So if you wanna become a groupie, all you gotta do it follow them around. Check them out when they make their stops at popular "FFXI" podcasts such as Pet Food Alpha, He Says She Says, and Limit Break Radio. The tour will last from May 6th until the end of the month.
New kid in class - When one asks you who led the way to open RvR (realm vs realm) gameplay, many would say Mythic with "Dark Age of Camelot" and "Warhammer Online." Well there is a MMO straight out of Asia that is expected to bring that similar RvR action to the states, for free. It's called "Aika," and you can check out the English teaser here.
Recycling talent - Sure, "Mythos" as we knew it might be dead (or is it?), but the team moved on as Runic Games, the studio that is in-development of a "Diablo"-esque MMO entitled "Torchlight." When you have a team that consists of "Diablo" and "Mythos" vets, good things are bound to come out. I'm just glad they continue to use their talents in the right places.
Am I attacking with honey? - Betas are there for a reason, and that reason is for players to play a game that is still in-development and to help the developers out in ironing out the bugs and problems. Well for those who have not yet played but seen the video posted on combat in "Earthrise," the action was just a bit too slow and not as hectic as everyone thought. Good thing the developers have ears and listen to their players, that's what I call good BlizzCon is coming back in full force again later in the summer. If you plan on attending such an extraordinary event, you can start reserving your tickets on May 16th, or stream most of the show through pay-per-view Direct TV. Don't you love choices?
And in this corner! - What would you do if the game you spent years making got a really low score? I'm talking a 2/10 score? Lead Developer Tasos for "Darkfall" is in this predicament, and he didn't take this low blow nicely. In fact he wrote a long forum post about the whole situation. Ooh, I just love dirt; this could get ugly! In this corner we have "Darkfall's" response, and over here we have Eurogamer's response.
I'm leaving, and suing you for $24 mil - The legendary Richard Garriot (formerly) of NCSoft must be pretty frustrated that his game "Tabula Rasa" failed miserably. But did NCSoft fire him, or did he leave at on his own? Well the big difference comes down to contracts and finances; you can never be too sure. So Garriot called up his lawyer and found out he can sue for fraud, and so he did.
One massive world - You've got two types of MMOs: server based and non-server based. "World of Warcraft" is server based; you create a character on a specific server and you can only interact with those in your server. "Guild Wars" is non server-based in the fact that it's run on one huge server and you "zone into" specific "rooms" of that area. "Champions Online" is planning on doing the same thing for their game, getting rid of the server shards and going one big massive world.
Happy 6th Birthday! - Boy, May is the month for MMO birthdays its seems. Our next lucky game is "EVE Online," which celebrates 6 very successfully years in the MMO market. Along with celebratory rewards and events, CCP has announced that the game has over 300k unique subscribers. Congratulations, guys!
Happy but not satisfied - "Warhammer Online" has definitely had its ups and downs since its release last fall. From laggy end game to difficult class balancing, it has had its share of criticism. But for all of those players who stayed loyal and are sticking it out, Mythic is grateful. How many stuck it out you ask? Around 300k, which is good, but definitely not great, at least not for EA.
Dine with Turbine - Do you live in Europe? Do you enjoy playing 'Lord of the Rings Online?' Well today is your lucky day! Play.com has a special promotion just for you. To help celebrate the second anniversary of the game, from now until May 17th, you can enter to win a free trip from London to Boston to visit the birthplace of "LoTRO.'
Parks and Recreation - Are you telling me you never had the thought of one day naming a park? Well what if I told you that if you name a park in the new "Champions Online" you could win a beta key? Sounds intriguing, right? I'm sure it can't be too hard -- just name a superpower and combine it with a locale type and there you go. Maybe something like Towering Inferno Plaza.
Deep space update - For those of you interested in the up-coming sci-fi based "Black Prophecy" MMO, the community posted its second update with goodies such as interviews and explained game mechanics. Head on over and see what's in store for us in this particular part of deep space.
The ring is back! - No I am not talking about "that" ring. I'm talking about the Anniversary Ring that you get with each celebrated year of "Final Fantasy XI." Amongst other player rewards, the one that most players are clamoring about is the Anniversary Ring that gives you a boot in EXP gain. This certainly is a month of giving.
The Republic's arsenal - Bioware recently introduced a new class for their highly anticipated "Star Wars: The Old Republic." The Republic can feel a bit more safe when they find out they will have a bunch of gun toting Troopers running around protecting that what is right and sacred. This isn't your regular run of the mill soldier, oh no, I'm talking Trooper, folks, find out for yourself.
That's it for this week. Along with more birthday celebrations we talked about cool promotions, lawsuits, big summer events and virtual tours. That's a lot for one week, but covering such a big part of the gaming sector doesn't come easy. We'd like your opinion on the events that unfolded this past week, so drop a comment, and until next time, keep grinding!
Check out last week's Weekly Grind here!
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 11th, 2009
'Runes of Magic' introduces new pirate dungeon
In the 1985 classic the Goonies, an adventurous group of youngsters infiltrates a hidden cavern underneath an old cabin in the woods with the intent on finding lost treasure. As we all know, those little troublemakers eventually discovered ol' One-Eyed Willy's treasure, along with a charming monstrosity of a man named Sloth.
In Frogster's free-to-play MMORPG "Runes of Magic," players will soon gain the opportunity to be a part of a similar adventure when they visit the a-little-too-obviously-named "Treasure Trove," a high level dungeon with "long-forgotten pirate gold." Located in Ravenfell, publisher Frogster America, Inc. noted the new territory "furthers the story of the area's involvement with the Black Sail Pirates."
Instead of ripping off dead One-Eyed Willy, players who reach the end of the dungeon will face off against Snow Blake on the pirate ship the Black Mary.
I don't play "Runes of Magic," but that would change in a heartbeat if I heard our favorite Baby Ruth-eating Superman Sloth assisted players in the fight against Snow Blake. Now that would make the update in this MMORPG truly complete.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 11th, 2009
In Frogster's free-to-play MMORPG "Runes of Magic," players will soon gain the opportunity to be a part of a similar adventure when they visit the a-little-too-obviously-named "Treasure Trove," a high level dungeon with "long-forgotten pirate gold." Located in Ravenfell, publisher Frogster America, Inc. noted the new territory "furthers the story of the area's involvement with the Black Sail Pirates."
Instead of ripping off dead One-Eyed Willy, players who reach the end of the dungeon will face off against Snow Blake on the pirate ship the Black Mary.
I don't play "Runes of Magic," but that would change in a heartbeat if I heard our favorite Baby Ruth-eating Superman Sloth assisted players in the fight against Snow Blake. Now that would make the update in this MMORPG truly complete.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 11th, 2009
MMORPG 'Angels Online' holds EXP event
Prior to the release of upcoming expansion, The House Party, “Angels Online” is holding an exp event to prepare its players for the expansion’s content. There is concern that the Angels will not be able to survive at sea, so the leader of the Angel Lyceum, Michael, will be giving players a chance to level up from May 7th until May 21st. Items with 2x exp effects will be enhanced, and the Romantic Area, the training place, will be available for everyone.
Details are as follows:
All items with speedup effects such as Facture Speedup Cards and Collecting Speedup Cards will offer quicker effects.
May 7th to May 21st will allow more exp for pets’ Exp Stones, however only Exp Stones that are used after the event starts will see the effect.
After the server maintenance on May 7th until May 21st, items with 2x exp effects like Double Skill Exp Cards, Pet’s Double Exp Cards and Double Exp Cards will have a 3x exp effect.
From May 7th until the server maintenance on May 21st, players can get the Romantic Flame Area Ticket after purchasing one Aries Lucky Bag. Once they have the ticket, they can enter the Flame Area for 24 hours once they find the “Area Guide Angel” in the Angel Lyceum.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 11th, 2009
Details are as follows:
All items with speedup effects such as Facture Speedup Cards and Collecting Speedup Cards will offer quicker effects.
May 7th to May 21st will allow more exp for pets’ Exp Stones, however only Exp Stones that are used after the event starts will see the effect.
After the server maintenance on May 7th until May 21st, items with 2x exp effects like Double Skill Exp Cards, Pet’s Double Exp Cards and Double Exp Cards will have a 3x exp effect.
