All Posts by Stradden

Originally posted by Thor79

You know...it usually helps to post a link to said video. I'm getting nothing.

Try the link...

The folks from NCsoft have sent along this new video featuring the Midnight Squad, an NPC group of heroes that are featured heavily in CoH's Issue 12. Recently, we featured a developer journal on the same subject, and today we show you the team in action.

The folks at NCsoft have provided us with this new video featuring the Midnight Squad, a group that will make their appearance in Issue 12.

Check it out here.

The folks at Funcom have provided us with new screenshots from Age of Conan, the highly anticipated new MMO that will open its doors on May 20th.

Check out all six here.

MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh has been attending the ION conference in Seattle. Her first article is an interview with Cryptic Studios' Community Manager Victor Wachter about their upcoming game, Champions Online.

Cryptic Studios has stirred the waters recently with a few announcements. They announced that they had sold their City of Heroes/Villains game to NCSoft, they had ceased development of Marvel Universe Online and they announced a new game in development, Champions Online.

I finally caught up with Victor Wachter, Community Manager for Cryptic Studios, here at the 2008 ION Games Conference in Seattle and I pried what information I could out of him.

“Lock, stock and barrel?” I asked of their sale of City of Heroes/Villains. “Pretty much,” he confirmed. “We sold them the game together with the development team. That was part of the deal, that they hired the CoH/CoV development team.”

Read more here.

On Tuesday, the folks from EverQuest dropped by our chat room to talk a little bit about their game and to answer questions from MMORPG.com members.

MMORPG_Taera: Greetings and welcome to MMORPG.com's Live Chat on irc.coldfront.net! I'm your host, MMORPG.com's community manager Laura Taera Genender. Joining us today is the EverQuest team!

MMORPG_Taera: Our guests will do their best to answer as many questions as possible, but due to limited time and a high volume of inquiries, they may not be able to answer every single one. Users are limited to one question at a time , and you will be notified if your question is rejected or discarded.

MMORPG_Taera: To submit a question please /msg MMORPGBot yourquestionhere

MMORPG_Taera: Now it's time for introductions! Feel free to start sending your questions to MMORPGBot while our guests introduce themselves!

[EQ]Merloc: Hello, I'm Keith Turkowski, I work on items, game systems, and content.

[EQ]Ngreth: Hello! I am Adam Ngreth Bell. Game designer specializing in Tradeskills.

[EQ]Rytan: Hi, I’m Ryan Barker the recently promoted Lead Designer.

[EQ]Nodyin: Hi everyone. I am David Ford, I work on the AA system and do various raids and quests.

[EQ]Elidroth: Afternoon all.. my name is Doug Cronkhite.. and I create stuff that kills you.

[EQ]Maddoc: Hey everyone, I'm Jason Mash, I work on game systems and content.

[EQ]Prathun: Afternoon everyone. I'm Jonathan Caraker, the designer responsible for the spells system.

[EQ]Zatozia: Hey all! I’m Lydia “Zatozia the Torturess” Pope, Community Relations Manager for EverQuest. I sit in a dungeon all day working on website features and causing my eyes to bleed by reading the forums all day long.

Read it all here.

MMORPG.com News Manager Keith Cross spoke recently with Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel about the state of Lord of the Rings Online and the game's future.

Once each month, someone from MMORPG.com sits down with the Lord of the Rings Online developers at Turbine to participate in a conference call.  This month it was my turn to take part in our regular monthly talk with Turbine, where they normally share a few new details about an upcoming expansion, a new promotion, an event, or a new feature that they’re particularly excited about.  But this month’s interview came at an odd time in Turbine’s development cycle and in our news cycle.  They had just launched Book 13: Doom of the Last King which opened up the icy Forochel region in the north of Eriador, and they were too early in the development of Book 14 and the Mines of Moria expansion, which is due out later this year, to talk about those projects in detail.  On top of that, I had just spoken to Craig Alexander, Turbine’s VP of Product Development at the New York Comic Con just two weeks before.  Basically, there wasn’t a lot of new information available.  All that needs to be said about the above topics has either already been said, or isn’t ready for the public, so with that in mind, now seems like a good time to catch up with Turbine and the flurry of activity that has surrounded LotRO’s first year of operation.

Read more here.

SOE has posted a news item reminding players that Update 45 launches today.

