All Posts by Szark

A new trailer for runes of magic was released today, featuring in-game footage of the game's combat system in action.

Runes of Magic Action Trailer Check out this new trailer for Runes of Magic, featuring in-game footage of the game's combat system in action!

Read more here.

The folks at Fallen Earth have prepared a brief preview of the recently revamped tutorial and new player experience in Fallen Earth.

In recent months we’ve completely revamped the new player experience in Fallen Earth, rebuilding the tutorial from the ground up and restructuring many of the starter towns. These screenshots show some of the work that has been done in the tutorial, which now takes placing during the Fall of Hoover Dam and introduces the player to some of the more advanced parts of the game, such as vehicle operation and rocket launchers. The player will face everything from White Crow commandos to genetically engineered super-soldiers in the tutorial, and will interact with the six main factions. After the tutorial, players will be able to select what town they wish to start in, each of which has a different focus (crafting, combat, support, PvP).

Check out more images here.

NCsoft has published the patch notes from the latest update for City of Heroes/Villains.

On Tuesday, August 5th we updated City of Heroes to a new game version that includes a number of improvements and revisions. To read all the details of this update, please visit the Patch Notes web page.

Additionally, the Training Room Test Server was updated on August 5th to a new version for public testing. This is our next candidate to promote to the Live servers and we invite anyone interested to check it out. Visit the Training Room patch notes and log in to the Training Room to experience this new version firsthand.

Read more here.

NCsoft has updated their Aion FAQ to include information on the Aion beta test.  Instead of a traditional beta, they will be providing fans with several opportunities to try the game at a number of preview events.

The Aion FAQ has been updated with new information concerning beta testing. The entry is now as follows:

"When will beta testing begin?

In lieu of beta testing, Aion fans will be given opportunities to participate in a small number of Preview events before the game's release. In addition to soliciting player feedback, the Preview events will help prepare for Aion's release, as well as provide a great gaming experience on launch day and beyond.

As with Aion's release date, the schedule of these Preview events will be announced in coming months."

Read more here.

The folks at Codemasters are showing off some of the new armor sets that will be released with Episode 3: Spirits Awakening for Archlord.

First of the new armour added in Episode 3: Spirits Awakening is from the Frozen Infinity, the Ice Spirit Realm.

The increased skill level effect of the Chest Armour piece can increase a skill beyond its learning cap, so a skill learnt to Rank 5 becomes Rank 7 and includes all the bonuses of those two additional ranks based on the normal progression of the skill.

Read more here.

The folks at GameTribe have announced that they will be holding an Olympic themed event in Dream of Mirror Online.

Dream of Mirror Online (DOMO), the Free-to-Play social MMORPG has today announced the details for its first August update which includes The Quest for the 5 Rings, in celebration of this month’s Olympic Games.

The Quest for the 5 Rings is a huge new quest chain involving Olympia and 3 of the ancient Greek gods, Apollo, Athena and Artemis where players can earn special rewards and items.

Also in this update comes 3 new items for the Item Mall including a new Bullfighters costume and a Double XP Booster Badge.  

The new update will be available to players after the weekly Wednesday maintenance window.

DOMO is a Free-to-Play social MMORPG based on ancient Chinese mythology.   Join with thousands of other gamers in an amazing anime-inspired world where you can socialize, form friendships, craft and master a variety of jobs, all within the underlying quest of trying to solve the riddles of the ancient myth of the Kunlun Mirror.

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IGG lists five features which make Zu Online a unique and enjoyable gaming experience.

IGG has just revealed the most outstanding features, that cannot fail to impress players deeply, of their published 3D MMORPG Zu Online.

There are many reasons why players like or dislike a game. For example, the 3D MMORPG Zu Online; which is based on immortal beings, has many features that will captivate and astound players:

1. Traditional Chinese style and water-and-ink rendered graphics: The Zu Online developers use advanced 3D engines and cartoon rendering technology, as well as manual ink and wash paintings to create the amazing graphics. That all add to the refreshing and unique look of the game. Different from other online games, Zu Online has created a brand-new online world

2. Unconfined flight and air fight: In Zu Online, you can not only fly anywhere but also fight in the sky, which makes the combats in Zu Online especially fantastic.

3. Various events and gameplay: There are various events and gameplay in Zu Online, including the Sinuous Maze event, treasure hunt, Monster Slaying Contest, Round Quests, Commercial Travel, instanced region and much more.

4. An almost perfect combination of delicate graphics and absorbing music: It is difficult to find an online game that combines graphics and music as well as Zu Online. It has cartoon-styled characters, flaming graphics and colorful spell effects all neatly synchronized with spellbinding music, which gives players the best audio and visual experience around.

5. Flexible PVP system: In Zu Online, players have many choices in how to develop their character. For example, they can easily join in or choose to keep away from all PVP combats; as the PVP design of Zu Online is so flexible. What’s more, Zu Online offers players a dynamic game world, where every player may determine their own future and can even change the world.

