Yearly Archives: 2010

Sword of the New World Interview: What’s In Store for 2010

Sword of the New World Interview: What’s In Store for 2010
Questions by Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist
Answered by Myra Widodo

 

Sword of the New World is one of those MMORPGs that has used a certain period in human history as its backdrop and has since then created its own world. The right mix of the game theme and game elements plus, the unique 3-character control system makes this game one of the better F2P games out in the market.

 

We here in Onrpg were given the opportunity to talk with the people running Sword of the New World and with the year just starting, we got the chance to check up on what’s in store for Sword of the New world this 2010.

 

OnRPG: With the game years under your banner, how is the game doing?
Since its debut we’ve released three major expansions to the game. Manifest Destiny was released in January of 2008. The title, Manifest Destiny, expanded upon the theme of exploration and destiny – to make a mark and conquer the New World. Nocturnal Sonata was released in June of 2008. A player actually submitted the name and it was voted by players as the best title for the expansion. Recently, Echoes of an Empire, Volume 1 was released in September of 2009. The interesting thing about this expansion was the significance of the number ‘3’; the expansion was Patch 3.0 for the game and it introduced a Third Civilization to the world. We have seen a positive impact from each expansion we’ve released.  Echoes of an Empire, Volume 2 is around the corner and players have waiting for this expansion in anticipation. After that we have something even bigger and better looming in the near future…

 

OnRPG: How has been the overall support of the players to the game?
We’ve had a long standing history of a great community for Sword of the New World. Many of our active players and our forum moderators have been with us since our initial launch from 2007. Players have contributed a great deal to content for our official sites, administrating fan-sites, reporting any abuse in game, reporting bugs, moderating the forums, and participating in our community and in game events. Our players have been very open to giving us feedback and ideas of what they want from the game. 

 

OnRPG: What was the biggest problem you faced during the game’s operation? How did you handle that said problem?
Mass distribution for the game’s client size has been one challenge we have faced. The high end graphics of Sword of the New World attributes to its 5GB size. Surprisingly, however, the system requirements are low for a game that has graphics of this caliber. One thing we have implemented across all of our games is the GamersFirst LIVE Download Manager. GamersFirst LIVE uses the Bit Torrent technology to help expedite the download time, which in the past took longer than we liked. This solution has especially been helpful to our community within North America. We are also in the process of planning a retail box distribution. We include some cool exclusives and bonuses in our retail boxes. Game DVDs have been successful for our game in many of our marketing and distribution campaigns, so we look forward to doing this again in the near future.

 

OnRPG: How important are the NPCs that characters use in their gameplay? Do players use them more often rather than creating their own characters?
The NPCs play a significant role in quests, in game events, and as characters within the game’s narrative. Many of the NPCs have a back story contributing to the lore of Sword of the New World. Slowly revealed through these back stories are mysteries of the New World, political drama, historic legends and much more. 

 

The game also offers UPCs (Unique Player Characters) that players can recruit to join their families. Those UPCs are also involved in quests and have their own back stories as well. One of the great things that I feel brings the community closer together is everyone has the opportunity to easily access and experience a variety of characters and classes; there is almost an unsaid universal experience that every player shares and I feel that this may be a contributing factor to a successful MMO game.

 

New Robes

Grand Classes and Beautiful Outfits

 

OnRPG: What do you think is the game’s main appeal for players?
First thing that comes to mind would be that it’s Free2Play. Having the freedom to try something without having to commit to a subscription of said amount of days (unless you really want to), has always been appealing for our player base and it’s the reason why our games are Free2Play.

 

Secondly, I think the Multi-Character-Control (MCC) feature is something that really stands out for Sword of the New World.  Players can get more with investing less time as they can simultaneously level and develop up to 3 characters at the same time. They don’t have to grind to level one character at a time and they’re not restricted to playing one class or one type of character on a given server.

 

Third, I would say would be the graphics quality of the game. The graphics are pretty refined and really show off all of the ornate detailing of the characters, items and environment. Graphics that can really immerse a player into a world are extremely important – especially in a Fantasy MMORPG genre game.

