Yearly Archives: 2010

Tales of Fantasy: New Instances in Closed Beta

Tales of Fantasy: New Instances in Closed Beta

 Tales of Fantasy will commence its Closed Beta this Wednesday and one of the highlights is the introduction of the mysterious new instances.
 
Gathering Instance
When it comes to raw materials for making high level equipment and weapons, there is no better source than the Shen’Nong Forest instance. The minimum level requirement for this instance is Level 35, and all the high level raw materials you’ll need to create fantastic equipment can be gathered in this instance alone. However, watch out for the BOSS and his various underlings, who are hell-bent on spoiling all the fun!  The key here is to avoid getting into fights, and gather as much as possible before time runs out!
 
Tales of Fantasy Honor Players Boss
Boss Fight in Tales of Fantasy
 
 
PK Instance
Players who are Level 30+ will qualify for the Arena – this is where you can PK as much as you like!  Players can participate as a single person, or as a team. Simply sign up with the Arena NPC in the main cities, and the system will then automatically assign all participants into matchups. Players who win in the Arena will receive special titles, and have their names listed on the Arena rankings! The titles awarded offer a resistance to damage – the higher the rank, the better!
 
Defense Instance
The Dimensional Gate instance is a good chance to engage in teamwork with other players, utilizing the various strengths of the different classes to defend against wave after wave of monsters.
This instance is available to all players Level 30+. The main objective of the instance is to defend the Life Stone from destruction – by holding off 30 waves of monsters! Completing this instance rewards player with Centrifugal Stones, which can be used to exchange for Soul Crystals.
 
Tales of Fantasy Closed Beta Player Totem
Player and a magical Totem
 
 
Heroes’ Instance
The Lone Knight instance is available to all players who’ve reached Level 40+. The essence of which is exactly as name suggests – be the hero and save the day by defeating stage after stage of monsters and bosses! There are a total of 5 stages which must be cleared in order – simply complete all 5 to pass the challenge! 
 
For all the latest news and information on Tales of Fantasy, please visit the official website.
Tales of Fantasy Mounted Combat Closed Beta

Berserk Online

Berserk Online is a Free to Play Online trading card game based on an extremely popular Russian collectible card game. Players in Berserk Online can challenge each other using their own deck of cards. Each card is a creature with its unique abilities and features and there are more than 350 cards available in the game.
Berserk Online can be described an high strategy game, given its mix of classical trading card games gameplay and its unique board games elements which make the game even more strategical. The world in Berserk Online is divided into two Realms: Light and Darkness. Each player entering into Laar should decide which side to serve and protect.
 
Realm versus Realm wars: Berserk Online is the only Online TCG which features RvR wars: choose your side and fight for it!
Choose your own strategy: Berserk Online combines the richness of a trading card game with the strategic focus of a board game, in facts before starting a game you’ll have to place your cards on a board where you can face your opponents and look for the best strategy to defeat him.
Gain ounces and additional cards: Berserk Online features every months many different events and tournaments that will allow you to win rare cards or free ounces that you can then spend in the shop
Win new cards through quests: The newly introduced quests will allow you to win new cards, including extremely rare ones!
Free to play: Berserk Online is completely free to play, you can access every feature and join every battle completely for free.
Join and existing Clan: There many different Clans inside Berserk Online, join one and fight along your mates and make sure that your Clan can climb the ranking.

Conquer Online Spring Shopping Rush

The new expansion Legends Return is about to be released in Conquer Online at the end of April. The Shadow of Darkness is looming over Twin City as the demon stirs in his slumber. On the eve of this legendary clash, the TQ team will provide CO’s adventurers a chance to reinforce their characters and arsenals.

 

 

Conquer Online - Sping Shopping Rush

The Spring Shopping Rush will begin at 18:00, Apr 12, and last until 18:00, Apr 19 PDT. During the sale, a Promotion Emissary will appear in Twin City, offering players various types of rare gear and items at a great discount. Apart from the always popular super equipment packs, this time you will be able to purchase superior Refinery Items and Permanent Stones to grant your gear mighty prowess! Last but no least, you can find 2 new garments to customize your characters.

