MMORPG.com recently had the opportunity to sit down with Funcom's Craig Morrison to talk about the launch of the most recent update to their flagship game, Age of Conan.

MMORPG.com:

How was 1.5 received by the game's community when it finally launched?

Craig Morrison:

I think it has gone very well all things considered. Most players seem to appreciate the new build of the items and that they can now easily see how the items tie into their character. Likewise I think the new content has been very well received ad people are really enjoying the experience in Tarantia Commons, and the guild changes have also been welcomed.

Of course there are some things that need to be addressed, as we knew there would be, and, as we knew it would be, it is in the class balance area that most of the feedback lies...and of course in that area the feedback is never anything short of vocal!

We had always known, and been quite upfront with the community in advance, that there would be some things we had to address after the update was released to the live environment. With something on this scale we knew that there would be elements that would require additional tweaking and adjusting and were prepared for that. As we also expected the greatest challenge there is in the class balance.

The follow-up to the update is very important so we can adjust the areas of the balance that weren't quite right 'out of the gate' as it were. That is what we are already working on now, I think with the new systems we didn't quite get the relative strength of the spell using classes against the melee damage in PVP. That's the main area where the feedback is very vocal, and rightly so, as that area is the part that does still need further adjustment.

I think in PVE things have come together quite nicely by and large and there is less to tweak there, which is encouraging, we do know though that we have to make the adjustments for PVP promptly and properly so that we ensure the PVP game-play is also as fun.

There are also a couple of the raids that are not quite there yet in terms of having the correct difficulty and we will need to tone them down a notch (although several guilds have already surprised even us and defeated those encounters with a dedicated effort even before we tone them down. They still need adjusting of course, but there were some mighty efforts by those involved in those kills!)

Read the Post 1.5 Interview

MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh reviews yet another MMO for kids this week, taking a look at Pixie Hollow, Disney Interactive's Fairy MMO.

I was tempted to subtitle this review with a tongue-in-cheek, "Camping the rare blueberry spawn," but refrained. That would neither have been fair nor accurate of this game. I shall explain as I get into the quests section but first, let's talk about the game itself.

Pixie Hollow Online by Disney Interactive is based on the Disney Fairies franchise, solidly driven by the main fairy herself, Tinkerbell. You register an account, create a fairy, selecting a fairy talent such as Water, Garden, Light and Tinker, and customize it by selecting faces, hair colors clothing and accessories, such necklace and bracelet. Each talent has a color theme and talents are a personal flavor rather than imparting any stats or skills. You select wings, pose your fairy, and away you fly into lush landscapes accompanied by orchestral music, the ambient sounds of the area you are flying around in, such as birdsong and bullfrogs and the shimmer of bells and trail of lights as you fly. Just like Tink.

Read the full Pixie Hollow review

Due to an error in my HTML, we are re-publishing Jason Chamberlain's 2029 article from yesterday. Turns out half of the page wasn't loading. Enjoy it again now in its full glory:

MMORPG.com 2029 Correspondent Jason Chamberlain writes this introductory look at the races available in the futuristic sci-fi MMO.

You find yourself with amnesia on an alien planet called the 'Helen Continent'. Conflict is rampant; in-fighting between species has reached such a boiling point that global war has reached its post infancy stages and militant groups are forming. As each section of the planet fights for survival and dominance, you find yourself stuck in the middle of the conflict. Welcome home soldier.

I plan to begin this multi-part series on 2029, with a brief introduction of the various races and how they correspond to each skill tier. Over the course of these articles we will break down each race and its associated skills including the pros and cons regarding player-vs-player and player -vs-mob. It is important to get an idea of how you want to play your character as items to reset your skills are costly and you will not get a free 'Skill Reset Drum' until level 29. So let us begin with a brief overview of each race.:

WARNING: You will only be allowed one character per realm, so I would advise you to play around with each character class and find one you are comfortable with spending time developing.

Check out The Races.

In his most recent blog update, MMORPG.com Spotlighted blogger cmagoun discusses the fact that, if the sum of something is good enough, people will overlook its problems. To do this, he cites the XBox 360 and MMOs.

