Yearly Archives: 2010

World of Avalon

Avalon is a Persistent Browser Based Game set in medieval times. Players engage in the age-old struggle for great respect, unimaginable fame and untold riches.

Your quest to become a legend begins in the main city of Avalon, one of many cities accessible as you progress through the game. Each city has its own shops, each with a plethora of items. Like many stores, in the beginning you have little in the way of material possessions, your only protection in a sharp piece of wood and an old cloak which will hopefully help you endure the cold nights.

To become the ultimate legend, you need resources…both wealth and good physical qualities. Farming is a great way to gain affluence, bartering in the local markets is also rewarding. In Avalon many adventures also present themselves but you must be brave to succeed. Visit the Inn and embark on Quests that take across the land where you will face mighty foes and incredible instruments of destruction. Equip your character with a wide range of weapons, armor and extremely valuable special items to defend your allies and dominate your enemies. Form a guild and show the world the meaning of true power. Command the respect of others and extend your supremacy by unlocking extraordinary guild upgrades. Ascend the rankings and earn the fame and respect fit for a King.

Travel to all the cities and defeat all who challenge you to be known as a true champion, but the victories you seek can only be earned by gaining the mastery over the cunning gladiators of these distant lands; defeating them will be no easy task. The strong, swift and resilient can conquer some but only the best can conquer them all and earn the right to travel to the Ancient Sanctuary and face the greatest of challenges for the ultimate prize.

Angels Online: Fuzz Balls Evolve Into Powerful Pets

Angels Online: Fuzz Balls Evolve Into Powerful Pets

 

Ever since IGG’s Angels Online team added Fuzz Ball Eggs to the game, players have been eager to raise and train their new pets. If you don’t have one yet, read on to find out why these new pets have become all the rage in Eden.

 

Fuzz Balls are one of the oldest forms of life in Eden. However, a mysterious magical power sealed them underground for eons. When an interest in archeology swept through the land, scientists uncovered the latent eggs and word quickly spread of their discovery. The Fuzz Balls are pure because they existed before the Angel Lyceum and Evil Lyceum were founded. These blank slates have the potential to become either a devil or an angel. It all depends on how their masters decide to train them.

 

First Stage of Growth

Like other pets in Eden, Fuzz Balls start out as eggs that passively accompany their masters. When they reach level 15, the Fuzz Balls hatch to reveal a round and bulging shape, large liquid eyes, and flapping wings. White wings mark the pets as angels while black wings show them to be devils. Whether they will grow to become angelic protectors or devilish destroyers, a Fuzz Ball’s destined fate has only just begun to be reflected in its appearance at this stage.

 

Fuzzball Pets
Fuzzball Pets

 

Second Stage of Growth

Using a Medium Blood Certificate, players can help level 35 Fuzz Ball pets evolve into their second stage of growth. Fuzz Angels have an angelic halo and a pair of white wings. They are good at attacking while providing various magic buffs for their masters during combat. Fuzz Devils have a pair of bat ears and black wings and can cast critical damage spells on enemies.

 

Fuzzball Angel
Fuzzball in Battle

 

Third Stage of Growth

At level 55, the pets need an Advanced Blood Certificate to evolve into their final shapes. Some have bloody eyes and wield a huge Azrael Hook. Others boast huge white wings and an amiable manner while wielding an Angel Wand. There are five distinct Fuzz Ball pet types in Eden, and each of them possesses unique and awesome attributes. They may be good at using ranged attacks or perform quick warrior strikes. Players should take their class strengths and weaknesses into account when deciding what kind of Fuzz Ball to raise to achieve the perfect balance in combat.

 

Bright Shadow Review

Bright Shadow Review: The Future is Bright on This One
By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist

 

Bright Shadow is a 3D MMORPG from GamepotUSA. The game mixes a familiar game system and cutesy anime graphics to create an addicting online game.

 

Graphics

Like many other eastern-based MMOs, Bright Shadow takes a lot of its game interface and graphics from anime-like designs. However it uses freakishly long arms and legs instead of the usual shorter designed characters used by majority of the cute MMORPGs.

 

Bright Shadow Combat

 

You can’t deny that the game really banks on the cuteness factor because aside from the characters, everything feels colorful and, innocent. The game’s cuteness really works well with however you still need to get used to a character with long arms and legs whacking monsters. Personally, it took me a while to accept it.

 

Sounds

With the game taking the cute route, I think it’s safe to assume that you will probably expect pop music to play all throughout the game. Well, you are right and wrong with that assumption. Yes, you hear pop like music as you play the game, but, it’s not the pop kind of music you’d expect.