Miracle Castle Reveals Upcoming MMORPG: Soul Order Online

Miracle Castle Reveals Upcoming MMORPG: Soul Order Online
 
Miracle Castle introduces their brand new Free-To-Play MMORPG: Soul Order Online! This is a Full 3D visual angle fantastic game with a small client around 600MB.
 
 
Game Features
– Full 3D visual angle, small client and very short downloading time.
– Good definition but low PC requirement, fancy graphics and shocking skill effects.
– A MMORPG with a fantastic background of ancient Oriental Legend.
– Fierce fights and free PvP between two opposite realms: Fairy Land and Demon Land.
– Five different class properties, various inherences, skills and different weapons will customize your character.
– Seeking for mysterious souljewels and these rainbow colored souljewels will help you to get powerful soultreasures.  Soultreasure of Fire, Thunder, Demon, Dragon, Lotus and Shadow, they are gorgeous and powerful.
– Kinds of neat and vigoroso Arrays for small team and even a group of hundred people.  A successful Array needs upstanding cooperative spirit and ability.
– Expedite auction is beyond realms and territories.
 
The official website for Soul Order Online will be launched this month and the game itself will come on stage around the end of April or the beginning of May. Miracle Castle will update more information and screenshots over the month, so keep a watchful eye on the latest news. 

Sudden Attack Receives Massive Portal Update

Sudden Attack Receives Massive Portal Update
 
GameHi announces new upgrades to their fast-paced MMOFPS Sudden Attack
GameHi, Inc., the blockbuster online games maker from Korea, today announced they’ve released multiple updates to their No. 1 free-to-play first person shooter (FPS), Sudden Attack.
 
First, in the new map, Gather up to Golden Eye, a new option allows players on opposing teams to retrieve various items not previously available. Players should be warned, there is a time limit in this retrieval mode. The next update has been made to Custom mode, now allowing players to select the weapons of their choice during normal battle. Knives Only and Pistols Only have both been added to this custom play, however, fans should note that they can’t use these modes during Clan battles.
 
Additionally, the fan-favorite item Character Skinbox, has been repackaged. Players now have female characters to choose from, as well as new usage length times on everything from characters, to colored name-tags. Lastly, back by popular demand, the tough female characters Noble Eye and Red Wind, will now be available for a  limited time to purchase and play. For more information on all of the above updates please visit the April Events section at GameHi.

MMOs Fulfilling Human Needs

MMOs Fulfilling Human Needs
By Kei Beneza (dividelife) & Vincent Haoson(vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalists

 

No matter how successful you are in this world, you will never be a sword wielding hero in the midst of battle. This means that regardless of how big your establishments are, you are still bound to this mortal coil, as well as the laws of reality. You can’t fly (unless you ride a plane of course), you can’t bash heads and be praised for it, you can’t steal money from chests you happen to find lying on the ground, and no you can’t cast spells (screw David Blaine). Here we will discuss the relevance of video games, as it fulfills our inner most desires. This is not OZ anymore, and no way will you ever want to tap those shoes to get home again.

 

Why do we play Video Games?

We play mainly to separate ourselves from this mundane life. How boring is this world anyway? Comparing it to the awesomeness of actually having to summon demons from the depths of hell to fight for you, life is pretty dull. We humans need variety! And no, I’m not talking about stock markets and heavy workloads, I’m talking about something a bit more adventurous and risk free. The world is too matured for its own good, and the only way for people to actually take risks is when their lives are truly on the line. That’s not fun right? In fact, it’s bloody STUPID. So why spend 24 hours in total linearity when you can jump right in and experience life like you’ve never seen before.

 

MMO Games Needs Risks
Some of us need to take risks

 

Fantasy World

Welcome to the world of fantasy, where dolphins fly and you get paid to kill people. I mean, how cool is it to actually have the right to barge inside someone’s home, steal his money, and still get rewarded for it? Living in this alternate universe kills the effects of reality; this is the reason why people also tend to role play. Let’s think about it, it IS called a ROLE PLAYING GAME after all. Here you can explore the deep oceans without scuba gear, ready to pounce on sharks that block your way. You can also gallop around the endless desert in search for treasure (try that in real life, and you’re bound to get a lot of cactus juice). Killing Demons and Dragons is definitely the best way to live. They’re probably a lot scarier than your boss, but at least they reward you better <_<.