I am on my 4th XBox 360. Well, it might not literally be my 4th 360; I would have to check the serial numbers to see if the boxes were actually different or not, but this is the 4th time I will get an XBox into my home after a return or repair.

So... 3 hardware failures, more specifically 2 network port failures and, just so I didn't feel like a wierdo, a red ring of death. In total, I have spent over 6 hours on the support website and an estimated 18 or so hours on the phone with tech support. The most epic of those calls lasted over 2 hours and ended with me getting disconnected just before the tech authorized the repair, forcing me to repeat the whole call, and I mean the WHOLE call, including the "Is the cable plugged into the back of the console, Sir?" The second most epic call had the tech trying to convince me that the network connection really was working... hard to explain. I wish I would have taped that one.

Read the blog

In their most recent MMORPG.com blog update, the team from Wonderking takes a look back at the game's launch and how it was accomplished.

When we were initially launching WonderKing (OBT) back in February of 2007, we wanted to use an unorthodox approach. Without any breaks between the phases, we launched CBT then OBT– in that particular order. We had that much confidence in the game. We definitely wanted to make an impactful first impression when launching the game in Korea, so we decided to direct our focus on game management. Among the essential aspects of game management, evaluating a user’s immediate reaction to the game was deemed a fairly important aspect. Therefore, for the well-being of our game, WonderKing, we jumped right in to inspect the features and put ourselves in the players’ shoes.
As predicted, we were overwhelmed by the number of users that participated. In fact, when the game first came out in Korea, our user population was so explosive that it made our Open Seed server crash! I definitely remember sleepless nights being very common those days. At one point, WonderKing was the most searched game title and the overall reaction from our users was very positive. With difficult and complicated games being the mainstream focus during that time, we broke away and worked on making an easy, comfortable, simple, and fun game for users. WonderKing was definitely a pioneer in refreshing the method of hunting monsters and resultantly gained the reputation of being a very creative game among users.

Read the official blog.

MMORPG.com Jade Dynasty Correspondent Olorunsegun Adewumi writes this look at the Modo class in the kung-fu MMORPG Jade Dynasty.

I started playing Jade Dynasty on a bit of a whim. See I'd been playing every single MMO beta I could get my hands on, but I was finding myself bored out of my mind. Yeah I know it's a bit geeky but I want to have fun playing games. All the technical stuff bores the living daylights out of me. I had just stopped playing WoW again in February and before then I had played a year long stint in FFXI, so I was looking for something solid for the long term. I had played a little Perfect World International and I'd played the Beta of Ether Saga but they didn't really click with me. After playing something close to 30 betas I figured I'd see if Jade felt right for me.

Read Looking at the Modo

MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh reports from a recent IRC chat about bridge crews in Cryptic's upcoming Star Trek Online MMO.

In Star Trek Online, every player is the Captain of his own ship, but like the characters in the TV series, there are career choices. Captain Jean Luc Picard was a diplomat and archeologist, and players similarly will develop skills. Apart from the character development, players will recruit their Bridge Crews throughout the game. These are actually Bridge Officers; the Communications Officers, Science Officers and the like, your Spocks, Chekovs and Scottys, a distinct difference from your Ship Crew, which are your hundreds of nameless crew that help run and repair the ship. The gameplay mechanic for your Bridge Officers is somewhat akin to minions and pets. They are the "phat lewts" of the game and will be earned, leveled and can be traded, although some will be bound to you.

Read Bridge Crews

MMORPG.com WooW Correspondent Angels Lindsey writes this guide to food buffs at levels 70-80 in Blizzard's World of Warcraft

Have you ever been up against a boss, only to discover that your group needed just a tiny little push to finish the fight? The answer is simple: food buffs. Cooked food is the easiest and most inexpensive way to improve your character and gain the extra edge you desire. Not a cook? Find yourself a friend who's trained up cooking, or train it up yourself! At max level, it's fairly easy to level cooking from start to finish. While you're doing that, let's look at the different types of food buffs available and which foods give you an increase to which stats.

Read 70-80 Food Buffs

MMORPG.com 2029 Correspondent Jason Chamberlain writes this introductory look at the races available in the futuristic sci-fi MMO.

The year is 2029.