 

OnRPG: What game feature does Sword of the New World have that sets it apart from the competition? Why do you think so?
MCC as I mentioned is a game design that really sets Sword of the New World apart from most other MMORPGs. Another unique feature is the Political PVP System. In the game we have what we call Faction Wars, where Clans battle against other Clans to dominate control over Colonies within the New World. I guess if you were to compare, one might say this Faction Wars is similar to Risk, where players must strategize to take control over points in the map.

 

There is also an Election system where players (regardless of belonging to a Clan and/or a Faction) may vote for the leader of a Faction. The internal struggle for political power is something all players may participate in.

 

Ultimately, the end game for this Political PVP and Election System is to become the Premiere – dominant ruler of the New Word. There are two Factions in game – 1.) Royalists and 2.) Republicans. The elected leader of the Royalists is called the Grand Duke and the elected leader of the Republicans is the President. The Faction that has the most Colonies, is the dominant Faction, and the leader of the dominant Faction is the Premiere. The Premiere has control and can levy taxes on all the Colonies.

 

OnRPG: Isn’t it a little strange for you to take on this genre with the theme set during the exploration period in history?
The Age of Exploration really marries well with the MMORPG genre. Having players assume the roles of families pioneering to the New World is an adventurous journey. In that respect, I don’t think it is strange for us to take on this genre. However, the game is “strange” in that it’s a pretty unique universe set in a very specific historic background that has not been explored before in many other MMO games.

 

OnRPG: What’s the most sought after item in the game right now?
We recently released a New Year in-game event called “Year of the Tiger”. We are actually extending it for a week due to its popularity. Players had a chance to win one of three pet tigers – a white tiger, a black tiger, and a ginger tiger. Pets are always highly sought after, and it can’t be helped – they are pretty adorable. Anyone who has seen the designs for those pets would agree. Depending on which pet you get they might help to gather or give buffs.

 

OnRPG: Are there any balance issue that arose with the game’s unique system where you can get to control three different characters at once?
The game was designed with the concept that balance is done at a micro level. Many games do not do this however, much like table-top Dungeons and Dragons, Sword of the New World does. What this means is there is a baseline set for what can happen in a certain period of time. Meaning a skill can only do X amount of damage in one second (unmodified). If a skill take 5 seconds to activate then that skill can only do 5*X amount of damage (unmodified).

 

There are also a number of design rules in place to ensure that when new skills, weapons and UPCs are created they are always in balance with everything else in the world. For instance, we have a rule for stances that says “If you are in a healing stance you may not contribute damage”. That means that while you may have stances that deal damage, while in a healing stance you can only heal and buff. This alleviates A LOT of balance issues that many other games find themselves in. There are many other design rules.

 

So far this system has worked very well for us. Everything stays in its box and we haven’t had too many balance issues. Usually when we do, it’s because we went outside of our rules. After making the offending skill, item or character conform to the rules, the balance issue go away.

 

OnRPG: Where do you get your inspiration, whenever you release an item or clothes in the premium store?
The world lends itself to the creation of items and costumes. When we released Echoes of an Empire, Volume 1 we included new Cash Shop items such as the OoPS Erracan Box and Phoenix Wings. Those items were related to the new geography and culture introduced into the game. Another example would be our Andre Costume Boxes and Karjalain Costume Boxes. Andre Janzur is a famous costume designer in of the New World and Karjalain is his aspiring apprentice. We’ve had different variations recently released of Costume Boxes based off of these two characters.

 

OnRPG: How active is the game’s community right now? Are they actively participating in the forums and in-game?
Over the Winter Holidays we’ve released several in-game and forum events in which we’ve seen a good deal of participation from the players. Recently, we’ve had a show of what creative potential our players have from some of our forum contests and that has inspired us to challenge them further with bigger forum contest in the near future. For instance, we had a “GamersFirst Holiday Festivus Contest”, where players had to submit holiday and game themed images. Each of the participating GamersFirst Games, including Sword of the New World, had three top winners who received prizes and then all the GamersFirst employees voted for a Grand GamersFirst Winner. We had some pretty impressive entries this year.

 

OnRPG: How big is the community’s influence in how the game is being developed and played?
I would say that the community has a great influence on what events, promotions and additions we develop for the game. Our job as a publisher is to localize content for our users. That content encompasses every detail from our official websites, tool tips for items in game, NPC in game text, in game character voice over recordings, to promotional sales. While I can’t disclose the exact number of active players we have for Sword of the New World, I will say that some of our largest markets include North America, the U.K.,  and Germany. We’ve also seen a growth of players in Brazil and Turkey. Knowing who’s in the game allows us to make the appropriate choices for how we present our content.

