All Posts by Szark

Turbine has announced that they have licensed the Havok suite of cross-platform software tools for use in developing their next MMO project.

San Francisco, CA (August 26, 2008) – Havok™, the premier provider of interactive software services to digital creators in the games and movie industries, today announced that Turbine, Inc., creators of The Lord of the Rings Online™, Dungeons & Dragons Online™ and Asheron's Call® has officially licensed Havok Physics, Havok Animation, and Havok Behavior 6.0 for use in the creation of its upcoming MMO games for the console and the PC.

Now available, Havok 6.0 is a suite of cross-platform software tools for programmers and artists dramatically accelerating the development of cross platform, cutting edge electronic games and special effects for film. Available for multiple gaming platforms including the PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360®, Nintendo Wii® and the PC, Havok 6.0 features improvements and upgrades to Havok’s industry-pervasive Physics, Animation and Behavior products.

 “We are pleased that Turbine has chosen Havok’s solutions-driven software to effectively and economically manage creative and technical goals in their upcoming titles,” said David O’Meara, Managing Director of Havok.  “The Havok team is committed to providing market-leading development tools for our customers based on their evolving needs and we look forward to working with the teams at Turbine.”

Read more here.

Introduction

The Fight is on!
We're happy to once again announce Week of the Warrior in Dreamlords the Reawakening. This time around it will be for a full two week period starting Tuesday Aug 26th at 10.00 am (GMT+1).

Claim your price!
Prestigious and valuable rewards await those brave and skilled enough to claim them!
Prices will be based upon the Battle rating ladder when the event ends at 10.00 (GMT+1) am Tuesday Sept 9th.

• The winner will receive a full Dreamlord Set.
• Players 2 through 9 will receive one Dreamlord Weapon.
• 10 random players on the ladder will receive 1 Dreamlord Weapon.

All Dreamlord items will be as per choice of the winner with the only restriction being that it must be of equal or lower level than the player. Should a player in spot 2-9 win one of the random rewards one weapon can be replaced by any other piece from the same set.

Read more here.

IGG will be holding an event in Tales of Pirates that involves high powered GMs doing battle with players.

The Tales of Pirates team is going to instigate a fight between their GMs and their brave players.

Pirates in Demonic World never expected a dirty war would unfold here. They are facing the offensive from fearsome enemies-a well armed GM army possessing power close to the Gods. This GM army wants the treasure and will wipe out the pirates if need be.

When the door to Demonic World is open, five armed GMs will enter to shed blood there. Players can team up to meet the offensive from the GMs without any registration. When GMs are killed, they will quit competing for the treasure?and you will get the GM's supplies...Like Flash Bombs, Radiation, BBQ Shark Fin.

Read more here.

The folks at Phoenix Dynasty Online are celebrating the one year anniversary of their MMORPG by crediting players with 480 Phoenix Points.

Time flies! We are now celebrating the one year anniversary of the launch of Phoenix Dynasty Online, a premier historical kungfu MMORPG where players can experience traditional Chinese kungfu, 5-Element theory, real history story-based quests and mass state wars in ancient time.

As part of the celebration, and a token of our appreciation of your participation of PDO Open Beta, we have credited your PDO account with 480 Phoenix Points, equivalent to USD 15.99 in value, which can be used to purchase precious in-game items from the PDO Item Mall.

If you have been taking a break from PDO, we would like to welcome you back warmly. We will also be releasing the 7300 expansion pack in the next couple weeks, which will include loads of new features.

Read more here.

The folks at Archlord have released a new video which shows off some of the new skills, terrains, and opponents of Episode 3: Spirits Awakening, the game's latest expansion.

Episode 3: Spirits Awakening Trailer Check out this movie showing off features of the new Episode 3 expansion.

Watch the video here.

While at the Leipzig Game Convention the good folks at FireSky handed us some new screenshots from Stargate Worlds for us to enjoy.

Read more here.

The folks at Tabula Rasa have published their regular Feedback Friday feature where they let players know what the team has been spending their time on.