Yes, you heard it! Game Update 45 is coming to a US server near you, the morning of Tuesday, May 13th 2008! Less then a day to revel in the new weaponcrafting changes, less then 24 hours to hear that audible sigh of relief from your overburdened bank as you get more spaces, only mere hours until all the other great additions and changes arrive in EverQuest II!

Read more here.

Blizzard has added new information to their Wrath of the Lich-King website in the form of a new dungeon: The Nexus.

The blue Dragon Aspect, Malygos, was charged ages ago by the titans as the guardian of magic. More than ten millennia ago, he watched in horror as Deathwing all but wiped out the blue flight. Maddened by grief, Malygos withdrew to his lair and paid little heed to the rest of the world, emerging only when it finally seemed possible to avenge Deathwing's terrible crime.

Only in recent times did Malygos fully return to his senses. Upon reviving, he quickly assessed the state of magical affairs in Azeroth and reached the grim conclusion that magic was running amok throughout the world. He blamed this dangerous development on the mortal races and their reckless pursuit of magical power.

Read more here.

NCsoft has posted a new Weekend Wrapup article for Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa.

Now don't just stand there - BUST A MOVE!

The Czech Freelancers sure know how! Check out the latest screenshots from the Czech Freelancers while they cut a rug at the Tavern in our AFS Recreational Activities Gallery.

Like to take pictures of the events that you attend? Let us share them in our gallery. To submit, email your screenshots to trsubmissions@ncsoft.com with your name (real or character name) and a small description of the event.

Read more here.

Sounds are generally used in games to set some kind of mood while the player is moving through the world. While we still don't have much information on the game, the folks from Earthrise have provided us with these two tracks from their upcoming MMORPG.

And I Shall Remain

The cataclysms of the Third World War have left cities in ruin, filled only with death and despair. Those brave enough to inhabit these areas can sense the ghosts of the men and women lost; their ghost-voices calling to them in the dry winds. Amidst the devastation, the old cities hide unknown treasures and secrets that may prove to be deadly traps for explorers. The weathered streets of these perilous cities have become battlegrounds for short, but fierce, clashes between government loyalists and rebel forces.

Check out both tracks here.

EA Mythic has posted a new Grab bag for our viewing pleasure. Below, please find a sample of the questions that they answer this week.

Q. I recently came back to the game and I am happy to be back. I downloaded all the clients current to Labyrinth. Do I need all of them? I usually always play on the Labyrinth client.  I have deleted SI and TOA with no ill effects. Can I do the same with Catacombs and Darkness Rising?  It sure would speed up my scans and clean ups and defrags on my computer. Future patches and upgrades won't do checks any further back than having the Labyrinth client? 

A. Welcome back says The Bearded Wonder who also has the answer you wanted to hear: For the installs, you only need the one you are using. So keep the Labyrinth client and clear out the others to enjoy that extra space.


Q. What is the damage value on the Master Level 9 Stormlord ability ‘Energy Tempest?’

A. Knowing the value of many things, the Balancinator replies: Energy Tempest does 15% of the target's health per pulse. It is affected by the target's resists as well.

Read it all here.

The Guild Wars team has updated their Wiki page with this info on Skill Balancing.

Rather than introducing another skill update this week, we're finishing a new system to balance key skills separately for PvP and PvE. Within the next few weeks, we'll introduce PvP versions for a handful of skills. These skills will work the same way as normal skills, but have different number values (damage, healing, cost, recharge, and so on). We will do this as sparingly as possible and start with very few skills. So that we don't confuse players, we intend to keep as many skills unchanged as we can.

PvP versions are designed to target only specific skills. With such a system we can revert high-impact nerfs, such as Light of Deliverance and Defensive Anthem, to make them strong again in PvE. When we see something becoming severely imbalanced in PvP, we'd like to avoid harsh PvE nerfs without creating different versions of a large number of skills.

Skills that differ in PvP will have (PvP) at the end of their names when in PvP outposts and matches. These skills will automatically be adjusted within PvP outposts and matches. All players have to do is equip the skill as normal, and it will use the PvP version where appropriate.

We've decided to release our next skill balance update simultaneously with these changes. We can take full advantage of the new skill balancing mechanism and avoid multiple balances over a short time frame.

Read more here.