 

OnRPG:  Is the game limited to only a certain group of users or is it open to everyone in the world?
Our game is Free2Play and open to anyone interested in playing. I’d say many of our players fall between the ranges of teens to early twenties. We offer PVP and Non-PVP servers so players have that option, and it doesn’t limit the “type” of user that can come and fun in the game. If you love PVP we have you covered, if you don’t care for it we have something for you too. As I mentioned, our bigger markets come from North America, the U.K. and Germany but we have a decent diversity of players from other areas of Europe and South America as well.

 

OnRPG: Can you share us a tidbit of what other game features your company is planning to include into the game?
Many features I’m hoping to implement this year revolve around loyalty programs, referral programs, and improvements on existing systems in game. Our goal in developing more loyalty and referral programs stems off of the fact that we have a loyal community and we want to continue to encourage that. We’ve done things in the past that have tried to support loyal players and I think we can find a way to improve upon those ideas. While I can’t get into the nitty gritty details of the improvements we are developing for existing systems in game I can say that our goal is to maintain a healthy balance for the in game economy and Political Systems. Those improvements are all geared towards the benefits of our players.

 

Another major change coming to the game will be a complete revamp of our Political PvP System. This change will make it more difficult for large clans to single-handedly dominate Faction Wars. The new Faction Wars will require a series of challenges be completed for every colony. We aren’t extending the Faction War time period so Clans will have to cover more ground with the same amount of time. In effect this will empower smaller Clans and allow them to obtain 1 or 2 Colonies every week.

 

OnRPG: What’s in store for the players in the succeeding months?
Within the next month we are planning on the release of a Closed Beta for our Echoes of an Empire, Volume 2 expansion. After that we will go into commercial launch. The expansion will introduce new characters, new Cash Shop items, new costumes and more. We have some promotions, contests and events planned in preparation for the launch of another mega expansion coming up in Spring 2010. (Yes, I know I’m being cryptic but not really.)

 

OnRPG: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!
Thank you for having us!

Altis Gates goes into Beta

Altis Gates goes into Beta


Is IGG getting it’s testphases confused? Even though they call it an Alpha test, they are inviting players to it already AND players will be allowed to keep their characters after the test is over. Sounds like a Beta test to us!
 
Here is the press release from our good friends at IGG:

Altis Gates, IGG’s new 2.5D MMORPG that features shapeshifting, has entered the final preparation phase for its Alpha Test. The game’s official website (http://ag.igg.com/main.php) is now live, and IGG has announced that the Alpha Test will begin at 8:00pm EST(GMT-5) on January 19th, 2010. Characters created during the test will be saved so players can use them afterward.

 
 
The Alpha Test will be ended at 10:00pm EST(GMT-5) on January 22nd,2010. Its primary purpose is to give players a brief introduction to the magical world of Altis Gates and provide the Altis Gates team with valuable feedback. IGG will be giving away 200 activation codes for the test. Most of those will be given out to media members who have a longstanding relationship with IGG, as well as the company’s most loyal players from its other games. Anyone else who would like an activation code should keep an eye out for events IGG and the team will be holding soon to reward participants with codes.
 
 
The Alpha Test version of the Altis Gates client is already available. Players who expect to join the Alpha Test are encouraged to download the client at http://ag.igg.com.
Getting a key for this “Alpha test” is as simple as downloading the game client:

We are only giving away a limited number of activation codes for the Alpha Test, so try your best to seize one. But never fear, if you don’t manage to get an activation code for the Alpha Test, there’s no need to feel frustrated because the activation code generator is also be able to generate codes for the soon to be released Close Beta test. In summary, each generator has an 80% maximum chance of generating a code for the Close Beta test and some activation codes will be able to activate two accounts.

Detailed Steps of Getting an Activation Code:
1. First, log in at the Altis Gates’ official website download page ( http://ag.igg.com/playercenter/download.php ) to download the game client.
2. After download is completed, double click on the installation file.
3. After you install the client, find the client folder. Then, please find the icon named Activation Code Generator.
4. Double click the Activation Code Generator. One of 3 things can happen:
 
?. Congratulations! You have got an activation code. Then, go to the official website to activate.
?. Sorry, you haven’t got an activation code this time. Please try it again tomorrow.
?. You don’t use the Activation Code Generator in the right time.