Read more here.

The Champions Online official site has been updated with a profile of Michael Cavallaro, the lead VFX artist on Champions Online.

Q: What do you do on Champions Online?
A: I am the lead VFX artist for Champions Online, which is the most awesome job in the world no matter what Christopher Chamberlain tells you. :) Working with Chris, I oversee the look and style of all of the FX in the game.

Q: How long have you been working in gaming, and what did you do before Champions Online?
A: What time is it now?

I'm fairly new to the gaming industry, but I've been doing this type of thing for about 14 years. I've been here at Cryptic for a year and a half. I come from a film VFX background where I did a lot of compositing, animating and FX.

Q: What is your typical workday like?
A: I am creating the player powers for Champions Online, so I start with lots of research to see how a particular power has been visualized in comics, movies and other games. Sometimes I'll set one of the animators on fire to see what flames should look like when someone is running around … on fire! It kills two birds with one stone because then that same animator can use the video to make the "guy running around on fire" animation.

Read more here.

Cryptic Studios has announced that Leonard Nimoy will be on hand when they reveal Star Trek Online game play footage at the Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas.

We are thrilled to announce that legendary Star Trek actor and director Leonard Nimoy will be our special guest at the reveal of the first gameplay footage from Star Trek Online!

Read more here.

BLizzard announced that World of Warcraft players can have the opportunity to earn an exclusive Zhevra mount, free game time and more with thier new Recruit-A-Friend program.

With the new Recruit-A-Friend program you can earn an exclusive Zhevra mount, receive a FREE month of game time, and gain access to other exciting in-game benefits. From the moment your friend creates a character and starts playing you’ll both earn triple the experience when grouped together and have the ability to summon one another from anywhere in the world. Also, for every two levels of experience your friend earns, they can grant one level of experience to one of your lower-level characters.

Read more here.

IGG has announced details of a wedding event that will be held in Myth War II on August 7th, and that a new game client will also be released on that same day.

Myth War II team announces its launch of a magnificent online wedding ceremony on Chinese Valentine’s Day.

This Wedding Party will be held on August 7th starting at 10:00am. Players can sign up on the forum to hold their own wedding parties. However, the players must first qualify to hold these sumptuous events by passing a test. The winners of the test will not only be qualified to have their wedding parties but also get astounding gifts. And as an added bonus all expenditure incurred by the celebrations will be decently rewarded.

 

Besides, the latest game client Version 1.0.4.23 will be released on August 7th; Please keep a close eye on our download site.

Read more here.

Simutronics has announced that HSC Labs has liscenced the use of the Hero Engine for their upcoming MMO project.

(Gaithersburg, MD, August 5, 2008) Simutronics announced today that HSC Labs of Las Vegas, NV has licensed the Simutronics HeroEngine. HSC Labs will use HeroEngine in connection with their massively multiplayer game (MMO) project currently getting underway.

HeroEngine is rapidly being recognized throughout the industry as a leap forward in MMO game development middleware compared to competing products from BigWorld, Multiverse, Unreal, and others.

HSC Labs Director, Daniel de la Cruz says, “I believe that middleware software is the future of gaming, and that Simutronics is currently the leader in this industry. I also believe that the efficiency and dependability offered by Simutronics is going to push production dates backwards for the first time“

Simutronics first launched HeroEngine as a licensed development platform in 2006 after five years of development. Since that time the Simutronics team has added dozens of new features and integrated key technologies from the leading middleware vendors in the videogame industry. HeroEngine is being used worldwide by development teams looking for faster time to market through the HeroEngine’s unique collaborative development as well as unique tools for rapid prototyping and world building and a content pipeline that is optimized for the needs of MMO development teams.

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Blizzard has updated the World of Warcraft Region Level page with information on the new zones on the continent of Northrend, which will be introduced with Wrath of the Lich King, WoW's next paid expansion.

We've updated our Region Level page with the zones comprising Northrend, the new continent in Wrath of the Lich King. This is the first of many Wrath of the Lich King updates planned for the World of Warcraft Game Guide.

Read more here.

The folks at Guild Wars have announced their schedule for the various trade shows and fan events that they will be attending during the convention season.

Guild Wars is often a featured title at trade shows around the world. Starting with our first presentation of Guild Wars—at E3 2003, just following the announcement of the game—we continue to visit trade and fan shows to show Guild Wars to those who are not familiar with the title, and to meet with existing players of the game. Most trade shows involve live demos of the game, and some include mini-competitions that reward prizes to the winners.

Read more here.

The folks at EverQuest II have posted an FAQ informing players of EQII's availability in French, German, and Japanese.

