All Posts by Szark

NCsoft has announced that Deployment 10.6 is now on the Public Test Server, bringing with it a drastic increase to prices for Grey Market Vendor items.

The main change in this iteration is the 500% increase in prices for Grey Market Vendor items. We understand that this is a significant increase, however we felt that through testing and player feedback, the items were too inexpensive relative to their power.

Weapons have the ability to alter game balance drastically, so the weapon prices were increased, but items purchased at Control Point vendors are the same price. We also noticed that player's rate of prestige gain was higher than expected and wanted to ensure that crafted items would still have an edge over NPC purchased items. We will continue to evaluate Grey Market Vendor prices as we add more prestige based items for purchase.

Read more here.

The folks at Wurm Online have announced that they have added a new server for their unique sandbox MMO.

Welcome to the lands of Mol Rehan.

Wurm Online has launched a brand new world; an unspoilt, untouched land of vast mountains and lakes ready for new and experienced players of this unique game. A new land is just that. There are no plans, no roads, no maps, no towns, villages, no people and no story. This is a wild place of forests, lakes, seas, mountains and surprises!

The first of the explorers arrive at Alchemist’s Bay, just a small group gathered round the Town Token. This is a town indeed, but one without any structure or form; just guards, a guide and a few helpful people, and a whole wagon load of promise. Trees must be felled, shovels put to work, mines open, and perhaps a harbour built on the steep shores to welcome those that sail from other lands. For sail in they must, and out from the waves, from the mists and storms of the great oceans of Wurm, row boats, small sailing vessels, graceful ships, in they come to this land, their faces drawn with hope and dreams as they gaze at the mountains dominating the horizon.

What happens next is in the hands of the players. Will they stop to help build Alchemists Bay? Or will they simply buy a deed and head out into the unexplored country? On Wurm, nothing is set in stone; it is all down to the players.

Read more here.

IGG has announced details of several sporting themed events that will be held in Tales of Pirates.

The Tales of Pirates team held a Sporting Competition which includes a Regatta, Relay Races, a Marathon and more. They also prepared tons of gold and mystical rewards for these events. Pirates had a wonderful time during the Sporting Competition.

Event I: Regatta

The Vast Ocean is filled with pirates and danger but also innumerable treasures. This regatta aims to test pirate’s abilities in fighting and survival. Rumor has it that there are tons of treasures hidden at the end of the match. If players want to become a rich pirate and if players enjoy sailing, then here is a golden opportunity to prove themselves.

Event II: Relay Race

The Relay race is a good event to test speed and teamwork. Only the swiftest and most cooperative team can win the match. Let’s start from the beginning and finish running the whole course with strong minds and perfect teamwork. Players will gain awards from the GM for each part of the course you complete. If player finish running the whole course, he/she will also gain mystical awards.

Event III: Marathon

The Marathon is one of the most grueling races ever. It’s said that it originated from the story of a Greek hero who returned to Athens to report a victory with a torch in his hand. In this event players can learn more about the story.

Event IV: Dreams Come True

The summer vacation sporting competition will offer players the opportunity to make your dream come true. If player can find the hidden GM, one of your dreams will come true.

Read more here.

Frogster has provided beta and release information about their line of games, including The Chronicles of Spellborn, Runes of Magic, Stone Age 2 Bounty Bay Online and more.

Frogster goes into the second half of the year with a wide-ranging MMOG portfolio. The concentrated five-game package consists of Runes of Magic, The Chronicles of Spellborn, StoneAge 2, Kickster and an Add-on for Bounty Bay Online.

The fantasy MMORPG Runes of Magic, will enter closed beta in September and features a soundtrack by the prestigious sound studio Dynamedion. Two months later the Berlin publisher will go straight into open beta,with plans to release English and German versions of the game by the end of the year. Beta pre-registrations have already started on the official website at: www.runesofmagic.com . Soon, Frogster will invite community members and guilds into the alpha.

Frogster's autumn is complemented by The Chronicles of Spellborn, which just last week passed performance and stress tests very successfully in an essential development milestone. After integrating the final content and performing the last balancing and polishing, Frogster will release the long awaited fantasy online role playing game this year as planned. For Spellborn the beta-registration has already started as well at: www.spellborn.com.

The newly announced MMOG, StoneAge 2, will enter closed beta in August. The launch of the free-2-play game is also planned for autumn (beta registration is at: www.stoneage2.com). In addition to its MMOG line-up, Frogster will introduce the details of Kickster next week in detail. The trendy free-2-play soccer community game will also launch in autumn. Finally, a large-scale add-on for the Pirate-themed MMOG, Bounty Bay Online, is also in production.

Read more here.

Mythic Entertainment has posted anther look at the Living Guilds System in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.  This week the focus is on how guilds will advance in this system.