Altis Gates - A Bridge to Far!

OnRPG Weekly News Roundup: January 4 – January 11

Weekly News Roundup: 4th January – 11th January
By Joshua Temblett (Dontkillmydreams), OnRPG Journalist 

 

Welcome to yet another Weekly News Roundup!!!  This is actually the first proper weekly news roundup of 2010, isn’t that great?  This week has been a bit slow with regards to news, however there have been some very interesting little pieces of information, especially with regards to Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Read on for more information! 

 

Wonderking Online: Open Beta

Ndoors, the publisher behind Atlantica Online, is pleased to announce the open beta for their next MMORPG, Wonderking Online!  Here’s a post from Ndoors:

 

“Dear WonderKing Users, the servers are up! When you are done downloaded all the patches, please also manually select “File Check” to get the latest contents. Thank you for participating in open beta, all closed beta participants will be able to retrieve your special reward in your Gift Box. And remember to join us on the weekend to receive your [Black Panda Pet] too! Thank you for the continued support and enjoy WonderKing!

 

The WonderKing Team”

 

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Dromund Kaas

If you have no idea what Dromund Kaas is then I wouldn’t blame you.  The amount of Star Wars lore that isn’t mentioned in the movies is unbelievable; in fact you’d have to be a major fan of the series to know even half of the planets/lands that appear in the new Star Wars MMORPG.  Anyway back to the subject, Dromund Kaas is a jungle world which the Sith have spent a thousand years building.  Here’s some more information:

 

“Colonized in ancient times by the Sith Empire, the hyperspace coordinates of the Dromund Kaas were lost to time, allowing the isolated planet to fade into distant memory. Following a crushing defeat in the Great Hyperspace War, the handful of surviving Sith desperately sought to escape annihilation at the hands of their Jedi foes. The desperate Sith, leaving their collective destiny to chance, chose to forgo all known hyperspace routes and attempt a series of dangerously random hyperspace jumps and blind scouting missions. For 20 years the Sith armada drifted aimlessly in the forgotten regions of space before finally rediscovering the Dromund system.”

 

Star Wars

 

If you want to read more about this new world then check out the official Star Wars: Old Republic website.

 

Lego Universe: Brand New Trailer

An incredibly awesome trailer for Lego Universe has recently been released.  You can find the video right here.

There’s pirate zombies, what more could you want?

 

Lego Universe, Finally!

 

 

Dark Age of Camelot Europe: Taken over by Mythic

Mythic Entertainment has recently announced that GOA’s license to publish and maintain the Dark Age of Camelot will be terminated and that Mythic will be taking over the European servers.  Here’s the official post:

“Today, it was announced that after eight years of operating Dark Age of Camelot in Europe, GOA’s license with Mythic Entertainment will soon expire and they will no longer publish or support the game. Over the years, GOA has fostered a vibrant and dedicated community that is passionate about the game. In the coming weeks, GOA will be entrusting Mythic with this community of players. We are currently working with GOA to take over operation of the game and its European community, and will soon be providing details about pressing player questions such as existing subscriptions, character transfers, game versions, localization, and more. We look forward to welcoming all players from the European servers and look forward to supporting them in the years to come. While this closes one chapter for DAoC in Europe, a new one begins with a bright future of RvR ahead. We’ll see you in the Frontiers!

Mythic Entertainment”

 

Eve Online: Hulkageddon II

“Hulkageddon is an irregularly re-occurring in-game event in the space MMO EVE-online. Organized by Helicity Boson of the Python Cartel the event takes the form of unprovoked terrorist suicide attacks on mining players. Prizes are sometimes given out for special achievements or to the pilots that claim the most victims”

Basically this is a PVP event in EVE Online whereby you have to hunt down HULK type mining ships and destroy them.  The next Hulkageddon event is this week and will be from January 7th – January 14th.  Prizes include billions of ISK, among other things. 

You can find more information on the official Eve Online blog.

 

Call of Duty: MMOFPS?