Did you know that EverQuest II supports the French, German and Japanese languages and has servers in each of those languages? In fact, all EQII players have access to these servers, as well as the EU English servers and the US servers. If you're not familiar with these servers or would like to know more, read on as we demystify the international EQII servers.

Is EverQuest II fully translated into French, German and Japanese?

Yes. Text and voiceover are translated into French, German and Japanese. Each version is playable in its respective language when connected to French, German and Japanese-language servers.

The French server is called Storms. The German servers are called Innovation and Valor. The Japanese server is called Sebilis.

Read more here.

GamesCampus has announced that the Open Beta for Asda Story begins on August 5th and they are running a Guaranteed Fun Promotion, which will pay out $30 for players who are unsatisfied with the game and have reached level 40 by September 4th.

San Jose, Calif. (August 4, 2008) - San Jose-based online game publisher, Gamescampus.com (www.gamescampus.com, run by OnNet USA), announced today it will begin the open beta test for its newest game, Asda Story, tomorrow, August 5th, 2008 at 9:00PM Pacific Standard Time.

With the start of the open beta test the company has also announced a special new program for players of the game-The Guaranteed Fun Promotion. The company is certain that players will be satisfied with their Asda Story game experience, so much so, that they are staking money on it. Any player who signs up for and plays the game (for free) for 30 days and isn't satisfied with their experience can ask the company to pay them $30 USD. For the full details visit http://asdastory.gamescampus.com/event/fun.html.

The open beta session will commence on August 5, 2008 at 9:00 PM PST and will run through late August at which point the game will officially launch. Gamers are invited to join the open beta by going to the official website at www.asdastory.gamescampus.com where they can create an account and sign up to participate.

"We chose to bring this game to the west because we believe in its potential. The Guaranteed Fun Promotion is our way of showing our belief in the game and is even better than a money-back guarantee because you don't have to spend a penny to play Asda Story," said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Gamescampus.com. "We are just asking you to invest your time in playing our game, and if after playing for 30 days you don't feel it has been the great game experience we feel it to be, we want to hear your feedback and we'll give you $30.00. It is as simple as that."

Read more here.

IGG has published an overview of superior equipment sets in Angels Online.

Angels Online, an IGG game, prides itself on its cute characters, rich storylines, and tons of fancy items. In order to help players know more about superior equipment in the game, the AO team has been kind enough to give a brief introduction about these ancient powerful sets.

Suman is the most suitable set for warriors. With 2 pieces of the set, players’ spell defense will be increased 30. With 4 pieces of the set players’ can increase the defensive power of by 200, and with a complete set your HP will increase by 800. As a qualified MT, players should own this set. In order to obtain this precious set, players’ should beat the mighty bosses, and collect enough pieces to find an appointed NPC and exchange for the set.

Read more here.

The folks at Tabula Rasa have announced three Olympic inspired events which will take place on August 9th on the public test server.

Here are some quick highlights of these events:

• Shooting - It's just like target practice! Level 30s, grey pistols (will be handed out to the fighters), meet up at the Marshes Arena!!
• King of the Hill - PvP event (yes, I said PvP event) mixed with some hungry bane mechanicals! It's a very fun and exciting chance to beat up on each other and see who is the last man standing! This event will be taking place on the CP Wargame map, so we ask anyone who wishes to spectate to stay on the platform.. I personally wouldn't want to get stuck down there with some nasty striders.
• Fencing - It's FnF with blades for level 50s! The catch is that you must wear level 50 grey stealth and have a 50 grey blade. Just like FnF, this will be taking place in CELLAR 3!

Read more here.

CCP has announced that the Empyrean Age novel by author Tony Gonzales is now available in the White Wolf Online Store.

The wait is over. Tony Gonzales’ EVE: The Empyrean Age novel is now available through the White Wolf Online Store. This epic story, set in the EVE Online universe, sets the stage for the recent Empyrean Age expansion. You can purchase the book in paperback or hardcover.

All copies of EVE: The Empyrean Age purchased through the White Wolf Online Store are autographed by the author.

Read more here.

Blizzard has provided a preview of the contents of the goody bags for attendees of BlizzCon 08.

For everyone contemplating a trip to this year's BlizzCon (October 10-11 in Anaheim, California), we'd like to give you a glimpse of just a few items you might find in your goody bag when you arrive at the show.

If you've ever been on the verge of finishing off a paladin, only to be foiled at the last second, you'll appreciate the 16” inflatable divine shield ball, complete with a paladin inside in the midst of hearthing away. Half of the goody bags handed out will contain the bubble-hearth ball, while the other half will have...

Frostmourne. The very name of Arthas's runeblade strikes terror into hearts across Azeroth. Now it comes to you in a more convenient package, and you don't even have to travel to Icecrown Glacier to get it. As you go about your daily activities, whether they be raising legions of the undead or just brooding on your throne, carrying this 48” inflatable Frostmourne will grant you an extra touch of sinister majesty.

Read more here.