This week’s Guild Highlights feature is Guild Advancement. In Warhammer Online, a guild is not just a group of like-minded players; it’s an entity in itself capable of gaining experience and moving up through the ranks with the aid of its members. Guild Experience Points (GXP) are earned through the actions and accomplishments of the guild’s members. Guild experience points are the equivalent of character experience points. As specific thresholds of prestige points have been accumulated, the guild advances to the next Guild Rank.

Read more here.

Lionhead Studios' Peter Molyneux confirmed that he's been thinking about what an MMO from Lionhead Studios could look like in a recent Eurogamer article about Fable 2.

Eurogamer: There seems to be a lot of MMO mechanics in Fable 2. Are MMOs something you've been thinking about recently?

Peter Molyneux: [Gestures to PR] Well, there's someone in this room to make sure that I don't say too much about that question. I have been looking at MMOs. I love the interaction, and I'm fascinated by the idea of really feeling secure and cool enough to actually do it.

Eurogamer: Have you thought about making an MMO, and about what a Lionhead MMO would look like?

Peter Molyneux: Yes.

Eurogamer: And you can't answer the question...?

Peter Molyneux: No.

Read more here.

Friday Night Fights have been a popular event in Tabula Rasa since the game was in beta. NCsoft's Amy “Critters” Crider guides us through the evolution of the event, introduces the new boxing ring, and lets players know how they can join in.

Q: What are Friday Night Fights?

A: Friday Night Fights is a popular hand-to-hand boxing event that takes place every Friday night in Tabula Rasa. Based on the original Friday Night Fights event created by the Tabula Rasa Community Team, the now player-run event has its own meeting location in game, aptly named the C.E.L.L.A.R (Coalition of Enlistees Likely Looking for Aggressive Retaliation), and a weekly winner’s bracket posted on the official Tabula Rasa website.

Richard VS Jesus Friday Night Fight Video Richard Garriott and two time featherweight boxing champ, Jesus Chavez, will be going one on one this Friday, July 25th at 6pm Central in Tabula Rasa's Friday Night Fights.

See the full article, video, and screenshots here.

NCsoft has plans to improve the crafting system in Tabula Rasa and senior game system designer Mike Moore has posted an overview of those plans.

Hello! I'm Mike Moore, one of TR's senior game system designers, and I'm about to begin working in earnest on improvements to our Crafting system. For all of Deployment 11, I have been working on prototyping some small but important changes to Crafting. On evaluation of that prototype, many of us feel like we're on to something good. So, at this point, we want to polish things up and get them out to the Public Test Server and let you guys have a look.

Now, let me make clear from the get-go that the upcoming changes to Crafting are intended to be incremental. We aren't going to publish this as a massive, game-changing update. Instead, we're going to make small changes over a few upcoming publishes. The idea is to ease TR into a new and improved Crafting system rather than throwing it off the deep end.

We've had a Crafting revamp on the back burner for a few months, and now we're in a position to put some development resources behind it. At this point, our rough (and always subject to change) plans are to get an iteration on Crafting up on the Public Test Server with Deployment 12, and then add more incremental improvements in subsequent Deployments.

Read more here.

Cryptic Studios has posted a profile of Foxbat, the 'greatest villain in the world' in their upcoming superhero MMO, Champions Online.

Foxbat is the world's greatest supervillain. Women want him, and men want to be near him. His crimes are comic masterpieces, and are always successful. He lives life with legendary panache and a tastefully sexy style that movie stars and other supervillains can only envy.

He's Foxbat. And he's awesome.

Read more here.

The folks at EverQuest II have posted part two of their preview of Storm Break, the next update for EverQuest II.

Storm Break, is as full of yummy goodness as a halfling's pantry! So good, in fact, we had to show it off in two parts!

Spell Drops

From now on, when the random Adept I and Master I spells drop from critters in the level 1-20 range, they will only be spells that you or members of your group can use!

Some new changes to a few dungeons!

Sebilis and Chardok have new mid-zone respawn points! Also, many of the named critters in Sebilis, Chardok, and Karnor's Castle are less shy and more generous with the quality of their "phat lewtz."

Read more here.

IGG has announced the launch of a new European server for Angels Online.

Angels Online, an IGG game, prides itself on its cute characters, rich storylines, and tons of fancy items.

AO has been successfully operating for more than half a year now, and more and more players come to join us everyday! With all these new players IGG needs to ease the pressure on their servers, so the AO team will be releasing a new server for European players so that players can enjoy a better game environment and better game quality.

Read more here.

FireSky Studios has announced their schedule of appearances at next week's San Diego Comic Con.