 

The game’s BGM varies in every map you get into. It adjusts to the atmosphere the map seems to be projecting. What I like about the game’s BGM is that you never get tired of hearing it, even after playing the game for a long time. The music variation is good and it’s never too loud.

 

Game System

As mentioned, the game uses a familiar game system, which is found in most MMORPGs out there. You have the linear leveling system where your options of gaining experience is either though doing quests or grinding. The game also uses a stat based leveling system where you get to choose where to allocate stat points that you earn every level up. However, there is an added system in Bright Shadow’s leveling which I will explain in detail later on.

 

Character Information Bright Shadow
Character screens

 

Bright Shadow has your typical PvE game system setup. I’m not sure if the game will include a PvP system later on, but currently there is none included in the game. You’ll have your hands full just by doing the game’s numerous quest but once you’ve reached the level cap you have nothing to really make you keep on playing except for the episode updates.

 

Current System Changes

Speaking of episode updates. The game released its episode 1 on February 8, 2010. The update gave way to new job classes, new maps and an increased level cap. I don’t have word yet when the next update is but I’m sure that you’ll have your hands full trying to get to the level cap.

 

Other Game Systems

Soul Unlock

As I mentioned earlier, there’s an innovative game system that Bright Shadow has incorporated into the leveling system. The game calls it the Soul Unlock. It’s a character stat bonus system where you will get bonuses ranging from attack to defense and even weight capacity. You get these stat bonuses when you allocate your stat points in the various general stats in your character screen.

 

Soul Points
Soul Points

 

The computation of what bonus you get is fairly simple to understand. It’s linked to how many points you allocate on a stat. The game’s bonus puts emphasis on the player’s stat allocation. You only have limited space for the bonuses so you need to have a firm grip on the stats you need to allocate.

 

 Umbra Guide

Another game system in Bright Shadow to look forward to is the Umbra guide. According to the game documentation, the Umbra guide serves as the “princesses”, the celestial beings that once protected humanity and helped the humans protect themselves from the monsters, or Umbras.

 

Umbra Guide Bright Shadow
Umbra Guide

 

The Umbra guide works like a card holder for the monster cards you get to acquire in Bright Shadow. Monster cards in Bright Shadow can be used as buffs or you can trade them for better items on selected NPCs. You can also summon monsters from the cards, however it seems that system has yet to be implemented with Bright Shadow so the card’s full potential is still locked tight.

 

Burst Point

Bright Shadow has incorporated a burst system that helps you in your adventures. You basically earn burst points, which you can save up to 5. Burst points serve as a unique drop whenever you successfully kill a monster. The points look like purple orbs on an enemy carcasses. Once you get the max burst point your character is then super buffed for about a minute. It may not be a long buff but you’d realize as you continue on playing Bright Shadow having burst points can mean life or death for your character.

 

Minor Features

Bright Shadow currently has a myriad of minor features that can make your gaming experience pleasurable. This includes the skill system the game has. It’s unique because it lets you “forget” skills if you deem It necessary. Also, the points you use in learning skills is earned through getting “reiki” or the bubble like glowing stuff whenever you kill a monster. This is then converted to SP which serves to either provide you with points to learn or use your skills.

 

Another cute feature in Bright Shadow is that you can morph into monsters if you have the skill learned. The monsters vary as you progress through the game and it’s really fun to see your character become a big monster that you get to control.

 

Bright Shadow Morphed
Morphed into a monster

 

A minor feature that I liked in Bright Shadow is the speech balloons that pop up while you play the game. These speech balloons come from monsters and NPCs. They vary from monsters cursing you and humanity for killing them or random ramblings of NPCs. I also find the speech balloons funny because of the grammatically incorrect statements from the NPCs. Though I think this is mainly due to the translation the game has gone through but it’s not really a serious problem.

 

Conclusion

All in all I think Bright Shadow has a lot of potential as a MMORPG. However, the game has yet to show its true potential because right now I’m seeing a skeleton of the game rather than something complete. I like the idea that players will have something to look forward to because for sure there will be more feature updates in the succeeding patches. It also works the other way because a lot of players may be turned off with the game because it’s not yet complete.

 

Bright Shadow has yet to show us what it can provide and I’m really looking forward to seeing the game grow into a complete MMO.

 

Pros:
– Umbra Guide keeps you grounded on other things aside from PvE and Questing
– A refreshing take on the anime-ish cutesy MMORPGs
– Adds to the usual leveling system the game.