From May 7th until the server maintenance on May 21st, players can get the Romantic Flame Area Ticket after purchasing one Aries Lucky Bag. Once they have the ticket, they can enter the Flame Area for 24 hours once they find the “Area Guide Angel” in the Angel Lyceum.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 11th, 2009
Trooper introduced to 'Star Wars: The Old Republic'
Until now, the website for Bioware's upcoming MMO, "Star Wars: The Old Republic," only had one class update: the Bounty Hunter. However, with new updates come new introductions for new classes, and now we are all introduced to the very cool Republic Trooper. No, this isn't your regular run of the mill soldier. When you check out the mini videos showing off some of their abilities like sticky grenades, weapon butting and high powered rifles grenades, how can't you be sold?
So why would you pick this class over the more popular Jedi or Bounty Hunter classes? According to the description of the class on the official website, "These advanced strike teams are comprised of only the most talented and disciplined soldiers — a new breed of elite Republic Troopers. These Troopers are the embodiment of the Republic military’s highest aspirations — the most advanced fighting force in the galaxy. They are equipped to face any foe in any environment, but it’s not their gear that makes them tough — it's their guts.The fate of the galaxy rests upon ordinary men becoming extraordinary heroes. This is the path of the Republic Trooper."
Head on over to the "Star Wars: The Old Republic" website to check out concept art and clips showing off some of their arsenal.
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 11th, 2009
So why would you pick this class over the more popular Jedi or Bounty Hunter classes? According to the description of the class on the official website, "These advanced strike teams are comprised of only the most talented and disciplined soldiers — a new breed of elite Republic Troopers. These Troopers are the embodiment of the Republic military’s highest aspirations — the most advanced fighting force in the galaxy. They are equipped to face any foe in any environment, but it’s not their gear that makes them tough — it's their guts.The fate of the galaxy rests upon ordinary men becoming extraordinary heroes. This is the path of the Republic Trooper."
Head on over to the "Star Wars: The Old Republic" website to check out concept art and clips showing off some of their arsenal.
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 11th, 2009
Turkish 'Rappelz' launches
Gala Networks Europe, operator of the gPotato.eu game portal, announced the approaching launch of "Rappelz" in the Turkish language. The free-to-play MMORPG will be available to Turkish players with a community website, support team and over two and a half million players worldwide.
"Rappelz" is a dark and devastated fantasy world where you can choose to be one of three races. You must find and tame a powerful creature as a pet to use and lead in battle. This is not a cute kitties and butterflies kind of game. "Rappelz" is already live in a dozen territories and has become the first ever MMORPG to be entirely localized into Arabic by publisher GamePower7. French and German versions are available from the gPotato.eu game portal.
The Turkish version of "Rappelz" will be supported by a Turkish team from Gala Networks Europe, and will be fully translated in Turkish. The closed beta will start in the third week of May 2009 and will go on for a week. Once the closed beta ends, those who reached level 20 will be able to keep their name and creature to use for the open beta, beginning in June. Shortly after will be the official release and one step closer to global domination.
The new expansion, "Navis Lamia," will be in the Turkish version of "Rappelz" and feature new content for high level players. To pre-register for the closed beta, visit http://tr.rappelz.gpotato.eu/ad/.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 11th, 2009
"Rappelz" is a dark and devastated fantasy world where you can choose to be one of three races. You must find and tame a powerful creature as a pet to use and lead in battle. This is not a cute kitties and butterflies kind of game. "Rappelz" is already live in a dozen territories and has become the first ever MMORPG to be entirely localized into Arabic by publisher GamePower7. French and German versions are available from the gPotato.eu game portal.
The Turkish version of "Rappelz" will be supported by a Turkish team from Gala Networks Europe, and will be fully translated in Turkish. The closed beta will start in the third week of May 2009 and will go on for a week. Once the closed beta ends, those who reached level 20 will be able to keep their name and creature to use for the open beta, beginning in June. Shortly after will be the official release and one step closer to global domination.
The new expansion, "Navis Lamia," will be in the Turkish version of "Rappelz" and feature new content for high level players. To pre-register for the closed beta, visit http://tr.rappelz.gpotato.eu/ad/.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 11th, 2009
Zombie browser MMO open for business
After two years in development, Neil Yates, lead developer at Jagged Blade Games, said browser-based zombie MMO "Dead Frontier" is "ready to be enjoyed by a wider audience." Translation: the title is now available to play.
So what kind of game is it? The official announcement says, "'Dead Frontier' combines 3rd person survival horror action with more traditional role-playing elements..." Not exactly the most descriptive sentence, but considering you can load the game in as much time as it takes to read this sentence, I can deal with it.
Considering this game just came out, we don't have a review up yet, but hold your horses. We'll write one soon enough. In the meantime, feel free to write your own in the comments section below this post.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 11th, 2009
So what kind of game is it? The official announcement says, "'Dead Frontier' combines 3rd person survival horror action with more traditional role-playing elements..." Not exactly the most descriptive sentence, but considering you can load the game in as much time as it takes to read this sentence, I can deal with it.
Considering this game just came out, we don't have a review up yet, but hold your horses. We'll write one soon enough. In the meantime, feel free to write your own in the comments section below this post.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 11th, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
'Huxley: The Dystopia' closed beta sign-ups
A long time ago, there was a game that caught the eyes of many FPS and MMO aficionados, that game was called "Huxley." It was one of the new breed of games about to hit the massively multiplayer online world -- a hybrid first person shooter and sci-fi MMO, built on Unreal Engine 3. Even though at first look it might cater more to the FPS than the MMO genre, there are definite pieces that make this game worthy of an MMO classification. The game was announced over a year ago, and since then it left the MMO sphere completely -- until now.
A few weeks ago, Webzen, the creators of Huxley, launched a teaser site with a countdown. The teaser site changed recently, and with it was added video footage, forums, screenshots, character descriptions and backstory info. What I would like to mention is that "Huxley: The Dystopia" is currently taking closed beta sign-ups during the period of May 6 - May 20, and the first round of closed beta testing will last from June 3 - June 14. If you are interested in checking this MMOFPS out, head on over to the beta registration page located here. If you are lucky enough to be picked, happy fragging to you!
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 8th, 2009
A few weeks ago, Webzen, the creators of Huxley, launched a teaser site with a countdown. The teaser site changed recently, and with it was added video footage, forums, screenshots, character descriptions and backstory info. What I would like to mention is that "Huxley: The Dystopia" is currently taking closed beta sign-ups during the period of May 6 - May 20, and the first round of closed beta testing will last from June 3 - June 14. If you are interested in checking this MMOFPS out, head on over to the beta registration page located here. If you are lucky enough to be picked, happy fragging to you!
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 8th, 2009
'MapleStory' celebrates 4 years, gives you cake
The popular 2D MMO "MapleStory" is turning four years old this week, and one way Nexon is promoting its birthday is by releasing some figures that show how popular "MapleStory" has become.
With over 92 million users around the world and six million of them being in North America, it is clear that there is a massive fan base with a mad love for this game. Of course, it easier to pull in the numbers when your game is free-to-play, but there must be something about "MapleStory" that makes it stand out over all of the other free MMORPGs out there.
As part of the celebration, Nexon is planning events for its players such as: Fourth anniversary Maple weapons, item upgrades, monster transformations, in-game items, real-life prizes and the Maple Quiz. What about cake? You can receive up to four pieces of cake for each successive 40 minutes of gameplay, and you receive a cake as a reward for the Maple Quiz.
I see what's going on here. They entice you with cake! Brilliant... Very brilliant. But is the cake a lie? I might just join to find out.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 8th, 2009
With over 92 million users around the world and six million of them being in North America, it is clear that there is a massive fan base with a mad love for this game. Of course, it easier to pull in the numbers when your game is free-to-play, but there must be something about "MapleStory" that makes it stand out over all of the other free MMORPGs out there.
As part of the celebration, Nexon is planning events for its players such as: Fourth anniversary Maple weapons, item upgrades, monster transformations, in-game items, real-life prizes and the Maple Quiz. What about cake? You can receive up to four pieces of cake for each successive 40 minutes of gameplay, and you receive a cake as a reward for the Maple Quiz.