 

Relevance

I’m sure everyone wants to be important, and what better way to be more important than being the head of the state than to be the leader of a race at war? Since war is the theme of the game, everyone is important, and yes, even the beggars who ask for gold can serve as the enemy fodder. People can actually count on you to perform tasks of utmost importance. Now I’m not saying that you’re a total loser who can’t do anything good, but I’m sure you get the point. If you’re a mage, people count on you to deliver massive damage, and at the same time, you can count on the tank to protect you from enemy attacks (because you’re such a wimp). As you can see, everyone is relevant in the system, and no matter how level you are, everyone’s bound to help to you in order to become a soldier worthy of protecting your people (provided that they are worthy of your awesomeness).

 

I remember my first raid. I was with 5 people then. I was fully aware that my character was weak but the other players actually asked me to do things for them as their classes are unable to provide that service. One thing about MMOs is that each class is important in various situations. You will always be needed, regardless of which class you take or what level you are.

 

Physique: Hubbah Hubbah!

Not everyone is happy about themselves, hence the hot character creation system of most MMOs. No longer are you bound to your not-so-Johnny-Depp look; instead, you can be the perfect dude next door, with your 6-pack abs and chiseled physique. Why exactly do people want to dress up their characters? Believe it or not, fashion is also a big factor when playing MMOs, for in this world, everyone’s permitted to design their characters the way they want them to be. Why wear a shirt when you can wear that revealing dress that shows everything but your butt-crack? Games give a virtual form of physical satisfaction that would be comparable to an expensive plastic surgery in real life. No longer will you have to work it out in the gym to achieve that Spartan spark, for all it needs is for you to click that left arrow in the body panel of your character creation screen.

 

MMO Needs Physique
Normal human male: Clearly gay
Some bodybuilder: Nice try, but still pretty feminine
WoW human: Manly man

 

Arousal

According to my survey, people also play games to satisfy their desires. Most players actually think it to be close to the real thing, but it’s quite understandable at some point, seeing that Valeera Sanguinar can never be found in real life. Arousal doesn’t necessarily have to do with sexual urges, but also the player’s methods of appreciation.  If you’ve ever felt the same kind of energy rush through your body while playing an MMO, as you had while listening to your favorite music or attending a sports match, that’s the type of feeling we apparently look for while playing games as well. If a game cannot make your heart race and if it cannot make you gather your effort and concentration while playing it, then we generally won’t like the game. We need to feel the positive energy, in order to play.

 

Valeera WoW Needs MMO

 

Social Interaction

Perhaps one of the things non-gamers will never understand is the balance between online friends and real ones. In my experience (as a long time gamer), online friends are just as good and sometimes better as we have more things to do than my friends in real life. You may think I’m exaggerating, but are your friends capable of taking down a dragon? I didn’t think so. Drama comes natural in the virtual world. When your friend is ganked, you go out for revenge. LOL Try doing that in real life! You would probably get handcuffs as a reward. Anyway, don’t think that social interaction only revolves around friends.

 

As most of you know, LOVE has also worked its way into the online planes. I wouldn’t really underestimate the intensity of this interaction as online relationships have the tendency to break real ones, and could even become real when time sees fit. I can probably cite a lot of examples as I have met people who got married after meeting each other in the game (note that it was roleplay at first). Love is not for everyone, and yet the virtual world can give it out like candy. It’s easy to be in love when your Blood-Elf partner has hooters like Mt. Fuji LOL.

 

Social Interaction
Watch the full video here!

 

Challenge and Competition

MMO Needs Window ChallengeWhile some focus on love, social life, and hubbah hubbah, some players focus on challenges and competition. Call it a more enjoyable form of work, where you sign war papers instead of binding contracts that consists of numbers that would only annoy the hell out of you (turning you into a brainless corporate zombie). Anyway, everyone wants to prove that they have the biggest sword, hence PVP battles and achievements that have become staples in most MMORPGs. This is also the reason why some MMOs are focused on the PVP side of things, giving birth to other sub-genres like MMOFPSes, MMORTSes, and other versus games. You can always beat the crap out of your neighbor to prove that your “fence” is bigger than his LOL, but do that and you’re looking at 20 years in the dungeons (sorry, couldn’t help but say it). At least now, people can suppress their urge to fight, as well as their urge to KILL (provided that they have one). Killing people is fun really, but due to the laws of humanity and “morality”, the next best thing is to fight them online. Sure, some people take it seriously, but that’s the fun part as it really proves that you’re pwning them like hell.