Yet more information about a possible Call of Duty MMORPG appeared this month.  Basically the rumour said that Infinity Ward has been trying to employ developers from SOE (Sony Online Entertainment).  As it turns out, this isn’t the case.  Infinity Ward already has some developers from SOE in it and is currently not actively seeking new game makers from the company. 

 

Blizzard:  MMORPG?

The French gaming site NoFrag has reported that Blizzard’s next game will include an FPS portion as well as a social portion where the player will be able to meet people, chat, and make friends.  They will also be able to then launch into the FPS portion with their friends and battle over objectives. Could this be a Call of Duty MMORPG?

 

Fallen Earth: Mega Graphical Update!

“Fallen Earth, LLC today announced the inclusion of several wilderness graphics enhancements, specifically to the elements of scrub — including grass and shrubs — terrain and fog. Sharpening and blending textures, colors and lighting, the new and improved details enhance the look and feel of the Fallen Earth post-apocalyptic environment and heighten player immersion.

 

“The environment in Fallen Earth adds so much to the players’ experience,” said Chris Deavellar, art director for Fallen Earth. “We want to capture the mood of the post-apocalyptic world and the improvements certainly enhance the appearance and atmosphere of the game.”

 

The new, full scrub enhances several environmental aspects, sharpening textures and adding more detail with improvements to the resolution and quality of the previous scrub. With the new enhancements, players who view the landscape in first-person character mode will notice more volume within the brush and grass than before. Additionally, players will see improvements on terrain as detail textures have been blended to enhance the appearance of the landscape and color maps have also been re-worked in order to provide a smoother blend between shades and augment color variation.

 

Leaving no environmental element untouched, developers have also incorporated distinctive cloud movement and have further taken a look at fog effects. Improvements on the existing fog equation now enable fog to build up more gradually, distance-wise, to players, creating a more realistic and layered appearance.

 

“Our team did a wonderful job on the enhancements and we’re sure players will notice the improvements,” said Deavellar.”

 

Non MMORPG News

Splinter Cell: Conviction: Split Screen Co-op!
Split Screen co-op is coming to Splinter Cell once again!  Need proof?  Well bam! Here are the Battlefield: Bad Company 2: PC BETA details:

 

Beta Begins/Ends: Jan 28th/Feb 25th
Map Name: Port Valdez
Players: 32
Game Mode:      Rush
Environment: Snow
Theme:  Vehicle and Infantry
Back Story: The battle for Port Valdez is fought alongside the waterline towards a great oil industrial landscape in the Alaskan mountains. Using basically everything they’ve got the Russian forces are launching an airborne assault to knock out the oil industries in the area. In their arsenal there are Main Battle Tanks as well as fast-moving Quad Bikes and mobile armored AA. It’s a vehicle focused battle, but with plenty of infantry combat.

 

 Splinter Cell


How to Download: Check back to the Battlefield Bad Company 2 for a new Beta Page closer to beta launch date for download instructions.

 

How To Get Access: Reserve Battlefield Bad Company 2 is the most sure fire way, but we are still working with Retailers & e-Tailers that wish to participate (it’s up to them). If you’re eager to ensure you get in the two confirmed distributors to Pre-Order are the EA Store and at GameStop.com.  We’ll have another Blog at a later date with an update on the retailers & e-Tailers that have teamed up with us as well as alternate channels to obtain a Closed Beta Key.

 

There’s more information on the official blog post.

 

That concludes yet another Weekly News Roundup!  I hope to see you next Tuesday!  Hopefully there’ll be some bigger and better news, like maybe something about Final Fantasy XIV’s beta test?  Well I guess we’ll have to wait and see.  Join me next time as we once again look at the biggest news stories of the week!  I also hope you’re having a fantastic New Year!

Shot Online Review: Point and Click Click Click

Shot Online Review: Point and CLick Click Click
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), Onrpg Journalist

 

At first I thought “Shot Online? Sounds pretty interesting!”. Thinking it was just another basketball MMO (I mean, Shot Online does sound like a Basketball game right?); I decided to go ahead and click. Golf huh? When was the last time I actually played a golf game (let alone an MMO)? I remember enjoying the game Pangya some years ago, and for nostalgia’s sake, I decided to give it a try. Shot online looks a lot more serious -in terms of graphics-  than to Pangya, which was supposed to be some type of ‘kiddie’ golf game that consists of cutesy characters. The game is rather technical and is a lot more challenging compared to my previous golf game, and since I enjoy hefty challenges, I decided to give it a try.   