 

Cons:
The game has yet to unlock a lot of the game systems
– You have only PvEs and questing as ways to earn experience
– May be too cute for some people.

CosmicBreak

CosmicBreak is a 3D MMO third person shooter featuring anime style characters/mecha and a high level of player character customization. Players own multiple robots whose parts, weapons, etc., can be mix-matched, upgraded, and modified. The game also features a skin editor which allows players to repaint their robots.

The main game mode is a PvP Arena mode, which allows for team battles of up to 30 vs. 30. Elements such as medic-like repair robots and firepower boosting bases for each side encourage the use of team tactics. There are also mission and quest modes where players can battle against NPCs either alone or in a party with others.

Upon registering an in-game account, players are also granted access to the official CosmicBreak social networking website where they can discuss the game with other players, contact the developers, swap skins, organize in-game clans, etc.

Impressions of MMO Art

Impressions of MMO Art
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

 

Have you ever seen a nice poster or banner that made you want to play a certain game? Are you playing that game simply because of the eye candy characters and environment? Thought so. Much like  animation and movies, art plays a huge role in gaming. You could say that due to the mundane experience in this world (even with the inclusion of our everyday fantasy world of humans and orcs), developers need to come up with concepts that seduce us (forgive me for the term) into immersing ourselves in their newly created world. Why exactly do you feel the majesty of a certain dungeon or boss fight? Why do your characters look stylish despite their unorthodox armor? How do they keep everything fresh anyway? Let’s see.

 

MMO Art Intro

 

A Fine Example

One of the reasons why MMOs are so addictive is that in general they give us a form of reality, but it is an enhanced reality. Art serves a big role when we pick our desired MMO games. When Dragons and Demons become too old and dull, what would become of our alternate virtual world? This is perhaps one of the hardest tasks faced by artists who play visionary. That is why art is of such high importance when creating and developing games. When elves become too old, dark elves spawn, and when they lose their charm, blood elves are born. The resemblance may seem uncanny to some, but it takes a true visionary (or a true artist) to make them feel and seem different despite the similarities.

 

MMO Artwork Concept Presentation

 

Concept and Presentation

Creating a concept isn’t as easy as grabbing a few characters and putting them in an awesome dungeon; in fact, even if you have a rich lore and an epic soundtrack to go with it, the game still has a chance to be a huge failure. It’s not easy to come up with something that appeals to most gamers. This is why we tend to see a lot of elements being used over and over again, hence what we have come to know as “rip-offs”.

 

Still Not Good Enough?

Don’t think spamming the same elements does much good though. Due to the sickening repetitiveness of certain content, a lot of games undergo numerous revisions to come off fresh. One good example would be the diverse set of names given to a single archetype. We have mages, elementalists, magic wielders, and enchanters. What’s the difference anyway? It takes a real artist to mold a fossil into something new and awesome.

 

What About a Wee-bit of Anime?

Anime or Japanese animation has revolutionized the whole concept of game art. With bug eyed characters who look anything but proportional, anime characters have also changed the whole idea of beauty when it comes to games (those Disney princesses don’t stand a chance). You could say that both male and female beauty has been redefined completely. In the anime concept, males are taken to a whole new level of metro sexuality, gradually thinning the line between male and female. I’m not sure why girly boys are hot… whatever rocks your boat I guess. Females on the other hand only need to focus on their cuteness factor. Although I find it incomprehensible, anime girls tend to be a lot cuter when they look like little girls. It’s technically the same as the western view of a hot chick; the only difference is their preferred age LOL.

 

MMO Art Anime Style 

 

Their mode of dressing has changed as well, along with the idea of thin people being as strong as buff men. This artwork has made its way into countless MMOs, making them stand out despite the shared concept. A medieval setting with anime artwork? Why not? Seems to have worked really well for Ragnarok Online.

 

Hook em’ With Fanservice!

Sometimes, when things get too hard, some games resort to “turn ons” to hook their audiences. Yes, art can also work at a sexual level, which is practically why you dudes are using female characters. Fanservice can make any game good despite its lack of content. As long as the players are happy checking out their lady character’s arse, the game can be classified as good. This results in the creation to of sexy well endowed beauties that now flood the MMO scene. I bet those mages didn’t look THAT kinky back then (didn’t they?). The armor sets today are quite preposterous if I may say so myself. Most players seem to love the whole “the less you wear, the stronger you are” concept, which is yet another break away from the whole fantasy armor factor. Since characters today respect style as a symbol of power (possibly due to anime references where the armored guy knows nothing but brute force), this new method of armoring characters seems to have appealed to most gamers. 