 

As far as challenges are concerned, games have a particular difficulty that makes it quite addicting, encouraging players to think fast in order to take the glory. Endurance is the name of the game, and unlike your Monday workload, you’ll actually enjoy getting pissed here.

 

 

 

Stimulation: No not your p3nor

Unlike work where you are forced to use your head for the benefit of your company, games actually entitle you to exercise your conscious thinking (voluntarily) in order to conquer the next challenge that await you in your gaming life. Games have this addicting element that makes it almost drug-like, that even though you rack your heads strategizing, it will never be close to work or schoolwork due to the fun factor. This can also apply to building your character where picking between stats is never really a career-ending choice. You can always find a way around every situation, and that is what makes it fun. There is no game over, only resets.

 

Thinking in games is never stressful but rather stimulating. It is never dull as each choice you make can often lead you to great things (not an extra two dollars in your salary, LOL). Then there is the safety net of redoing your character when making mistakes, so everything never ends with one wrong choice.

 

Stimulation of the mind can also work in terms of teamwork, where players are entitled to work together to reach a common goal. Just as they would demand from work, you are still forced to perform 100%, when doing various tasks like raids and even PVP. Regardless of this demanding requirement, you will always be willing to succumb to it, as the process of doing so will always be fun and fulfilling.

 

 

 

Diversion

Valeera Sunstrider Needs MMONon-gamers may never be able to understand this, but games are actually good stress-relievers after a tiring day at work or a hellish day at school. Although grinding may come off as work to some, it’s actually a lot of fun and even we can’t understand why. Maybe it’s our own exclusive way of unwinding, similar to non gamers ending their day in a bar drinking beer.

 

As I have stated earlier, games serve as an alternate reality. For those of you who don’t know, you actually turn into a different person with different goals and problems when logging on to your favorite games. Diversion is a rather official word when describing this feeling, but being a different person all in all can be a good remedy for a problematic life. Don’t you ever wish you were someone else? A different person who doesn’t face the mundane problems of our everyday life?

 

It’s easier to live by the rules of the game than face the consequences in real life. This is perhaps one of the reasons why some players actually stop living in the real world (Yep! Morpheus really tricked them), locking themselves up in the world of mages, knights, and endless quests.

 

The Virtual Zen

And here we have it. Games have provided us with an alternate universe filled with magic and adventure, providing us with a form of escape that greatly fits our human needs. Whether it’s love, adventure, relevance, or simply a distraction, people can always count on games to deliver what’s missing in this mundane world. This could also be considered as the dark side of the spectrum as games tend to give people too much comfort that they tend to forget what is truly important.

 

I know that games serve as form of release and could greatly benefit those who need it, but always remember that real life is real life, and you can become that young brave knight in your own REAL way.

 

  

Note: Some of these intrinsic motivations have been taken from the following publication: Sherry, J. L., Lucas, K.; Greenberg, B. S. and Lachlan, K. 2006. Video Game Uses and Gratifications as Predictors of Use and Game Preference. In: Vorderer P. and Bryant, J. (eds.) Playing Video Games. Motives, Responses, and Consequences. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Dragonica: Enjoy Combat Video

Dragonica offers light and fun combat, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Enjoy the various challenges on many levels in this 3D side-scrolling adventure MMO. There are always the moasterful boss challenges, once you feel comfortable with your skill.

CTRacer Review: A Drive Down Frustration Lane

CTRacer Review: A Drive Down Frustration Lane
By Jason Gallienne (Jrgsubzero), OnRPG Journalist

 

One of the rarely ventured genres in MMOs would have to be racing games. Mobil Planet is here to try to put its foot into that genre with their game CT Racer.

 

Ignition

So, if you’ve played Drift City before then you’ll know what to expect here. You start the game by buying a car. Of course you’re not rich so you’ll be cruising in one of the starter vehicles. You can then either go into a race or try free roam mode. In race mode there’s either Downhill battle, which is basically just a race, or head for the championship races which require a fee to enter.