 

And the next Tiger Woods is born! Virtual Tiger Woods that is.

After typing in your character’s name and etc, you’ll be opted to choose between an array of archetypes that would serve as your starting character. Each character has their own strengths and limitations, and would both excel and lack at some points. In my opinion, it would be a hell of a lot better if the game just lets the player decide which stat to boost. Since premade archetypes are the cause of stereotypical builds, you’ll find that most of your players picked the same first character. That’s like playing NBA Live with two Jordans (which reminds me, he did play golf didn’t he? And he sucked at it too LOL).

 

 

Shot Tricks

Tricky Shots

 

Your road to victory begins here

As a new golfer in Shot Online, your goal is to increase your stats in order to become better. Much like any other MMO, Shot online lets you level up your character in order to make their play style less wobbly. It’s more or less the same as Pangya where you get experience points (or whatever they call it there) whenever you land good shots regardless of whether you win or lose. These points are then distributed on your stat board in order to increase your character’s performance thus optimizing your gameplay (only because your character’s more noobish than you are when you start the game). One thing that’s quite annoying would be the fatigue bar that slowly builds up as you play further. Mixing simulation-type features with an arcade-style game does seem pretty trivial; especially since you basically have no control over your shots to begin with (will be discussed later). In order to prevent this thing from happening, make sure you spend your experience points well.

 

Controls

If I remember it correctly, the controls are almost the same as other golf games (not just MMOs). Once you start the swing meter, you’ll get this fast moving bar that’s supposed to resemble your swing’s power and the ball’s trajectory. I for one think that this type of control system is far too casual. I’m actually waiting for a golf game that really acts like a golf simulator rather than a simple arcade game that lets you level up. If you’ve played Gunbound, then you’ll have an idea what I’m talking about; For those of you who haven’t,  Gunbound (even though it’s not a golf game) has this really nice scheme of letting you decide your shot’s angle and height, leaving the bar to decide how powerful the should would be. When you think about it, the arcade-style “click and shoot system” control scheme doesn’t really have anything to do with how good you are, but rather how fast you can respond to the swinging bar. The system is fairly easy to learn, but gets pretty annoying when you want to play on a technical level.

 

 

Hole In One

Hole In One: Tecnique Wins

 

Hahahahaha! Sersously?!

What thing that surprised me about this game would be the way they managed to implement MMORPG features on a sports MMO. I’m talking about Quests (yeah, you read right!). Quests in the game are rather important especially for newcomers. Not only does it give you extra stuff, but it gives you a good idea how the game is played as well. Whether it’s purchasing items or just simply putting that ball through a whole, it’s a MUST to finish these tasks in order to become a better player.

 

If you think that’s all, the game also has a Guild system. The feature is just simply irrelevant (since you’re not really going to gang up on a Giant Ball monster); though it does feel nice to have a whole group of golfers take you in.

 

 

Albatross Shot

Playing versus Guildies

 

 

 

The game also has an Item Mall where you can purchase clothes in order to personalize your character. This is a very good feature in my opinion, although the lack of items greatly pulls this feature down.

 

Graphics and visuals

There’s nothing much to say about the game’s graphics. You’re basically given a small set of characters (seven I think) with little character customization. The field is green and wide; then again, that’s everything there is to see in a golf field. The characters are rendered with crispy edges, mostly similar with that of last generation MMOs. The buildings and structures (although there isn’t much) look entirely flat, skinned carefully in order to resemble whatever they’re supposed to. 

 

Shot Online Eagle

Feeling at Home on the Green 

 

FORE! – The Verdict

First of all, this type of game isn’t new at all (just clearing it up for those people who think this is the first golf game that has this particular system). The lack of character customization would probably be one of this game’s weak points. Not only does it limit players from optimizing their OWN playstyle, it encourages stereotypical builds that makes people start with the same archetype. The controls are fairly simple but probably needs a bit more technicalities. Sure the game is all about pointing and shooting, so I suppose it makes the game more user-friendly. As far as MMO features are concerned, I think they managed to blend the features pretty well. Guilds, Quests, Item malls, I was surprised with how well they actually managed to pull it off.  Who knew this type of gameplay could support the traditional RPG gimmicks? Graphics and visuals are decent enough to complete with most of the F2P games today. If you’re looking for a good game that can let you play casually without any form of devotion whatsoever, this game is totally worth it. Simple, yet fun! No brainer? It’s all about how fast your hands are anyway.