 

MMO Art Fanservice Boobs Evony

 

If you think that’s all, think again. Remember Evony Online? LOL need I say more? As long as there’s a hot babe holding a signboard with your game’s name on it, you’ll never go wrong.

 

MMO Art Fanservice

 

Negative Side: Artwork Covering Up Sucky Games

While some games actually have elements that match their great artwork, some MMOs (I refuse to name them, but allow me to cast my first stone in the air) have artwork that has no connection with the game whatsoever. One good example would be the loading screen from certain games. I’ve played a certain 2d game for years now, and I still don’t understand what type of armor set that character in the loading screen is wearing. I mean sure, the image has been used in banners and has attracted a lot of people, but must they actually trick people into thinking that such an armor set exists in the game just to hook them?

 

Its Everywhere
MMO art is everywhere

 

It’s Everywhere

From the land you worship, to the spells you cast. Art serves as the medium that holds the games we play together. It lets us enjoy games more by continuing to make the line between fantasy and reality more defined even as it continues to get thinner. This means that no matter how much we get used to this alternate world, they’re always sure to come up with something that will continue to keep us in awe.

I am Guilty! A Former Gold Farmer Speaks

I am Guilty! A Former Gold Farmer Speaks
By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist

 

I’ve always wondered what goes on behind the scenes with the gold farmers you often see in a lot of MMORPGs. They call it a business but I can’t grasp the magnitude of how big a business gold farming really is. I was only able to understand the scope and the amount of capital someone would need to draw out when a friend of mine told me he used to work for a gold farming company.

 

Under the guise of an MMORPG services company, the company my friend worked for had an office located in a business center here in this country. This meant that the people behind the “MMORPG services company” were really paying cold hard cash for people to farm gold for them even though the game publisher’s considers this type of business ‘illegal’.

 

Gold Farmer Interview

 

Writer’s Note: Interviewee requested to use an alias ‘drevin’ for the interview

 

Vincent: So could you tell use your age and current job?
Drevin: I’m 24 years old and currently working as a web designer in one of the companies here in the country.

 

Vincent: How did you stumble into the MMORPG gold farming business?
Drevin: I just graduated from college then and was looking for a job. I wasn’t really hoping to get a job that’s in line with my course so I grabbed the job offer for a technical support representative on one of the local job sites here. I wasn’t really expecting to work for a company like this so I was surprised when I got to the office and saw what I had to do.

 

Vincent: What was your job in the company? What was the game you were assigned to when you came in?
Drevin: I started out as one of the farmers for our World of Warcraft team. During that time the company only offered services for WoW so that’s where I was assigned.

 

Vincent: What was the company setup?
Drevin: The company had 3 shifts with 2 Team Leaders present in each shift. The teams are separated into two, one team handles the farming which is composed of about 6-8 members while the other team handles gold deliveries which is composed of ten people.

 

Vincent: How many accounts did you handle while you were working as a farmer? And how did you handle those accounts?
Drevin: Each farmer has about 16 to 20 characters that they would need to handle at the same time. The company provided a special software developed by the company’s programmers to make things automated.

 

Vincent: The program you mentioned is a bot program right? Why do they need to be supervised by 6-8 people?
Drevin: Yes, it’s a bot program for WoW that the programmers made. However the program isn’t really perfect so we still need to check up on them once in a while specially when they die, get stuck on one area or equip the character. The program only helps in management of the characters but that doesn’t eliminate the need for people on handling them.

 

 Vincent: How big was your office then? It must house a lot of pcs especially for the amount of people you have?

Drevin: The office was actually big, we never got to actually see the other departments because they were located at the second floor of our office. Our room was basically for the farmers and deliverers.

 

Vincent: How do you exactly farm in WoW? And why is there a need for deliverers?

Drevin: The farming team is separated into two groups. The first half concentrates on PVE and questing to earn gold while the other half handles auctions. The delivery team handles the low level characters and that’s the team that meets up the clients in-game to give the gold they ordered. The delivery team is separated because there were a lot of customers so they can’t play.

 

Vincent: Is gold farming the only service you guys provide?
Drevin: Actually, the company also provides power leveling services aside from selling gold. The customers pay the company to pilot their toons.

 

Vincent: Did the company only handle WoW?
Drevin: While I was with the company, our services branched off to other games such as FFXII, LoTR Online, Everquest, Everquest 2, Lineage 2. I’m not sure if they included more games when I left last 2008.