The Live Gamer folks have announced another partner. This time it's new publishing company True Games Interactive.

Orange County, Calif. -- May 12, 2008 - True Games Interactive
(www.truegamesinteractive.com), a new global online game publisher
announced today that it has signed a deal with publisher-supported
secondary trading marketplace provider, Live Gamer. The two companies
will partner on the online game publishers upcoming products that
support real money trading (RMT), the first of which is scheduled to
launch in Q3 2008.

"It is our mission as a company to provide the highest quality
entertainment and we can only do that by associating with the highest
quality partners and trusting our games to them," said Jeff Lujan,
Chief Publishing Officer at True Games Interactive. "Our relationship
with Live Gamer represents one of many quality partners you can expect
to see aligned with True Games."

Live Gamer enables a complete marketplace solution for the
player-to-player trading of virtual items. Through its partnerships
with leading publishers and developers worldwide, players have a
convenient, secure, and reliable outlet to buy and sell virtual goods
and objects.
 
"True Games' experienced management team are among those leading the
way to create new and diversified business models in the online game
industry and deliver exciting new experiences for players," said
Andrew Schneider, co-founder and president of Live Gamer, Inc., "We
are thrilled to be working closely with True Games to conceptualize
and integrate a legitimate, safe and secure marketplace for Real Money
Trading from the earliest stages of product development."
   
True Games Interactive offers a unique approach and new business model
to developers and publishers within the free-to-play,
micro-transaction gaming segment and will focus on Western publishing
and development.

"We continue to be thrilled with the tremendous opportunities and
enthusiasm presented to True Games and look forward to working with
our selected partners like Live Gamer in the near future", said Bob
Drobish, Chief Operating Officer at True Games Interactive.

True Games Interactive is currently negotiating several product deals
and securing Series A funding. True Games is based in Orange County,
California and plans to launch its first title in 2008. For more
information about True Games Interactive visit the company's website
at www.truegamesinteractive.com.

Read more here.

The folks at Age of Conan have provided us with this new developer journal on the guild cities system.

After battling your way off the beach, you’ve carved your own place in the world of Hyboria with grit, determination, and steel. Now you’re part of a hardy band of warriors and the time has come to claim your own chunk of the Hyborian Dream. After all, what is a guild without land and a mighty fortress standing atop it, telling all who come near of the power and glory they possess?

A guild city is a major commitment, requiring a massive investment of blood and treasure to create and maintain. With a great price comes a great reward, however, as the benefits for owning one extend beyond lording over your greatness to one and all. In addition to power and prestige, there are concrete benefits to land ownership in Age of Conan.

Read more here.

When Dreamlords announced that they would be returning with Dreamlords: The Reawakening, MMORPG.com wanted to get the behind-the-scenese dirt. Dreamlords: The Reawakening Lead Designer Iona Rosin gives us her thoughts on the upcoming game.

Designing and balancing a MMORTS with long term strategy elements must be one of the hardest works of all time. Well, that’s how I’ve felt the last half a year anyway. There are so many factors to consider, so many numbers and complex systems that somehow must work together. I believe structure and dynamic systems are essential because there will always be modifications, small as well as big. Always, over and over again. Current systems must be modified, replaced, deleted... No matter how flawless you once found your design. And this must be done without risking your project to fall apart. When your project is big and complex, modularity might be the answer. But removing small bricks can still raze a great building.

Read more here.

MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood recently sat down with the folks from Square Enix for a whirlwind tour of the newest Final Fantasy XI expansion, Wings of the Goddess. Today, he posts this report.

Last week, I had my very first opportunity to log into Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XI. For some reason this has been, for quite some time, on my list of games to try, but I’ve just never found the time before. Well, an invitation from the SE folks to participate in a small tour of the new Wings of the Goddess expansion was enough to finally get me to try it out.

First of all, to those of you who may have been in the same boat as I have, I would suggest that at some point you try this game out. Folks who are clamouring for an MMO that doesn’t resemble WoW in terms of the UI and the way that the game is played should certainly take a look.

Read more here.

The team from NCsoft's Dungeon Runners has provided us with this new and exclusive gameplay video.

Gameplay Video This exclusive MMORPG.com gameplay video gives us an example of the gameplay in NCsoft's free to play MMORPG, Dungeon RunnersVideo Description

Check it out here.