 

The Good:
– Fairly easy to learn
– Quests
– Guilds?
– Item Mall
– A bit of simulation in a casual game.

 

The bad:
– Item mall doesn’t have much to offer
– Low technical factor (It’s just point and click click click!)
– Low character creation options
– Archetypes?  I’d rather make my own golfer
– Skills (in general) are leveled, not learned.

Lego Universe

LEGO Universe will be filled with features that set it apart from other massively multiplayer online games.

Build: Dream building in LEGO Universe
In LEGO Universe you can build and bring to life virtually any LEGO creation you can imagine, either alone or by teaming up with your friends. Play with your virtual LEGO models the way you do with your physical creations!

LEGO Universe players will not only find familiar ways to create with virtual bricks, they’ll also discover entirely new building methods. So far, these are the LEGO Universe building modes that have been introduced:
Quick building – Simply push a button and your in-game character starts swiftly snapping together a predetermined model. This is the primary type of building found in popular video games like LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Batman and LEGO Indiana Jones.

Choice building – Choice builds allow you to decide what a quick build will become by choosing from a range of predetermined models.

Custom building – LEGO Universe players can build their own creative and complex designs, virtual LEGO brick by brick! Details to follow in future updates!

Play: Worlds of fun
Action and adventure fans will have a blast playing in LEGO Universe! Lead the way into new LEGO worlds by battling back the forces of chaos, or go head to head with other players for status and loot in fast-paced competitions of skill!

Every LEGO fan can experience their favorite brand of fun in the game! Pace your journey by choosing from the LEGO Universe activities you love most. Do you enjoy smashing LEGO models? Discovering hidden treasure? Achieving firsts? Competing with friends?

Connect: Forge friendships in LEGO Universe
LEGO Universe will be an online destination for LEGO fans from all over earth to meet, build, play and hang out together!

Players will enjoy a wide range of ways to communicate and connect with other LEGO fans, from free-chatting with your neighborhood buddies to safely forging new friendships with folks from the other side of the world!

Customize: Create your LEGO Universe
The first creation you’ll build upon entering LEGO Universe will be your own custom LEGO minifigure. You become your minifigure in the game! As you play in LEGO Universe, you’ll be able to further enhance your character’s appearance and abilities as you collect, earn, build and trade for tons of cool accessories!

Players can also customize the very worlds of LEGO Universe with their creativity. You’ll be able to build within LEGO worlds from the past, present and future, and you can create entirely new interactive worlds of your own!

And since fans from all over earth will be enhancing and modifying the worlds of LEGO Universe 24 hours per day, you’ll find something new to inspire you every time you play! The game will truly be an ever-expanding and changing universe, A LEGO Universe without end…

K.O.S. Secret Operations Interview – MMOFPS Goodness with Counterstrike Engine

K.O.S Interview – MMOFPS Goodness with Counterstrike Engine
Questions by Rickee Charbonneau, OnRPG Journalist
Answered by:
– Brian Udarbe, K.O.S. Game Lead
– Bruce Jeon, K.O.S. Product Manager
– Fred White, Director of Marketing & Communications

 

We at Onrpg have had the privilege of interviewing Brian Udarbe, Bruce Jeon, and Fred White of the K.O.S. staff. Fred, director of Marketing and Communications told us that “…this is the very first free-to-play FPS that uses the Source game engine from Counterstrike, so players of that game will be able to pick up K.O.S. with a short learning curve.” With tons of creative ideas and focused goals in store for this game, one question remains: So what is an MMOFPS? Take a look at this informative (and somewhat humorous) interview to find out!

 

Onrpg: What is the setting of this MMOFPS?
Brian: I’ll go ahead and breakdown the story in a nutshell. Basically, a North Korean politician was kidnapped and fingers get pointed at South Korea. South Korea now wants to know why they are getting blamed so they do some investigating. They come across some nuclear weapons and let other countries know so now they are involved. More information about the kidnapping is found and the story breaks off into different parts of the world.  Each map plays a different part in the story and the players can experience that while in game.