I see what's going on here. They entice you with cake! Brilliant... Very brilliant. But is the cake a lie? I might just join to find out.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 8th, 2009
Get in 'Neo Steam' beta via golden ticket
Between now and May 12th, Atlus will be tossing "enchanting" golden tickets to 2,000 lucky forum members of the official Atuls Online message board. These just aren't pretty little pieces of text and graphic design. No sir. They're beta invites for the upcoming steampunk MMORPG, "Neo Steam." If you're like me, this was your train of thought: "steampunk, golden ticket, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, want now."
If you don't get a golden ticket, and claimed top prize in one of the company's past contests, the official announcement says "rest assured you are also in Golden Ticket Beta!"
As of writing, I have not received my own golden ticket for the steampunk MMORPG. With each passing day my dreams of playing one of the ill-fated teenagers from Roald Dahl's story inside of a steampunk universe significantly deteriorate. Of course, that could change if a reader or even Atlus wants to slip a golden piece of virtual paper into my virtual inbox.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 8th, 2009
If you don't get a golden ticket, and claimed top prize in one of the company's past contests, the official announcement says "rest assured you are also in Golden Ticket Beta!"
As of writing, I have not received my own golden ticket for the steampunk MMORPG. With each passing day my dreams of playing one of the ill-fated teenagers from Roald Dahl's story inside of a steampunk universe significantly deteriorate. Of course, that could change if a reader or even Atlus wants to slip a golden piece of virtual paper into my virtual inbox.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 8th, 2009
Illegal 'Tantra' servers shut down
Late last November, international game publisher HanbitSoft learned of servers illegally running the MMO, "Tantra." After five months of research, the company compiled their information and presented it to the North American Internet Data Center. The result? The servers have all been shut down.
Ki Young Kim, HabitSoft's CEO, said "HanbitSoft will take strict action towards those running illegal servers overseas," adding "this is inevitable to eliminate the damages of HanbitSoft and our partners, and most importantly, innocent gamers abroad."
The funniest part about the whole deal -- well to me at least -- is that "Tantra" has been a free-to-play MMO since November 22, 2006. Maybe the pirates didn't get the memo, or maybe they just wanted free access to all the goods in the item mall. Either way they were busted. Will others like them continue similar actions, even after this news? Probably.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 8th, 2009
Ki Young Kim, HabitSoft's CEO, said "HanbitSoft will take strict action towards those running illegal servers overseas," adding "this is inevitable to eliminate the damages of HanbitSoft and our partners, and most importantly, innocent gamers abroad."
The funniest part about the whole deal -- well to me at least -- is that "Tantra" has been a free-to-play MMO since November 22, 2006. Maybe the pirates didn't get the memo, or maybe they just wanted free access to all the goods in the item mall. Either way they were busted. Will others like them continue similar actions, even after this news? Probably.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 8th, 2009
Perfect World announces new MMO 'Jade Dynasty'
Perfect World Entertainment Inc. announced that they will release a new free MMORPG named "Jade Dynasty" some time early this summer. "Zhu Xian," the popular Internet novel and one of China's most popular free-to-play games, is the inspiration for English-based version "Jade Dynasty."
According to the provided description, "'Jade Dynasty' features a unique martial arts style game play wrapped in a huge, evolving game world." Really? What a predictable and generic description of the game. When will a press release not say that a game is unique, huge or evolving?
"Players delve into a system where choices between good and evil begin to shape their game play experience as they obtain different skills, items and ultimately, a story that is unique to every player," says the press release. Sounds a bit like "Fable" and the upcoming "Star Wars: The Old Republic."
Here is some more fluffy promotion for you:
"As more players look to Free-To-Play games for innovative new gaming experiences, we are excited to introduce 'Jade Dynasty' as we feel its depth of play and extensive feature set will resonate particularly well with both free-to-play gamers and more hardcore fans of the MMO genre," said Dr. Alan Chen, CEO of Perfect World Entertainment Inc. "'Jade Dynasty' exemplifies the exceptional level of quality that gamers have come to expect from Perfect World Entertainment and as a result we expect it will be one of our most successful releases to date."
"Jade Dynasty" could actually be a decent game once it's released, and may surprise us all; but everything that's been written to promote "Jade Dynasty" seems to indicate that it'll be nothing all that special or interesting, and just another of the many similarly themed free-to-play MMORPGs.
If you want to find out yourself, there will be a closed beta on May 26th. Register at the official site to get in.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 8th, 2009
According to the provided description, "'Jade Dynasty' features a unique martial arts style game play wrapped in a huge, evolving game world." Really? What a predictable and generic description of the game. When will a press release not say that a game is unique, huge or evolving?
"Players delve into a system where choices between good and evil begin to shape their game play experience as they obtain different skills, items and ultimately, a story that is unique to every player," says the press release. Sounds a bit like "Fable" and the upcoming "Star Wars: The Old Republic."
Here is some more fluffy promotion for you:
"As more players look to Free-To-Play games for innovative new gaming experiences, we are excited to introduce 'Jade Dynasty' as we feel its depth of play and extensive feature set will resonate particularly well with both free-to-play gamers and more hardcore fans of the MMO genre," said Dr. Alan Chen, CEO of Perfect World Entertainment Inc. "'Jade Dynasty' exemplifies the exceptional level of quality that gamers have come to expect from Perfect World Entertainment and as a result we expect it will be one of our most successful releases to date."
"Jade Dynasty" could actually be a decent game once it's released, and may surprise us all; but everything that's been written to promote "Jade Dynasty" seems to indicate that it'll be nothing all that special or interesting, and just another of the many similarly themed free-to-play MMORPGs.
If you want to find out yourself, there will be a closed beta on May 26th. Register at the official site to get in.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 8th, 2009
Taser drops suit against Second Life devs
As of a few days ago, Taser, a company (perhaps THE company) that makes real-life ... uh ... tasers ... was suing Linden Lab, the company behind the flying penis-infested virtual world "Second Life." According to a report from Massively, that's no longer the case (pun definitely not intended).
Not familiar with the details? Let me enlighten you. Taser claimed, among many things, that their brand was negatively associated with many of the "Adult" ongoings of the userbase, because those particular people also created items similar in appearance to Taser products.
The case was silly and smelled of financial desperation, and I'm happy the company decided to drop it. Had they won a precedent would've been set, heavily limiting creativity in virtual worlds.
But alas, Tateru Nino at Massively makes a good point. Since Linden Lab didn't file a response to the complaint, Taser can file it again.
Brace yourself, people, I have a feeling Taser's using this time to build on their case, and possibly gain the support of other interested companies. Linden Labs may not be out of the crosshairs just yet.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 8th, 2009
Not familiar with the details? Let me enlighten you. Taser claimed, among many things, that their brand was negatively associated with many of the "Adult" ongoings of the userbase, because those particular people also created items similar in appearance to Taser products.
The case was silly and smelled of financial desperation, and I'm happy the company decided to drop it. Had they won a precedent would've been set, heavily limiting creativity in virtual worlds.
But alas, Tateru Nino at Massively makes a good point. Since Linden Lab didn't file a response to the complaint, Taser can file it again.
Brace yourself, people, I have a feeling Taser's using this time to build on their case, and possibly gain the support of other interested companies. Linden Labs may not be out of the crosshairs just yet.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 8th, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Trion announces New MMO 'Heroes of Telera'
There are many new faces entering the MMO market these days, and Trion World Network is one of those new players. We first learned about Trion nearly a year ago when they said they were slated to make an MMO in conjunction with the Sci-Fi channel. Since then we haven’t heard much from them until today, where we learn that there are in fact multple titles and publishing deals in the works at Trion.
Trion has now announced that the first title they’ll unveil is “Heroes of Telara,” which they’ll be showing off at this year’s E3 Expo in June. Details on the title are extremely scarce, but according to a recent release we are given the first game description the project previously codenamed “Channel 1” MMO:
”’Heroes of Telara’ is a fantasy Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) where everyday gamers are forged into legendary heroes. In ‘Heroes of Telara’ players are challenged to conquer the unknown in an epic, ever-changing world. ‘Heroes of Telara’ will feature an unprecedented level of rich and dynamic gameplay, driven by recurring events, unexpected challenges and limitless new content.”
Stay tuned for more information regarding “Heroes of Telara” and many more MMOs when the E3 Expo arrives during June 2-4.