You find yourself with amnesia on an alien planet called the 'Helen Continent'. Conflict is rampant; in-fighting between species has reached such a boiling point that global war has reached its post infancy stages and militant groups are forming. As each section of the planet fights for survival and dominance, you find yourself stuck in the middle of the conflict. Welcome home soldier.

Read the Intro to Races

MMORPG.com's Carolyn Koh recently traveled to Sony Online Entertainment's Fan Faire. While there, she spoke with Vnaguard Lead Designer and Acting Producer Salim Grant about the current state of the game.

At the recent SOE FanFaire in Las Vegas, I made a point to speak with Salim Grant, the Lead Designer and Acting Producer of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes to get an update on the game. He spoke with passion and enthusiasm, if not a little fatigue.

"We've worked hard. Very hard in the past two years," he said, "to make Vanguard what it should have been at launch. Finally, we are at a point where we are deciding what to do next instead of asking what we needed to fix next."

Read Game Update - It's Been a Long Road

Originally posted by witchkiller

how are YOU qualified to say that?!? do you have an instance you can actually show someone so they can read it? i'm not trying to be an ass here, maybe this has happened in every mmo based from an existing franchise, but.... i can't remember any.

do you have any links? even a specific thing that you clearly remember and IP owner forcing into a game that a dev didn't want to do or had done a different way?

i reiterate my question, are you guessing or basing your opinion off hearsay? do you have any credibility on this topic or just opinion? not trying to be overly agressive here, but i am tired of posts like yours, which claim "Truth" but are full on conjecture.

You'll never see on the record proof of it. The official party line is always going to be: Company X (the license holder) has been great to work with. The truth is though that there are standards that have to be upheld. This is just common practice with ANY property. LucasArts, for example are notorious for being very hands-on with their products, toy, TV, comic book, video game, whatever. I know that Mythic, for example, worked very closely with Games Workshop and that Turbine works with Tolkien Enterprises, Cryptic works with CBS, the list goes on. It's a partnership between the developers and the licensers.

Originally posted by silandril

You're certainly entitled to your opinion regarding IP based MMOs. However, I believe the solution is not to lower our expectations.

My biggest MMO wish and the reason I think so many MMOs fail is actually a change in the player base from the time of MMO inception. Namely, when MMOs first arrived ( Muds then EQ1 ), the players drawn to these games were table top roleplayers ( D&D, Shadowrun, etc etc ). These folks knew that what made the games fun was character development and roleplaying--not levels, skills, linear quests but an open game world where the creative player could create his own world. As time has moved on, it seems to me that today's players don't understand or aren't interested in the true "roleplaying" aspect of online games anymore. This is unfortunate, because it takes games to a higher level. The MMO makers have adapted to this lead em by the nose mentality and dumbed down the games. All that being said, my wish is for a new level of gaming awareness of the players. SWG was the last great MMO--genuine player communities, lives within a game made it great.

I wasn't literally talking about lowering expectations. That was just an amusing photo. I was actually talking about managing expectations.

Originally posted by witchkiller

how are you qualified to say this:

" See, the initial instinct is to blame the developers, but the truth is that there is an intricate dance happening behind the scenes of an IP MMO between the IP holder and the developers and most of the time, it’s the IP holder that’s doing the leading if you catch my drift.

Generally speaking, the IP holder gets final say on pretty much everything about their MMO, sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes it’s a very bad thing"

are you knowledgeable about this or are you guessing or using hearsay as you basis?

Well, my qualifications were pretty well spelled out for you in the sidebar of the article, but... I've been running this website for the last two uyears, and working here for four. I have worked as a developer on MMOs, and in my position, I learn about the industry and how it functions. That's my qualification.

MMORPG.com APB Correspondent Cody Brunty writes this look at the two Cops and Robbers factions in the upcoming Realtime Worlds MMO All Points Bulletin.

Law and Order is on the brink of collapse in the famous metropolis of San Paro, the major city of All Points Bulletin (APB). But before you start playing one must first choose your allegiance with the city. Will you be there to protect the city from becoming corrupt, or have a hand in its criminal uprising?