 

Vincent: Did you enjoy working for the company?
Drevin: Of course, it was my first job after graduation and the experience I learned from that really helped me see how the corporate world is.

 

Vincent: Did you regret working for the company?
Drevin: No not really. I liked how it felt to be a Team Leader in the company and it was nice that I had people under me, hahaha!

 

Vincent: How was the work environment?
Drevin: It was strict then because our American bosses were at the office that time. They were also playing with us so they’d know indirectly if we’re doing our jobs or not.

 

Vincent: So if you enjoyed working for the company why did you leave?
Drevin: I was laid-off because the company wasn’t really doing well. There were way too many games coming out and unlike before where there’s a stable amount of customers there were just too many MMOs coming out that our company couldn’t keep up.

 

Vincent: Did it ever cross your mind that game farming is can destroy the game’s economy?
Drevin: Yes it did cross my mind, but then I needed the job so earning my paycheck’s more important than the game’s economy.

 

Gold Farmed 

 

In Conclusion

 

With the amount of money invested for the game farming business it’s no wonder we get pestered by gold farmers in the famous MMORPGs we play. However, the fact remains that a business like this is still considered illegal under the terms of the game distributors so it’s much like the black market of MMOs.

 

Seeing how these companies work and how they are set up hopefully provides you guys with a good perspective on how serious this business is. The question of supporting this kind of business is still up to you. After reading this article however removes the excuse of being innocent of how things work in this part of the MMO industry. So what will you decide on?

Trailer Available for Age of Conan Expansion: Rise of the Godslayer

Trailer Available for Age of Conan Expansion: Rise of the Godslayer

 

Funcom just released the launch trailer for Rise of the Godslayer, the first expansion for the highly acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventure’. The launch trailer gives a unique look into the many locations, characters and monsters that players will be able to meet and experience when the expansion launches online and as a part of an updated package in retail on May 11th.

 

“We are getting close to the launch date for Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer, and we are very excited to bring this expansion to life,” says Game Director and Executive Producer Craig Morrison. “This trailer gives but a tiny glimpse of all the amazing content and gameplay that we are offering in the expansion, as Khitai is a massive land filled with new experiences.”

 

Age Of Conan Godslayer 

 

The expansion, set in the eastern empire of Khitai, builds on an already extensive Conan universe. ‘Rise of the Godslayer’ expands on an already massive game world, and will also introduce entirely new and exciting gameplay mechanics. Launching on May 11th, the expansion will be available both through retail and as a digital download. In retail the expansion will come in an all-new packaging that includes both the expansion and the original game, allowing new players to quickly get up to speed with all the new content and gameplay.

 

Launching in May 2008 Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures quickly became a smash hit in retail, shipping over 1.2 million copies around the world. In North America, the most prominent online gaming market in the west, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures became the third best-selling PC title of the year in 2008. In the weeks after launch Age of Conan simultaneously topped the charts in 17 countries, and the game received critical acclaim from gaming press across the globe. Age of Conan is now available in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Polish localized versions, and is being prepared for launch in Korea as well.

 

Age Of Conan Rise of Godslayer

Frogster Announces Release Date 3rd Chapter of Runes of Magic – The Elder Kingdoms

Frogster Announces Release Date 3rd Chapter of Runes of Magic – The Elder Kingdoms

 

Frogster, a leading publisher of online games, today announced that the large main release of the third chapter of Runes of Magic will take place on 18th May 2010. The comprehensive expansion adds a large new game region, several dungeons, loads of new quests and many more challenges and features.

 

‘Chapter III – The Elder Kingdoms’ takes players to the newly rediscovered continent Zandorya. Here the old kingdom of Dalanis lies in chaos and turmoil with plotters scheming behind the throne of the child-king Callaway. Little remains of the old glory of the ruling dynasty from the time of the legendary King Kalume. In total desperation, the people long for the return of the old heroes. So now it’s down to all brave adventurers to support the young regent and bring order to the chaos.

 

Runes of Magic Chapter III 3

 

 

Level 55+ adventurers can already take their first steps into the new kingdom full of intrigue and uprisings when they enter the ‘Thunderhoof Hills’, the first territory in the ‘The Elder Kingdoms’ already launched previously.

 

Following on to that, the launch of the update on 18th May marks the main release of Runes of Magic ‘Chapter III – The Elder Kingdoms’. As early as June, within the framework of the third chapter, there will then be another new territory loaded onto the live servers. Additional content will follow on a monthly cycle. More information at the Runes of Magic page for Chapter III.

 

 

Runes of Magic Chapter III 3 Boxpet Wolf