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 7th, 2009
Trion has now announced that the first title they’ll unveil is “Heroes of Telara,” which they’ll be showing off at this year’s E3 Expo in June. Details on the title are extremely scarce, but according to a recent release we are given the first game description the project previously codenamed “Channel 1” MMO:
”’Heroes of Telara’ is a fantasy Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) where everyday gamers are forged into legendary heroes. In ‘Heroes of Telara’ players are challenged to conquer the unknown in an epic, ever-changing world. ‘Heroes of Telara’ will feature an unprecedented level of rich and dynamic gameplay, driven by recurring events, unexpected challenges and limitless new content.”
Stay tuned for more information regarding “Heroes of Telara” and many more MMOs when the E3 Expo arrives during June 2-4.
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 7th, 2009
Sex offenders in Texas to register game handles?
A bill has been proposed by Texas Legislators that would require registered sex offenders to disclose their online screen names.The bill, publicized by GamePolitics, doesn’t name video game communication services such as Xbox Live and PlayStation Home, but it does cover their services more extensively. Sex offenders would be required to disclose their “Internet communication identifier,” which could quite possibly mean their Gamertags and/or PlayStation Network usernames, as well as other online gaming monikers.
GamePolitics mentions that this bill could actually end up limiting sex offenders from using any “commercial social networking” site or service entirely.
I only see this as a good thing since it seems that registered sex offenders could have a field day with the Internet social media craze, and the MMOs and MMORPGs out there today. I hope every state eventually proposes and passes this same bill, and sooner rather than later. By no means will this eliminate sex offenders from being in our online games and networks, but it might make me feel just a little bit safer.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 7th, 2009
GamePolitics mentions that this bill could actually end up limiting sex offenders from using any “commercial social networking” site or service entirely.
I only see this as a good thing since it seems that registered sex offenders could have a field day with the Internet social media craze, and the MMOs and MMORPGs out there today. I hope every state eventually proposes and passes this same bill, and sooner rather than later. By no means will this eliminate sex offenders from being in our online games and networks, but it might make me feel just a little bit safer.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 7th, 2009
Seal Clubbers can now Club Seals in 'KOL'
You might think that a game thats been available for six years -- since February 2003 -- would have exhausted most content vectors and that they'd have to start really searching for things to add, progressively getting farther and farther out there. Well, you might be right, but for the browser MMORPG "Kingdom of Loathing" adding new content seems to be as simple as looking at the name of each class that's been around since the beginning of the game six years ago. Seal Clubbers, a Muscle class, have long been without seals to club. No longer! Now, Seal Clubbers can club seals. (Say that five times fast.)
The Guild store now has available, for the Muscle classes and only really beneficial to the Seal Clubber, certain trinkets that allow the summoning of Infernal Seals. One can only hope that they added some terrible puns mixing the animal with the object. Either way, this seems to be a trend with the Pastamancer recently receiving some love as well. So the question on everyones mind is this: When will Turtle Tamers be able to tame turtles?
Posted by James Bishop
May 7th, 2009
The Guild store now has available, for the Muscle classes and only really beneficial to the Seal Clubber, certain trinkets that allow the summoning of Infernal Seals. One can only hope that they added some terrible puns mixing the animal with the object. Either way, this seems to be a trend with the Pastamancer recently receiving some love as well. So the question on everyones mind is this: When will Turtle Tamers be able to tame turtles?
Posted by James Bishop
May 7th, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
European 'Dragonica' closed beta May 13-22
gPotato Europe announced that “Dragonica” will enter closed beta testing on May 13th through May 22nd. Users who have a beta-key or who are chosen by lottery from pre-registered players on the official website will be able to download and play the game from the gPotato game portal.
“Dragonica” is a new arcade-style 3D side-scrolling MMORPG that has features you can expect like gaining access to powerful weapons, training your character in “hilarious skills,” party support for up to four players, plus guilds, trading and quests.
When the servers open, the “Dragonica” team has a large schedule of events for the ten day closed beta. There are prizes for those who desire a unique item that will stand out in-game. There will also be a meet and greet for players to meet the team and receive help in getting started. Combo competitions, PvP tournaments, challenges to beat bosses, Pictionary and an exchange of appetizer recipes will also be a part of this house-warming party.
Whether or not you get into the closed beta, everybody with a free gPotato.eu account will be able to play “Dragonica” for free starting this June.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 7th, 2009
“Dragonica” is a new arcade-style 3D side-scrolling MMORPG that has features you can expect like gaining access to powerful weapons, training your character in “hilarious skills,” party support for up to four players, plus guilds, trading and quests.
When the servers open, the “Dragonica” team has a large schedule of events for the ten day closed beta. There are prizes for those who desire a unique item that will stand out in-game. There will also be a meet and greet for players to meet the team and receive help in getting started. Combo competitions, PvP tournaments, challenges to beat bosses, Pictionary and an exchange of appetizer recipes will also be a part of this house-warming party.
Whether or not you get into the closed beta, everybody with a free gPotato.eu account will be able to play “Dragonica” for free starting this June.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 7th, 2009
'Wizard101' introduces player housing
KingsIsle Entertainment's family-friendly MMORG "Wizard101" will soon be home to hundreds of new ... well, homes. In the May patch update, a new housing mechanic will be introduced called "Castles & Lands" in which all players will start out with a dorm room that they can immediately decorate. Upgraded housing will be purchased using in-game gold from vendors in each of the worlds. The only prerequisite is that players must be level 10 to purchase Castles & Lands.Not only can you upgrade your dinky dorm to a magnificent castle, but you can invite your friends in at any time too!
In addition, this patch brings even more voice-overs to characters in Marleybone, MooShu and Dragonspyre. A new Mark & Recall feature lets you easily teleport around any points in the game, when pinged with special marks that cost a small amount of mana. For all the info on the May patch notes, head on over to the "Wizard101" website. If you are interested in how some of the housing might look like, head over to the West Karana blog and check out all the neat new screenshots.
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 7th, 2009
In addition, this patch brings even more voice-overs to characters in Marleybone, MooShu and Dragonspyre. A new Mark & Recall feature lets you easily teleport around any points in the game, when pinged with special marks that cost a small amount of mana. For all the info on the May patch notes, head on over to the "Wizard101" website. If you are interested in how some of the housing might look like, head over to the West Karana blog and check out all the neat new screenshots.
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 7th, 2009
'Mythos' is Alive!
If you're like me, chances are the biggest blow to come with the Flagship Studios shake-up was the ending of "Mythos," an isometric online action RPG that was much, much more similar to "Diablo" than "Hellgate" could ever hope to be. I -- along with several of our writers -- played the beta extensively, and when it went offline for good, I think I cried a little.*
Well, it's been almost a year since "Mythos" went on a basically-permanent hiatus... but today, news has come of its revival thanks to Korean studio HanbitSoft. While no release date is given, what we do know is this: "Mythos" is alive and back in development, and there's also a US-based studio working with HanbitSoft on the title, meaning an eventual english release is once again a huge possibility.
Explosive usin' gnome, here I come!
For the full translated Developer's Note #001 from the new official Korean site, keep reading below.
Hello
I’m Alboos from development team of MYTHOS. It’s exciting to have finally met you.
From now on, I will be introducing you the most current status of MYTHOS’ development, and tell you the details how the MYTHOS world will turn out.
First, I would like to introduce myself briefly. I am Designer in MYTHOS develop team, and I will be ‘Sage’ in MYTHOS world. That’s why I named myself as Alboos for Developers Note.
I know that many gamers are waiting to play MYTHOS. The reason why we didn’t give out any news for such a long time is because we wanted to wait until we are able to open the most accurate information.
Right now, MYTHOS is in good condition where it’s being reconstructed to become more suitable as online game. We are trying to keep the strengths that the game used to have, and make them even stronger, while eliminating its weaknesses.
As many of you already know, MYTHOS has come from Diablo>We are trying to inherit those thing you enjoyed, and loved about Diablo, and put more contents for more exciting multi plays.
Our current developing plan is focused on how to make the game enjoyed by you and your friends, colleagues, and family.
Well, this is it for today. Today, I just wanted to let you know that MYTHOS is being developed in good condition.
In my next letter, I will give you brief explanations about world of MYTHOS.
Have a great day!
*(I may or may not have cried.)