The schedule for next week's San Diego Comic Con panels has been announced.  Among the important days and times to watch are Friday, July 25, 2008 in Ballroom 20! 10:45-11:45 Stargate Continuum— Following on the heels of the hit DVD release Ark of Truth, the next full-length feature will be released Tuesday, July 29, with principal cast members returning for the biggest adventure of them all! This panel features Brad Wright (series co-creator and Continuum developer, executive producer and writer), Martin Wood (director), and (subject to availability) stars Richard Dean Anderson (General Jack O'Neill), Amanda Tapping (Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter), Ben Browder (Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell), Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson), and Christopher Judge (Teal'c). Ballroom 20

11:45-12:15 Stargate Worlds— After nearly 15 years on the air, the Stargate franchise is launching its first-ever multilevel online game, with all the elements—and more!—fans expect from the Stargate family. The key creative team from Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and FireSky Studios present a compelling sneak-peek and answer questions. Panelists include Brad Wright (Stargate series' co-creator, executive producer and writer) plus Dan Elggren (FireSky Studio head), Chris Klug (creative director), Howard Lyon (art director), and Demetrius Comes (director of technology). Ballroom 20

Read more here.

The folks at City of Heroes/Villains have announced details of Hero-Con '08, an event where the residents of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles can meet members of the dev team.

Join the City of Heroes & City of Villains Development team and other super heroes and super villains for a "Freem" filled day and night of activities.

This year promises to raise the roof of the exclusive Hyatt Regency Hotel in Santa Clara, California on Saturday, October 18, 2008. We have arranged special pricing at this beautiful hotel for our event attendees, if you wish to book a room for the event please enter this code G-NCSO to unlock or book directly from this page to get our special pricing for rooms. This special rate can be applied on dates prior and after the event as well.

Read more here.

NCsoft has announced that The 2nd Throne - Gracia - Part 1 update is now up and running on their test server.

The 2nd Throne - Gracia - Part 1 update is now live on the Public Test Server! Be one of the first to try out the new Vitality System, new quests and skills, changes to crafting and PVP, and much more!

Check the official Public Test Server forum for more info on The 2nd Throne - Gracia - Part 1 update Public Test Server!

Read more here.

Blizzard has announced that the Spanish language, Latin American version of World of Warcraft will be available starting Friday July 25th.

The Latin American Spanish version of World of Warcraft is gearing up for release and will be available for purchase starting next Friday, July 25. See the press release and FAQ for further details.

To celebrate the release, we’ll be holding a launch event in Plaza Satelite, a mall located in Estado de Mexico, on July 26 and 27. We’ll have activities to participate in and prizes to win, and you’ll be able to meet members of our Latin American team and other Blizzard Entertainment employees. For more details, please visit the event webpage.

If you’re new to World of Warcraft, we suggest checking out our Getting Started guide for more information on the game.

Read more here.

CCP has posted notification of an exploit that involves using neutral characters to tank enemies during factional warfare.

Exploit notification

Using neutral characters to tank Faction Navy NPCs to stop them from attacking players involved in Factional Warfare with that faction is considered an exploit. Action will be taken against users found engaging in this activity.

Read more here.

While in attendance at E3, MMORPG.com Writer Carolyn Koh made an extended stop at the Mythic Entertainment's booth for a progress update and some hands on play time with Warhammer: Online Age of Reckoning.

Mythic Entertainment's Mark Jacobs recently shocked the Warhammer community by letting them know that they were cutting content before launch.  Six capital cities would be reduced to two and character careers would be reduced to 20.  Ten for each side of Order and Destruction.  Now that the dust has settled, Their booth in the EA appointment room was crowded with members of the media watching their E3 demo, and the demonstrators were quick to reassure that it was a good move for them.

We were given a quick tour of the Capital cities of Altdorf for Order with a dwarf showing off his mount, a dwarf copter and Inevitable City with a Magus on his disc.  

“We have dedicated a Cities Team,” said Content Director Destin Bales “and instead of being spread out among six different cities, they now are concentrating on two major cities and the dedication and polish shows.”
 

Read more here.

You're too quick for me.  The feature's been activated so the link should work now.

As the storyline in The Lord of the Rings Online goes ever on, the developers at Turbine have run into the problem of what to do with certain NPCs who move around a lot, specifically the Fellowship of the Ring. This latest Dev Journal from Turbine looks at how they solve these problems in Book 14.

Book 14 brings with it a number of great new additions and features, but for those of us heavily invested in the storyline, one of the most exciting developments is also one of the longest-awaited: the Fellowship will finally depart Rivendell on their errand of secrecy. In today's Dev Diary, I hope to shed some light on how we're accomplishing the big move, why we're handling it the way we are, and what it means for you!

Read more here.

IGG has announced that they have extended their 777 Dollars event in Zu Online, and that Zu players will get 5x experience rewards until July 31.

Zu Online, a 3D MMORPG from IGG, has been warmly welcomed by all manner of players due to its unique theme and traditional oriental features.

IGG has extended the event “Draw Your 777 Dollars” until September 30 and released a 5X EXP event that increases experience gained from killing monsters by 400% from 4:30am July 16th till 4:30am July 31st EDT (GMT-4) in Zu Online. Don’t wait any longer for this special opportunity to “Draw Your 777 Dollars”, it’s not everyday that players have the chance to get free money.

Read more about the 5X EXP event here.

Read more about the 777 Dollars event here.