 

The real attraction is free roam mode. Here you can do quests, duel other players, and roam around on the open road. The quests consist of a time attack mode which involves going to a certain place on the map within a certain amount of time, a mode where you have to get to points on the map without being hunted down, and lastly quests where you have to hunt down the runners. One of the best perks of this game would be how often there are events, which you can see if you check out the site.

 

 

Woosh CTracer
CTRacer: roam the roads

 

Car Show

You’ll be doing these a bit to grind up that cash you need for new cars. Obviously, you can buy new cars but you can also buy parts. To be able to equip these parts you’ll need to a certain amount of Tech points that you invest in stats, which you get from completing quests.

 

The different stats are: Power-up, which allows you to equip parts that deal with acceleration and speed, next is the Driving-up stat that deals with handling, the Dress-up stat allows you to put on decorations, the Accessory stat, allows you to put neon lights on the bottom on your car and finally, the Special stat, which deals with the weight of your car and allows for smoother turning. You can paint your car using a red, green, and blue color slider, but to be able to buy the color change you’ll need cash shop money.

 

 

Road Block

This game can be very confusing unless you do some research and ask around in-game. The mini-map didn’t seem to help me that much when doing quests as it didn’t tell me which way to go, the only way I could navigate was to open the map every few seconds. The map itself is just a bunch of colored lines and text but at least there are markers for your objective. There are tutorials in game that teach you the basics but those and even some on the game-site look like they were badly translated. The beginner guide on the site even has pictures that are in Korean. Did I mention that if you run out of fuel and have no way of getting cash you can’t play anymore? Also, if you want to change options you will have to leave whatever you’re doing and go back to the starting screen.

 

CTRacer Interface Screen
CTRacer Interface

 

 

Radio

The default music in-game wasn’t my style so I was glad to see I could pop in my own MP3s to listen to while cruising. There’s a music player on the screen and you can change the songs while driving. This can be done by going to the game folder, looking for the music folder, and placing your own songs in there.

 

 

Windshield

The graphics are of decent quality but could really use some improvements. The cars look all right but the environment is low-detail. The trees for example look very odd, as if they are made of cardboard. The people that watch you as you race are 2D. The map looks as though it was made in MS paint and the game has a very old, feel to it. Also, there didn’t seem to be a window mode feature and I couldn’t alt-tab out.

 

CTRacer competition racing
Don’t let anyone overtake you!

 

Brakes

In conclusion, I didn’t have much fun with this. The game has a very small but nice community. There are better MMO racing games out there, this one feels like a rushed translation of a sub-par game. But don’t take my word for it, feel free to play it and if you end up liking this, more power to you.

 

Pros:
– Unique MMO Experience 
– In-game MP3 player
– Events are hosted often
– Community is welcoming and friendly.

 

Cons:
– Navigating can be frustrating
– Some things are translated poorly
– Not many people to do the races with.

MMOs on Linux – More Choice Than You Think

MMOs on Linux – More Choice Than You Think
Neil Kewn (Murxidon) , OnRPG Journalist

 

Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system in the world, with over 92% of computers running Redmond’s desktop behemoth. If you are primarily a PC gamer, it is unlikely you have, or have ever considered, moving to a different operating system. Why subject yourself to the issues that  A completely new architecture, paradigm and approach to how computing should be for a user, would bring? All of your software won’t work, your file formats won’t be recognised, your games won’t play, right? Not really. Deploying Linux on your hard drive has its advantages, and recent developments have meant that making the switch doesn’t mean losing out.

 

“Linux can’t play games!”

One of the fundamental reasons Windows users refuse to switch to a Linux based operating system is its apparent lack of video game compatibility. It is not unfair to say that Microsoft owns a colossal share of the PC gaming market, but installing and playing your favourite MMORPG on a Linux machine isn’t impossible,. nor is it particularly difficult. Drastic advancements have been made which enable most popular games that used to just run on Windows, to work perfectly under Linux.

 

Linux Penguin
Linux’ official mascot

 

The popularity of the penguin has begun to grow amongst average users, despite the platform being around for four decades. The netbook boom has finally brought a computer running Linux into many people’s homes. Unfortunately, much to the open source community’s dismay, developers still aren’t very keen on making their releases compatible. As a result, there aren’t many MMORPGs that can be run natively on Linux.