Posted by Brendon Lindsey
May 7th, 2009
Well, it's been almost a year since "Mythos" went on a basically-permanent hiatus... but today, news has come of its revival thanks to Korean studio HanbitSoft. While no release date is given, what we do know is this: "Mythos" is alive and back in development, and there's also a US-based studio working with HanbitSoft on the title, meaning an eventual english release is once again a huge possibility.
Explosive usin' gnome, here I come!
For the full translated Developer's Note #001 from the new official Korean site, keep reading below.
Hello
I’m Alboos from development team of MYTHOS. It’s exciting to have finally met you.
From now on, I will be introducing you the most current status of MYTHOS’ development, and tell you the details how the MYTHOS world will turn out.
First, I would like to introduce myself briefly. I am Designer in MYTHOS develop team, and I will be ‘Sage’ in MYTHOS world. That’s why I named myself as Alboos for Developers Note.
I know that many gamers are waiting to play MYTHOS. The reason why we didn’t give out any news for such a long time is because we wanted to wait until we are able to open the most accurate information.
Right now, MYTHOS is in good condition where it’s being reconstructed to become more suitable as online game. We are trying to keep the strengths that the game used to have, and make them even stronger, while eliminating its weaknesses.
As many of you already know, MYTHOS has come from Diablo>We are trying to inherit those thing you enjoyed, and loved about Diablo, and put more contents for more exciting multi plays.
Our current developing plan is focused on how to make the game enjoyed by you and your friends, colleagues, and family.
Well, this is it for today. Today, I just wanted to let you know that MYTHOS is being developed in good condition.
In my next letter, I will give you brief explanations about world of MYTHOS.
Have a great day!
*(I may or may not have cried.)
Posted by Brendon Lindsey
May 7th, 2009
'Dungeon fighter online' classes revealed
If you have been craving to play that old style 2D side-scroller action/adventure game of the past, but have not been able to convince yourself to sit down and play all by your lonesome in the dark, then maybe Nexon’s upcoming MMO, “Dungeon Fighter Online,” is just the game for you. “DFO” is exactly that—a 2D side scrolling action game, but one that’s also an MMO! No more sitting alone in the dark. (Well, maybe, but this time there are actual people on the other end of the screen.)
The newest news on the upcoming action MMO is the revelation of the different classes that will be available to play. There are five, in total, classes to choose from: Slayer, Fighter, Priest, Gunner and Mage. Each class has their own list of skills and special abilities that can be combined in different ways. Beyond that, once they reach level 18, each class has the ability to specialize with one of four different sub-classes for each main class.
Be sure to stay tuned for more news on “Dungeon Fighter Online” as it becomes revealed.
Posted by James Bishop
May 7th, 2009
The newest news on the upcoming action MMO is the revelation of the different classes that will be available to play. There are five, in total, classes to choose from: Slayer, Fighter, Priest, Gunner and Mage. Each class has their own list of skills and special abilities that can be combined in different ways. Beyond that, once they reach level 18, each class has the ability to specialize with one of four different sub-classes for each main class.
Be sure to stay tuned for more news on “Dungeon Fighter Online” as it becomes revealed.
Posted by James Bishop
May 7th, 2009
'Atlantice Online' selected as official GNGWC 2009 GAMI
For the second year in a row, "Atlantica Online" has been selected as the official game of the Game&Game World Championship 2009. Considering that GNGWC has only been active for a grand total of four years, this is quite the honor. GNGWC is a competition meant to pit the best in the world against the best in the world but also to really promote the Korean online game market to a more international audience.
The reason "Atlantica Online" has been selected over the numerous other possibilities is fairly simple: the design of its PvP combat system. PvP is actually a turn-based tactical battle system that makes it unique to the genre, and allows more chess-inspired maneuvering and less massive amounts of clicking hoping that you started your spell before the opponent did. The new addition of 100vs100 tactical battles is also a huge plus. All said and done, "Atlantica Online" is a solid title for gaming competitions like the GNGWC, and if you haven't tried it yet now may be the time.
Posted by James Bishop
May 7th, 2009
The reason "Atlantica Online" has been selected over the numerous other possibilities is fairly simple: the design of its PvP combat system. PvP is actually a turn-based tactical battle system that makes it unique to the genre, and allows more chess-inspired maneuvering and less massive amounts of clicking hoping that you started your spell before the opponent did. The new addition of 100vs100 tactical battles is also a huge plus. All said and done, "Atlantica Online" is a solid title for gaming competitions like the GNGWC, and if you haven't tried it yet now may be the time.
Posted by James Bishop
May 7th, 2009
How to get fat loot and manipulate people
My biggest problem when I find a new MMO to play is my friends. After having played "World of Warcraft" together for so long, I am quite used to our constant chatter in our custom channel that we've kept alive for four years. When logging in to a brand new game I'm instantly reminded that I'm there on my own, without anyone to work with or explore with from the start.
I've met many nice guilds over the years, with a huge shout out to Whispers of Aria in "Ryzom" and the Star Fraction in "EVE Online." But nothing beats having your real-life friends around you while playing. Even though we're spread out across the game world, all pursuing different paths or play styles, I never feel alone when playing "World of Warcraft."
If having my friends around was so important to me, I guess I could have just stayed in Azeroth. But I'm not only addicted to the rush of finding a new game to explore, I'm also stubborn. Where I go, I want them to follow -- even though I've probably driven them crazy many times over, always propagating for a new MMO I think they should try.
There is a trick to it, though. It's all about finding their respective weaknesses and exploiting that to the max. Perhaps my examples will aid you the day you decide to move to a new MMO and want your guild or friends to follow you.
First one out is the couple. Couples that play MMOs together can be a curse and a blessing, depending on how easy one of them is to manipulate. In my case, it's one of my closest friends' fiancée that is the weak chain in their relationship. Bring her some screens, talk a bit about cool features that "World of Warcraft" lacks and examples on how awesome the game would be to play together ... and she just might take the bait.
This is great, because if she tries it out, there's a great chance that her husband-to-be will come along for the ride. Without her, there's no way I'd see him online in many games except for "World of Warcraft." Sad, but true. So if I get her to play, I usually get two for the price of one.
Now, that can also backfire. A while ago I got them both to play "Runes of Magic" with me. Promises of our future guild castle was enough to make her interested. Then suddenly they were both gone, as they had decided to re-subscribe to "Warhammer Online" together. Better luck next time, I suppose.
The second example is the crafter. He loves to craft and since the crafting in "World of Warcraft" is incredibly shallow, and all he gets for your troubles is the "made by X"-tag on the stuff he makes, he's quite easy to get going. His eyes nearly glanced over when I showed him how crafting worked in "Ryzom," and he wasted away hours in "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" in front of a work station, putting together chairs and tables. He didn't gain one adventuring level during the weeks he spent in that game, until he finally burnt out ... and went back to "World of Warcraft."
Then there is the immersionist. He wants to immerse himself completely in the gaming world, jumping between roleplaying guilds while the rest of us go raiding. Show him a world where he can lose himself, preferably one he has some form of relationship with (last I heard he was trying out "Star Wars Galaxies"), and he's there to at least give it a try. In the end, he usually does end up going back to "World of Warcraft" as well, which he plays intensely before burning out and deciding that walking barefoot through the forest is more valuable than MMORPGs. We let him do that for a few weeks, then he usually comes crawling back.
The last person I've had to deal with is a lost cause. He won't leave "World of Warcraft" for anything else; it's either that game or nothing. It doesn't stop him from wishing that "World of Warcraft" had more features for guilds, like housing or guild halls, but he'd rather wait for Blizzard to implement those things in his game of choice than looking for them elsewhere. And he'd much rather give up on MMORPGs and go back to playing first person shooters than trying out another MMORPG. He's just that cold.
There you have it, four different types of gamers that I find within my close circle of MMORPG-interested friends. I love them all to bits, but since I know them well enough I know which buttons to press for them to open their eyes for a new game (except the last type, of course). The fact that they all have a tendency to go back to "World of Warcraft" sooner or later does not deter me at all.
In fact, it just makes me even more stubborn...
Posted by Petter Martensson
May 7th, 2009
I've met many nice guilds over the years, with a huge shout out to Whispers of Aria in "Ryzom" and the Star Fraction in "EVE Online." But nothing beats having your real-life friends around you while playing. Even though we're spread out across the game world, all pursuing different paths or play styles, I never feel alone when playing "World of Warcraft."