Yes, it's time for another Feedback Friday. The time where the Tabula Rasa Developers get to speak directly about upcoming content and address topics submitted though our Feedback Form and forum posts. Now enough with the babble, let's get to it!

What are you working on anyway?

We've finished the planning for the Deployment 13 build and while we don't want to spoil the surprise, we can say that for D13 we would like to finish a new map, complete some new v2 and v3 weapons, and make some very important and highly requested UI tweaks. There are plenty more changes planned for D13, but that's all we can say for now. ..Sorry we know that's a lame answer, but we promise to share more as we get closer to putting these things in the game. Stay tuned!

Read more here.

IGG has published an overview at the ATB, or Active Time Battle, turn based combat system in Myth War II.

As is known to all, the battle system is one of most important elements in a turn based online game. However the battle systems in traditional turn based online games is kind of boring because you always need to wait for your turn to take an action. Today the Myth War (http://mw2.igg.com/) team is going to introduce the world’s first unique ATB turn based battle system to you.

The full name of ATB is “ACTIVE TIME BATTLE”. There is actually an ATB bar on your game interface during a battle.

When a battle is triggered, the ATB bar starts to accumulate energy. You can’t take any actions until the ATB bar is full. Neither can your enemies (monsters and players). This is totally different from the traditional turn based battle system. The ATB system requires you to make quick and wise decisions in a battle, which makes the battle more exciting and extreme.

Read more here.

NetDevil has released three newly redesigned logos for the three playable races in Jumpgate Evolution.

New Nation Logos

 

We’ve just updated the website with new and improved logos for the three Jumpgate Evolution playable Nations, the Quantar Paths, Solrain Commonwealth and the Octavian Empire. These slick new designs are the pinnacle of the three Nations and should be used, and worn with great pride.

To accompany this, we’ve uploaded three new avatars on the forums for you to use so you can display your dedication and loyalty.

Read more here.

The folks at Warhammer Online walked home from the Leipzig Games Convention with the title of Best Online Game of the show, beating out a number of other heavyweight contenders who were also in attendance.

In the category Best Online Game:

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning – GOA GOA (developed by Mythic Entertainment)

The creators of the online RPG legend “Dark Age of Camelot”, still so successful today, are back with “Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning”. GOA squares up to the alpha male “World of Warcraft” with spectacular visuals, innovative play modi, neat control and an enormous, appealing fantasy world.

Read more here.

Acclaim Games CCO David Perry has written an open letter to the Spellborn community on the recent announcement that Acclaim will be the North American publisher for The Chronicles of Spellborn.

Hi,
My name is David Perry, and I’m the Chief Creative Officer of Acclaim Games (the new Acclaim) that is now the #1 American publisher of Free-to-Play Online Games. Some of you “old school” gamers might remember me from the old Sinclair Spectrum/Amstrad CPC/Commodore 64/Amiga/Atari ST days, back before the MMO concept even existed!

The CEO of Acclaim (Howard Marks) was the Chairman of Activision Studios through their massive growth during the 1990’s, and together we travel the world in search of the best new games that we can possibly find. Right now we’re tracking over 400 MMO games (yes it’s insane!). My poor old gaming PC is literally peppered with games in every conceivable language, and I’ve just kept playing, patiently waiting for that WHOA! moment. The game that finally got us there is Spellborn. When we saw it running, our jaws literally dropped to the floor. “Who the heck made this? We need to talk!”

Read more here.

Earlier this morning we reported that Games Campus had announced the launch of Asda Story.  We have now received word that the launch has been delayed, although no reason was given for the postponement.  MMORPG.com will follow this story and provide more details at they become available.

San Jose, Calif. (August 25, 2008) - San Jose-based online game publisher, Gamescampus.com (www.gamescampus.com, run by OnNet USA), announced today the official launch of Asda Story, its free to play exciting fantasy-style anime 3D MMORPG game. The client is available to download at http://asdastory.gamescampus.com/.

Based on a colorful, bright and cheerful world, Asda Story is a free to play exciting fantasy-style anime 3D MMORPG game that features a unique 'Soul Mate System.' The unique party system offers two players the ability to align to become 'soul mates' and allows them to wear unique costumes and use special skills. Another key feature of the game is the 'Real Costume System,' which gives players some of the most extensive personalization and design options ever seen in an MMORPG.