 

Up until early 2009, the popular space adventure EVE Online was actively supported, but the  developers, CCP Games, discontinued the Linux client citing lack of uptake. Luckily, the ever-creative Linux community began work on making the game compatible with their OS of choice, and it wasn’t long before users of Ubuntu, Fedora and other distributions were back playing. Thanks in part to Alexandre Julliard’s Wine. 

 

“Linux still can’t play games!”

Linux will greet you with a blank stare if you try and run an .exe file, whereas Wine will treat it as just another Windows application. Wine  is a free program for Unix and Unix-like operating systems which enables software written for Microsoft Windows to be installed and executed. Microsoft Office, iTunes, World of Warcraft, even Internet Explorer can be installed onto a Linux box in this way.

 

Wine is the preferred method to get MMORPGs up and running on a Unix-based systems, and development has come leaps and bounds from where it was several years ago. Support for pixel shaders and better 3D rendering have increased game compatibility, performance and functionality dramatically. Today, there are countless titles that will work flawlessly with an out-of-the-box Wine installation. No tinkering, no configuration, just install and play. Not dissimilar to Windows.

 

“But it’s complicated. Will my favourite titles even run?”

The general consensus is that playing any kind of game on Linux is a tiring, impractical and cumbersome process. In reality, you can play almost any popular MMORPG without a hitch. The Wine Application Database has an extensive list of all the MMOs that have been tested, and what you can expect from running them under Wine.

 

 Linux Tables
 

For those who want an even easier way to game on Linux, PlayOnLinux is, frankly, idiot-proof. It is based on Wine, so you can expect the same compatibility with your favourite MMOs. A central window lists all Windows applications installed, with the option to add more using a wizard interface. Games can even be installed from a CD or DVD, meaning you don’t have to fuss around with Windows clients downloaded from the developer’s website.

 

“What’s the catch?”

It is unlikely that any Linux user is a die-hard PC gamer, and there is naturally a downside to executing code written for Windows on a completely different architecture. Performance may take a slight hit in some games, and I personally encountered a number of texture and rendering issues in several MMORPGs (for example, the map in World of Warcraft didn’t register my location properly). Usually, if there is a problem that a lot of players are having trouble with, a workaround or fix  is generally developed and posted.

 

Drivers also play a crucial part in game performance, and both Nvidia and ATI have official releases for most chipsets. There are community-developed drivers (in Linux, there is community developed everything) for those looking for an open source alternative. I find the configuration of a strong Linux rig to be trial and error. If your frame rate in AION resembles a slide show, mix and match the drivers and settings.

 

Wow Issues Linux
Teething problems aren’t uncommon

 

“Will we always have to use Wine to play our games?”

Unfortunately the answer is yes, and it may not change for some time. MMO developers don’t wish to invest in Linux players because frankly, there just aren’t enough of them. With the popularity of OS X growing, and the recent release of Windows 7 restoring consumer faith in Microsoft, It’s not surprising that companies are focussing their efforts on an already established player base.

 

The Linux community is renowned for their creativity and problem solving, and are determined to increase market share by working to make distribution as easy to use as possible. Even so, some may say that Linux don’t need game publisher backing, as the developer community are coping just fine going it alone.

 

“Okay, how much is this going to cost?”

Nothing. Linux is generally free, but for what you make up for in savings you will lose in time. To get the most out of the operating system, a big chunk of your time will have to be invested. Great strides in user friendliness haven’t completely eliminated the need for most users to bash the odd command or two into Terminal. Still, you will be rewarded with an insanely more customisable system that is free from viruses and malware. Not to mention Linux’s famed reliability, perfect for avoiding Window’s relentless vendetta against important guild runs (BSOD at the most inopportune time, anyone?).

 

The compatibility is finally there, so switching to a different operating system no longer means waving goodbye to your MMOs. It may not be as seamless as double clicking an installer, but the fun you will have learning and playing with Linux is well worth the price of admission.

 

DistroWatch – The Linux distribution repository
Wine – Homepage for the Wine software
PlayOnLinux – Simplified way to run games on Linux