If having my friends around was so important to me, I guess I could have just stayed in Azeroth. But I'm not only addicted to the rush of finding a new game to explore, I'm also stubborn. Where I go, I want them to follow -- even though I've probably driven them crazy many times over, always propagating for a new MMO I think they should try.
There is a trick to it, though. It's all about finding their respective weaknesses and exploiting that to the max. Perhaps my examples will aid you the day you decide to move to a new MMO and want your guild or friends to follow you.
First one out is the couple. Couples that play MMOs together can be a curse and a blessing, depending on how easy one of them is to manipulate. In my case, it's one of my closest friends' fiancée that is the weak chain in their relationship. Bring her some screens, talk a bit about cool features that "World of Warcraft" lacks and examples on how awesome the game would be to play together ... and she just might take the bait.
This is great, because if she tries it out, there's a great chance that her husband-to-be will come along for the ride. Without her, there's no way I'd see him online in many games except for "World of Warcraft." Sad, but true. So if I get her to play, I usually get two for the price of one.
Now, that can also backfire. A while ago I got them both to play "Runes of Magic" with me. Promises of our future guild castle was enough to make her interested. Then suddenly they were both gone, as they had decided to re-subscribe to "Warhammer Online" together. Better luck next time, I suppose.
The second example is the crafter. He loves to craft and since the crafting in "World of Warcraft" is incredibly shallow, and all he gets for your troubles is the "made by X"-tag on the stuff he makes, he's quite easy to get going. His eyes nearly glanced over when I showed him how crafting worked in "Ryzom," and he wasted away hours in "Vanguard: Saga of Heroes" in front of a work station, putting together chairs and tables. He didn't gain one adventuring level during the weeks he spent in that game, until he finally burnt out ... and went back to "World of Warcraft."
Then there is the immersionist. He wants to immerse himself completely in the gaming world, jumping between roleplaying guilds while the rest of us go raiding. Show him a world where he can lose himself, preferably one he has some form of relationship with (last I heard he was trying out "Star Wars Galaxies"), and he's there to at least give it a try. In the end, he usually does end up going back to "World of Warcraft" as well, which he plays intensely before burning out and deciding that walking barefoot through the forest is more valuable than MMORPGs. We let him do that for a few weeks, then he usually comes crawling back.
The last person I've had to deal with is a lost cause. He won't leave "World of Warcraft" for anything else; it's either that game or nothing. It doesn't stop him from wishing that "World of Warcraft" had more features for guilds, like housing or guild halls, but he'd rather wait for Blizzard to implement those things in his game of choice than looking for them elsewhere. And he'd much rather give up on MMORPGs and go back to playing first person shooters than trying out another MMORPG. He's just that cold.
There you have it, four different types of gamers that I find within my close circle of MMORPG-interested friends. I love them all to bits, but since I know them well enough I know which buttons to press for them to open their eyes for a new game (except the last type, of course). The fact that they all have a tendency to go back to "World of Warcraft" sooner or later does not deter me at all.
In fact, it just makes me even more stubborn...
Posted by Petter Martensson
May 7th, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
MMORPG 'Shadowbane' not quite dead
"Shadowbane" was scheduled to go the way of the dodo and "Tabula Rasa" on May 1st, but they've been placed on extended life support by an overwhelming response from the current playerbase, according to a report from Massively.
As the title's developer Xanther writes, this extension isn't permanent, and on July 1 the servers will shut down permanently ... that is unless something else changes the developers minds. Like money, for example. I bet that would do it really quick.
Massively adds that the official Twitter account of Aeria Games mentioned that the company is interested in picking up the title from Ubisoft, but would like a bit of input from the players to determine how viable of a venture that would be.
Hang on, my bad idea alert just went off. Let's see here ... is Aeria Games really asking a very passionate group of gamers who have been playing the same title for up to six years whether or not their preferred MMO is "viable?" I don't know about you, but I'd hate to read every pleading response containing little to no financial perspective (the most important part). Although, doing so would probably provide hours of finger-pointin' entertainment. Hmmmm, Aeria Games, you know where to find me should you need a hand.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
As the title's developer Xanther writes, this extension isn't permanent, and on July 1 the servers will shut down permanently ... that is unless something else changes the developers minds. Like money, for example. I bet that would do it really quick.
Massively adds that the official Twitter account of Aeria Games mentioned that the company is interested in picking up the title from Ubisoft, but would like a bit of input from the players to determine how viable of a venture that would be.
Hang on, my bad idea alert just went off. Let's see here ... is Aeria Games really asking a very passionate group of gamers who have been playing the same title for up to six years whether or not their preferred MMO is "viable?" I don't know about you, but I'd hate to read every pleading response containing little to no financial perspective (the most important part). Although, doing so would probably provide hours of finger-pointin' entertainment. Hmmmm, Aeria Games, you know where to find me should you need a hand.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
Linden Labs addresses adult content concern
Popular virtual world “Second Life” is well known for its unending adult-oriented content, but now that the service is growing Linden Labs is addressing some concerns individuals may have regarding filters and keeping the kids “safe.”
“Second Life’s” updated search tools aren’t working completely as intended right now. As Massively points out, “A PG search result can’t be returned if you’ve got Mature selected, nor can a Mature search result be returned for PG. And you can’t get either, if you’ve got Adult checked.” At its worse, this is annoying.
A little more cause for concern are words with dual meanings that can link the kiddies to some naughty…whatever. Linden Labs admits filtering is never 100% clean, but they’re doing their very best. Admirable, but this looks like a chink in their armor that some conservative group could potentially attack. In the words of Yoda, “Do or do not. There is no try.”
The company adds, “We expect to get a number of Abuse Reports, and we’ll talk to people, we’ll be inworld, we’ll be looking and listening, and there will be incentives for people to follow the rules, which we think people will do,” meaning they will do what they can but you’re help is needed.
I could end this making some snide joke about “Second Life” and virtual dangly parts, but I’ll take a break for now. Tune in next time.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
“Second Life’s” updated search tools aren’t working completely as intended right now. As Massively points out, “A PG search result can’t be returned if you’ve got Mature selected, nor can a Mature search result be returned for PG. And you can’t get either, if you’ve got Adult checked.” At its worse, this is annoying.
A little more cause for concern are words with dual meanings that can link the kiddies to some naughty…whatever. Linden Labs admits filtering is never 100% clean, but they’re doing their very best. Admirable, but this looks like a chink in their armor that some conservative group could potentially attack. In the words of Yoda, “Do or do not. There is no try.”
The company adds, “We expect to get a number of Abuse Reports, and we’ll talk to people, we’ll be inworld, we’ll be looking and listening, and there will be incentives for people to follow the rules, which we think people will do,” meaning they will do what they can but you’re help is needed.
I could end this making some snide joke about “Second Life” and virtual dangly parts, but I’ll take a break for now. Tune in next time.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
Gala-Net bringing 'Aika' to North America
Free-to-play online game publisher, Gala-Net, has created a partnership with HanbitSoft to publish the MMORPG “Aika” for the North American market.
Besides having typical MMO features such as quests, skills and crafting, “Aika” provides a huge PvP system that ranges from small dungeon groups of six up to massive wars of 1,000 vs, 1,000. This makes Wintergrasp and other battlefields in “World of Warcraft” look limited. “Aika” also provides “dramatically stunning graphics,” something that every game thinks it has.
The story takes place on the continent Alkan, where a devil named Zelka causes strife for the humans. Your character starts as a child and grows, learning abilities and characteristics until becoming an adult. There are also sprites (pets) that have their own personalities and can aid your character and other players during quests.
“We are delighted to work with an experienced publisher like Gala-Net, Inc.,” said Hanbitsoft CEO Kee Young Kim, in a statement.”Gala-Net, Inc. has a proven track-record of successfully marketing MMORPGs in North America and we are confident that together we will make a lot of players excited about ‘Aika.’”
Gala-Net has yet to announce a launch date for the North American version of “Aika,” but stay tuned for updates.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 5th, 2009
Besides having typical MMO features such as quests, skills and crafting, “Aika” provides a huge PvP system that ranges from small dungeon groups of six up to massive wars of 1,000 vs, 1,000. This makes Wintergrasp and other battlefields in “World of Warcraft” look limited. “Aika” also provides “dramatically stunning graphics,” something that every game thinks it has.