Both unique systems ('Soul Mate System' and 'Real Costume System') were credited for helping to generate a high female user ratio for Asda Story (more than 20% of the total players are female) when launched in Korea and Japan. With these systems, players are able to personalize the design of their items and make the look of their characters stand out. Gamescampus.com is expecting to see similar ratios with females for the launch of Asda Story in the United States.

Read more here.

IGG has released new information on the in-game housing system in Myth War II.

In Myth War II, a new couple can choose either a Warm Hut or a luxurious house to live in. Today the Myth War team is going to talk a little more about “home” in Myth War world.

Go to the Blython gate and find the Chief Manager. Ask him to teleport you to your new home. Every new couple can own a Warm Hut. Although it looks quite simple, it has almost everything inside.

If you want something luxurious and gorgeous, you can go and choose some items to decorate your house. Here is some recommendation:

Home Upgrader: Upgrades your home, and makes it look luxurious and gorgeous. The architecture is based on western medieval-style. When you first come to this place, you will be deeply impressed with the unique interior arrangements as well as the luxurious configuration.

Chamberlaine Invite: To hire a Chamberlaine to get everything organized for you.

Read more here.

I stand corrected.  The previous news item originally linked back to Blizzard's site.  While I was in Leipzig the guys back here were covering for me and edited the original item so that it links to the video on MMORPG.com.  When I posted this item I didn't check back to see if the original item had been changed.

It is indeed the same video.  The difference is that the first news item was about the release of the video on Blizzard's official site for WotLK.  This current news item is for the same video, but hosted on MMORPG.com.

Mythic Entertainment has released a new trailer for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, which is set to launch less than a month from now.

New Cinematic Trailer This new trailer brings the Age of Reckoning to life in stunning detail and showcases the ongoing conflict between the armies of Order and Destruction, the catalyst for WAR's groundbreaking Realm vs. Realm gameplay.

 

Watch the new video here.

Blizzard has released the opening cinematic for Wrath of the Lich King, the much anticipated expansion to World of Warcraft. The video continues Blizzard's tradition of stunning visual sequences and depicts Arthas, the Lich King himself, preparing his forces for the dark and frigid days to come.

Wrath of the Lich King Opening Cinematic Blizzard has released the opening cinematic for Wrath of the Lich King, the much anticipated expansion to World of Warcraft. The video continues Blizzard's tradition of stunning visual sequences and depicts Arthas, the Lich King himself, preparing his forces for the dark and frigid days to come.

 

Watch the WotLK cinematic here.

Blizzard has released the opening cinematic for Wrath of the Lich King, the much anticipated expansion to World of Warcraft.  The video continues Blizzard's tradition of stunning visual sequences and depicts Arthas, the Lich King himself, preparing his forces for the dark and frigid days to come.

Wrath of the Lich King Opening Cinematic

Watch more videos here.

The link should be working correctly now.

Caralyn Koh was in attendance at this year's SOE Fan Faire in Las Vegas, and she brings us the low down on EverQuest's next expansion, The Seeds of Destruction, which takes players on a trip through time to play the history of EverQuest.

John Smedley in his keynote address at the SoE Fan Faire mentioned that the Living Legacy celebration increased the population of EverQuest and EverQuest 2 by 20%.  He also officially announced the next EverQuest Expansion, Seeds of Destruction to be available October 21, 2008.  All players attending FanFaire would get into the beta, and would also received a digital copy of the expansion for free.

Seeds of Destruction brings players back into historical periods of EverQuest through a number of portals.  The lore behind the story is that the Riftseekers have used the Plane of Time to corrupt the essence of the world and rend Norrath into millions of pieces.  On the largest is found a seedling tree and the fallen god Zebuxoruk, tending that tree.  Only he knows the secret to mending the world, but to do that, he needs assistance.  That of brave adventurers such as yourselves, who will venture through the portals he tends, to crucial moments in Norrath’s history.  To make sure they unfold without the interference of the gods of Discord.

Read more here.