While creating a character in APB, the user must choose their faction from either an Enforcer or a Criminal. Once this faction is chosen, the player will not be able to switch sides to the opposing faction. Since APB is not going for the original MMO feel there will be no leveling. Characters will only progress by enhancing their own gaming skills forcing players to build reputations within the gaming world. This will lead to unlocking clothes, items, cars, and of course more powerful guns. Also, by forcing the players to build a reputation, the game will feel like it's a more persistent world. Both factions Enforcers/Criminals have missions that will help them build a reputation in addition to the fight against one another. Once players build a high enough reputation they will be able to create there very own squads or gangs, complete with there own tattoos, clothes, colors, and the ability to fight for control of turf in the city.

Read Enforcers vs Criminals.

Runes of Magic has a feature that lets people not only get the best rated gear, but also look how they want.

You’ve raided and raided, spent months in PvP, farmed and sold drops, poured hour upon monotonous hour into reaching level cap collecting and hunting down the best of the best gear for your class. Whether weeks, months, or even years later, this is what you’ve been working so hard for. The time is near, just one more raid; one more piece of equipment to completion and you will be hailed alongside the others to be crowned one of the best. You will be elite.

The time has come; you have the gear, decked out from massive head to massive toe. It’s time to make your entrance into the hallowed halls. You are tingling with excitement and anticipation of showing off your giant glowing weapons and shiny armor. You’ve even cleaned the crumbs from your desk, loaded up your favorite heart-pumping music and put on a clean pair. As you start strutting around your favorite MMORPG’s gathering spot, you notice something. No one really cares, but more disturbingly, as you prepare to snap that screenshot alongside the others, you realize it doesn’t really make a great screenshot. Why are you not more excited? Deep down the answer slowly surfaces like a kraken out of the cold unfriendly depths of the ocean.

Read Have The Look and Stats Too!

The Atlantica Online team is using their most recent developer journal here at MMORPG.com to talk about their newest Mercenary, The Hwarang.

Back in March, we promised to introduce a trio of brand new mercenaries to the Atlantica world: the Hwarang, the Minstrel, and the Punisher. Many bumps and tumbles later, we're pleased to further delve into the first of three mercenaries: the Hwarang--scheduled to arrive in the next patch (and already out in Korea).

Read The Hwarang

MMORPG.com The Warlords Correspondent Jason Alexander writes this rough guide for newcomers to the kung-fu based MMO.

The Warlords is a MMORPG based on kung-fu. In order to get started you need to go to the game’s website located at http://wl.91.com/ There, you will need to register and downaload the game client. Try to download from official “Link 1.” This has the highest server connection rate so your download will be quick and efficient. If you aren’t able to download from the site directly and would prefer using Bit Torrent then there is also a BT download link.

Read A Beginner's Guide

MMORPG.com World of Warcraft Correspondent Patrick Breeden writes this look at introducing the popular MMORPG to console-only gamers everywhere.

Console gaming has been a big part of my life as far back as I can remember. My heroes of the 1980s were characters such as Mario, Samus, and Link. But as I got older, I realized that I was into fantasy and role-playing games as well. Skip ahead a few years and eventually this led to my friends asking me to try World of Warcraft with them, and I quickly found myself lost in a fantasy world that I had never imagined could exist. I fancied myself a master of gaming, but I quickly found myself overwhelmed with so much to learn about just one game. My goal in my articles here at MMORPG.com is to help my fellow console gamers and even new players understand a little more about World of Warcraft so that their early hours are a little more focused and less tedious. In this article, I will explain the best ways to make the transition from console gamer to World of Warcraft/MMORPG gamer.

Read From Console Games to WoW

The development team from Icarus Studios' Fallen Earth has written this developer journal discussing the origins of some of the names chosen for bosses and NPCs in their upcoming MMO.

The town of Black Hill,
where NPC "Rudy Arcton" resides.

Have you ever marveled at the imaginations of game designers? Have you ever wondered how they could possibly create so many interesting missions and storylines from nothing? Sometimes they have a little help.

Sitting down with the creators of post-apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth, we discovered that many of the names and places have connections--some more loose and fictional than others--to people and places in the real world. Lead game designer Lee Hammock and his team divulge some the origins of the names featured in Fallen Earth. This week we'll explore NPC, boss and creature names.

Read What's in a Name - Bosses and NPCs