The story takes place on the continent Alkan, where a devil named Zelka causes strife for the humans. Your character starts as a child and grows, learning abilities and characteristics until becoming an adult. There are also sprites (pets) that have their own personalities and can aid your character and other players during quests.
“We are delighted to work with an experienced publisher like Gala-Net, Inc.,” said Hanbitsoft CEO Kee Young Kim, in a statement.”Gala-Net, Inc. has a proven track-record of successfully marketing MMORPGs in North America and we are confident that together we will make a lot of players excited about ‘Aika.’”
Gala-Net has yet to announce a launch date for the North American version of “Aika,” but stay tuned for updates.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 5th, 2009
Developers realize web-based gaming's 'fantastic future'
"...the future of games is the browser," claims David Lau-Kee of Unity, a company behind the browser-based plugin of the same name, in a recent article at gamesindustry.biz. "I think that the value that the format holder is a platform-based service, it's as simple as that. Be it a walled garden or the servers on which these things are running, the hardware itself is largely irrelevant..." he explains.
Such positive words are expected from someone with a vested interest in the future of web-based gaming. Giving his words some much-needed credibility, a few developers and publishers said basically the same thing.
Frederick Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, a publisher and developer of various titles including "Europa Universalis," said "Web-based content and web-based gaming has a fantastic future," and noted his own company is "looking at several different projects in the global web-based games market."
James Brooksby of Doublesix also threw in his two cents. "...it's very impressive what's going on out there," he said. Afterwards he noted that the growing number of PCs and laptops, the ever-increasing time consumers are willing to dedicate towards playing "browser games and downloading things," and their willingness to spend bits of money on various content "here and there," as contributing factors. It's also worth mentioning it that he prefaced his statements with a safety net. "It's not particularly my field." I agree with you, Mr. Brooksby, on your observations, but I also commend you on your PR awareness.
Does anyone else think this is all a little obvious? Yes, the sun will shine tomorrow. No, pointing it out doesn't make you look like a crystal ball-peering fortune teller.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
Such positive words are expected from someone with a vested interest in the future of web-based gaming. Giving his words some much-needed credibility, a few developers and publishers said basically the same thing.
Frederick Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, a publisher and developer of various titles including "Europa Universalis," said "Web-based content and web-based gaming has a fantastic future," and noted his own company is "looking at several different projects in the global web-based games market."
James Brooksby of Doublesix also threw in his two cents. "...it's very impressive what's going on out there," he said. Afterwards he noted that the growing number of PCs and laptops, the ever-increasing time consumers are willing to dedicate towards playing "browser games and downloading things," and their willingness to spend bits of money on various content "here and there," as contributing factors. It's also worth mentioning it that he prefaced his statements with a safety net. "It's not particularly my field." I agree with you, Mr. Brooksby, on your observations, but I also commend you on your PR awareness.
Does anyone else think this is all a little obvious? Yes, the sun will shine tomorrow. No, pointing it out doesn't make you look like a crystal ball-peering fortune teller.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
'Shot Online' helping find Lou Gehrig's Disease cure
I think there's new info revealed almost every day regarding MMOs and how much money the genre is making and how much higher that number will be in the coming years. I like seeing the video game industry bring in the big numbers, but I'm a little saddened, and concerned, by how little money charities are receiving from these companies.
Oh, hey, look! GamesCampus is holding a charity event in their golfing MMO "Shot Online!" My faith in publishers has been somewhat renewed.
I'm a little confused as to how this works, but according to the site GamesCampus is donating $1000 to Driving 4 Life who is teamed up with ALS TDI, a non-profit biotech, and by joining the free course named "Sasori" players are helping to raise money. Does that mean the company will donate more than $1000? I have no idea, the wording here's a little messed up...
Nevertheless! The cause is good, and, even if it's only $1000, every dollar adds up. Now, is any publisher and/or developer willing to match that donation? I'm waiting for your response.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
Oh, hey, look! GamesCampus is holding a charity event in their golfing MMO "Shot Online!" My faith in publishers has been somewhat renewed.
I'm a little confused as to how this works, but according to the site GamesCampus is donating $1000 to Driving 4 Life who is teamed up with ALS TDI, a non-profit biotech, and by joining the free course named "Sasori" players are helping to raise money. Does that mean the company will donate more than $1000? I have no idea, the wording here's a little messed up...
Nevertheless! The cause is good, and, even if it's only $1000, every dollar adds up. Now, is any publisher and/or developer willing to match that donation? I'm waiting for your response.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
'Florensia' gets new trade system
Publisher Burda:ic announced the launch of the Trade System for “Florensia,” a free-to-play maritime MMORPG. Trading Posts have been added to every major island in the game, so players who want to make some dough can visit one of these posts. Eight new islands have also been added along the trade routes: Aria, Celestyn, Clouds, Ease, Eva, Gem, Misty and Selina. Apparently, all of the islands are female.
Each Trading Post has an owner that carries items like olive oil, spice and rum. Sounds like some goods worth fighting for. There is a limit of three goods that can be carried at a time (like airport security and their liquids in a bottle limitations). This makes sense to me rather than having a 20-slot bag that carries goods, weapons, food and etc. like many MMORPGs. Prices of goods may vary as the supply and demand increases or decreases across the market. Hopefully the in-game economy is better than ours at the moment.
If you are cheap, you take a risk transporting your wares, but if you are money-smart, you can pay a small fee to get insider info to help ensure a safe transport. You can even encounter pirates on your trade routes and since players can no longer respawn out at sea, you better make sure you know what you’re doing.
This is just the first stage of the Trade System. Many updates are said to be coming, so check out “Florensia’s” website for more information.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 5th, 2009
Each Trading Post has an owner that carries items like olive oil, spice and rum. Sounds like some goods worth fighting for. There is a limit of three goods that can be carried at a time (like airport security and their liquids in a bottle limitations). This makes sense to me rather than having a 20-slot bag that carries goods, weapons, food and etc. like many MMORPGs. Prices of goods may vary as the supply and demand increases or decreases across the market. Hopefully the in-game economy is better than ours at the moment.
If you are cheap, you take a risk transporting your wares, but if you are money-smart, you can pay a small fee to get insider info to help ensure a safe transport. You can even encounter pirates on your trade routes and since players can no longer respawn out at sea, you better make sure you know what you’re doing.
This is just the first stage of the Trade System. Many updates are said to be coming, so check out “Florensia’s” website for more information.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 5th, 2009
Outspark offering $15,000 in prizes
Free-to-play MMO publisher Outspark is running a new promotion, and their motto is basically "Spend a little bit of money, possibly get a little somethin' in return."
According to a post on Outspark's site, the company behind games such as "Fiesta," "Secret of the Solstice," and "Project Powder" is offering two tiers of prizes for anyone willing to plunk down some greenbacks on "SparkCash," the company's unique form of currency. $25 gets you an automatic entry for one of 250 'Ultimate Gamer Packs' which is comprised of in-game items from the title of your choice. But for $50, you get entered into the big mamma jamma prize worth $15,000. It includes the following:
* Toshiba 46" REGZA XV645 LCD Screen 1080p 120 Hz TV
* Samsung HT-BD1250 Blu-ray Home Theater System
* 1 Year Netflix Subscription
Interested? Head on over to their official site between now and May 17th to enter.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
According to a post on Outspark's site, the company behind games such as "Fiesta," "Secret of the Solstice," and "Project Powder" is offering two tiers of prizes for anyone willing to plunk down some greenbacks on "SparkCash," the company's unique form of currency. $25 gets you an automatic entry for one of 250 'Ultimate Gamer Packs' which is comprised of in-game items from the title of your choice. But for $50, you get entered into the big mamma jamma prize worth $15,000. It includes the following:
* Toshiba 46" REGZA XV645 LCD Screen 1080p 120 Hz TV
* Samsung HT-BD1250 Blu-ray Home Theater System
* 1 Year Netflix Subscription
Interested? Head on over to their official site between now and May 17th to enter.
Posted by Kyle Stallock
May 5th, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
'WOW' will cause more free-to-play MMO'S
"World of Warcraft," the game that we all play or love to hate, has dominated the massively multiplayer gaming space since its launch over five years ago. With its active player community of over eleven million people, it can affect the overall industry with its expansion packs and updates. These come in spurts with at least one major retail release, which tops the PC sales charts, once a year. To compete with this juggernaut, companies are coming up with more creative ways to grow their own community for their own games. The most popular tactic that developers are using is the free to play business model. This model has become the hottest way of building new MMOs because of the super popular (and lasting) appeal of "World of Warcraft."
That's not to say releasing free MMOs is a big gamble. The free-to-play model has seen a great amount of success in markets other than the United States. For example, Japan, China and Korea are the new hot beds for these MMOs because there are a greater number of people and even more developers concentrating on the MMO space. These hubs of MMO games have also turned to the free-to-play model because players are less apt to pay for a game before trying it, and the simple nature of them. That price barrier to entry can be eliminated in the free-to play-model, and if the player likes the game, they can purchase the "premium" content. Along with the premium content, developers can make money through other means which could include micro-transactions. Due to "WoW's" immense popularity and recognition, many players are hesitant to put money down on a non-"WoW" MMORPG, so these free-to-play games with optional paid content are enticing, as players can experience them, compared them to "WoW," and then decide if they want to drop any money.
Where does the MMO space go from here? I am not sure. I hope we see even more experimentation with business models. One of these examples would definitely be the highly anticipated free to play FPS/MMO "Battlefield Heroes" from EA and DICE. They can't charge for weapons, so they are only charging for apparel that makes your character unique (micro-transactions). Is this the answer? Charging for purely optional content that doesn't even help you in the game? I don't think so, but what I can say is that the traditional fifteen dollar a month pricing strategy is being destroyed by the popularity of "World of Warcaft."
What options are there other than micro-transactions? I believe that the newest way to help decrease the operating costs in the MMO space is in-game advertising.
I am not oblivious to the inappropriate nature of ads in some MMOs, but for games like "Anarchy Online" and other futuristic games, these ads could add to the immersion. Many companies have invested in this new source of revenue (Sony Online Entertainment, ID Software and others) because it can bring further life to growing games or help a dying game survive a new "World of Warcraft" expansion. According to MarketingVOX, in-game ads will bring almost a billion dollars to the gaming industry by 2011. Almost a billion dollars is a lot of money for these small games, but a small amount compared to the revenue generated by "World of Warcraft." Like I said before, some games should not have in-game ads, but it won't stop developers and publishers from putting them in their games somehow.
As "World of Warcraft" continues to grow, developers besides Blizzard Entertainment are going to experiment in strange and surprising ways (to them) to obtain new revenue streams. Free-to-play is the standard for those games trying to jockey for the over saturated MMO market for now, but will it stay that way in the coming years? Will the next generation of consoles try to steal away the PC MMO players? All of these answers will come soon, but no one truly knows what they will be until they arrive; we can only predict. I for one hope that we can download games that are 100% free-to-play and are supported by in-game advertising, because both sides win. This scenario is way too Utopian, but one can hope that it will become the standard for at least a few titles over the course of the next five years.
Posted by Geoff Hathaway
May 1st, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
'Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu' closed beta live
The closed beta for Aeria Games’s MMORPG “Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu” is now live. Instead of having the typical elements of MMORPGs like character races, classes, PvP, quests and etc., “Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu” provides more of a real-life feel. This MMORPG is more about your character’s people skills and likability in an in-game economy. (This might be a tough one for gamers with social disorders.)
There are skills that you can specialize in, helping you with your power and influence on a town’s economy. Possessing a craft such as cooking and medicine are encouraged to help meet the needs of various towns you may visit.
If you would like to climb the political ladder, you could work towards gaining power and possibly achieve the position of “GoonZu,” the leader of the Luminary world. The responsibilities of the “GoonZu” include setting taxes, electing officials, creating laws and making sure that the Luminary world is running smoothly. The only way you can be elected as “GoonZu” is by your peers, so you can’t rise to power by being evil..unless you threaten your peers with blackmail, which is illegal and I strongly discourage.
“Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu” joins the ranks of other MMORPGs at Aeria Games such as “Last Chaos,” “Shaiya,” “Hello Kitty Online,” “Mirror Online” and “Shin Megami Tensei Imagine Online.”
Posted by Nikki Lee
April 30th, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
'Neosteam' announces open beta
One of Europe’s leading MMORPG publishers has announced that the beta test for steampunk MMORPG “NeoSteam” is now open to everyone. Players who were lucky enough to try the closed beta were blown away, but now anyone can join in and discover a steampunk world with epic battles and mystical kingdoms.
“NeoSteam” puts you in an alternate reality where steam powers everything due to the lack of electricity. However, the supply of NeoSteam is limited, thus putting two powers in a terrible position. As you can imagine, this creates a great war over Rope Isle, the last source of NeoSteam.
Besides being in a world of steampunk, you also get to choose from seven different races, numerous character classes, explore with quests, ride around in NeoSteam-powered vehicles and engage in PvP and RvR battles.
Posted by Nikki Lee
April 30th, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
'Domo' adds bigbeam city
BigBeam City and the greater BigBeam region have appeared in “Dream of Mirror Online.” (Yes, it was missing one day and was there the next thanks to the magic of the developers.) This region and city have quests for characters at level 25, and all the way up to level 60. There are also some new items in the shop such as de-leveling items that can lower the level limit on your equipment.
Players in the Aeria Games’ American Version of “Dream of Mirror Online” will not see this new area yet since it has not yet been added to that release. However, European players with GameTribe do have access to BigBeam City and the BigGeam region. We do not know when Aeria Games will be adding the new content to their version, but I’m sure it’ll be announced when they do. In the meantime, it looks like North American “DoMO” players will juts have to shake their fists at their European counterparts.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 1st, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
'Runes of Magic' borrows pqs from 'war'
What better form of flattery is there than when one game borrows and modifies a working mechanic from a game and puts it into theirs? Popular free-to-play MMORPG "Runes of Magic," which already borrowed a lot of gameplay mechanics from other successful MMOs, is on its way to implementing the popular Public Quests mechanic found in "Warhammer Online."
Public Quests (of which there are tons in "Warhammer Online") allow players that are in a certain area of the map to partake in a quest that has multiple stages to it. Once the group of strangers completes the objectives of one stage, a harder next stage appears. After the completion of all the stages, participants have a chance to win specific loot. "Runes of Magic" is implementing something very similar to this mechanic. The particular piece of design has revealed itself as a new form of public quests called "public encounters."
The first encounter, which is called "Attack on Segarth Outpost," is a battle between the defenders of Segarth Outpost and the wolves of the surrounding forest. The setup for the encounter features 3 waves of wolf attackers that eventually concludes with the appearance of Axis, the wolf king. If players are successful in killing Axis, he leaves behind a treasure box filled with all sorts of rewards for players to collect. This is only the first of the public encounters, and Runewaker Entertainment's Tony Tang has hinted at more coming for their MMORPG in the future. So what are you waiting for? Start making a name for yourself as the slayer of the wolf king!
Posted by Demetri Kouvalis
May 1st, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
'Voyage Century's' commercial battles detailed
An overview of the upcoming Commercial Battles from the nautical MMORPG “Voyage Century” was recently posted by IGG. Here is the basic gist of it:
The government started regulating the import and export markets during the Ming Dynasty. Trade such as tea, silk, and goods in bulk had to get the go-ahead from the government before they could be shipped. Because of this, the five merchant alliances began creating the merchant line any way they could.
That is the back story, but really all you do is transport goods to an appointed person. After each journey, you get Merchant Alliance Contributions. You can also get merchant credits at your own port. The top five merchant alliances from each port are given win points. The points are added together from the top five merchant alliances to select the top five alliances of the merchant battles.
That’s basically it. At least you can intercept other players, but that seems to be the only level of excitement to this whole extra content.
To be honest, after reading the overview, the Commercial Battles seem to be rather boring. Maybe I’ll completely take that back once it is actually released and I get a chance to check it out, but we do not yet know when these battles will be added. If you’d like to check out the original overview, visit the IGG site here.
Posted by Nikki Lee
May 1st, 2009
If you are a game developer or publisher and would like us to write about, review and update your games, then contact our editors. Please email: press@mmolife.org. and send us your latest press releases, game updates, images and videos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