 

Onrpg: What sets your first person shooter MMO apart from others on the market? Why would someone play this game over another?
Fred: Well for one, this is the very first free-to-play FPS that uses the Source game engine from Counterstrike, so players of that game will be able to pick up K.O.S. with a short learning curve.  The skill slots are unusual as well, allowing you to use certain skills in game that can give you an advantage over the enemy.  Also, our Pro System is pretty unique in that it allows teams to wager in-game money (crones) on matches.

Brian: And not to downplay other games but I think our staff definitely plays a pivotal role in the success of our game. Many of us are previous pro players from Counterstrike so we can relate to the players. We know what the players want and we cater to their ideas and suggestions. We are also extremely interactive with our community as you can see on Xfire, mIRC, our forums and in game itself. I think being able to be that close to a player’s perspective is very important.

 

 

KOS Bunker

Fire Bunker

 

Onrpg: Recently released in its closed beta phase, this game has been fairly populated by the gaming community. What kind of feedback have you been given as of yet?
Brian: Overall, the players enjoy the game.  It’s smooth, there are a lot of weapon choices and it feels like a well-made FPS game. Of course, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done with the game and the players have been helping out a great deal with ideas and suggestions.

Fred: We’ve been getting a lot of great response from the players so far.  Our own community is growing steadily, and the K.O.S. Xfire community actually grew to over 5,000 in just the first few days of Open Beta testing.  It’s currently one of the largest on their site.  We have a very skilled and dedicated player base, and we do our best to cater to them.

 

Onrpg: Why the name “Kill On Sight”?
Brian: We actually discussed dozens of names and I think we ended up changing the name three times before finalizing it with this name.  It has an FPS feel to it and K.O.S. sounds cool.

 

 

Target

Target Locked

 

Onrpg: What are the current game modes of K.O.S.? Are you planning on implementing more in the future?
Bruce: In our current phase of beta, we only have two modes: Team Deathmatch(TDM) and Explode (EXP).  We have quite a few modes that we are expecting to release as our client gets closer to launch.  Players should expect to see a FFA mode called Deathmatch and more territorial modes like Point Captures.  I don’t want to get too much into detail but we are also looking to take our Killbots to a new level as well, so stay tuned for that.

 

Onrpg: Players have the option to practice vs. Killbot NPCs in order to gain experience in KOS. How is the AI system special in this game?
Brian: I absolutely love the Killbot system because it is very convenient. It allows players to warm up, try out new weapons and fill up empty slots in games until new players come in to replace them.

Fred: You can also set the levels of the Killbots and use them as a handicapping system.  Nice when you’re playing friends who might not be as good as you are.

 

Onrpg: Is the controls scheme generic, or do you follow a different style? How steep is the learning curve of the game?
Brian: Controls are very similar to other FPS games using the WASD movement keys. They are very basic and very easy to learn. The learning curve is very low making it easy to pick up if you are a first time K.O.S.er or even a first time FPSer.

 

 

Vision Goggles

Move Around with Vision Goggles

 

Onrpg: Will you ever consider hosting game-wide tournaments?
Brian: Already being done. During our closed beta, we ran a successful 16 team 5v5 tournament and we are already speaking with leagues that are interested in picking up our game. Our primary goal for the game is to give it a very competitive atmosphere and try to find the best players in the world to play our game.

 

Onrpg: Does the ladder system affect your game status? Will a higher rank earn you higher privileges?
Brian: The Ranking System is more for bragging rights. However, we have implemented weapon restrictions that require players to achieve certain ranks to use certain weapons.

 

Onrpg: Are characters in game customizable?
Brian: Yes, the characters can be customized. First, you need to choose 1 of 6 different Special Forces Units from around the world. Then you can outfit your character with different guns as well as different aesthetics such as gas masks, baseball caps, night vision goggles and sun glasses. We plan to expand on this feature in our upcoming versions.

Fred: Also, each Special Unit has a specialty which gives them a bonus in some form.  For example, the Green Berets get a +10% damage bonus on grenades, and increased range when using a knife.  The S.A.T. gets a bonus of +5 bullets per clip when using rifles or pistols.

 

Onrpg: What gave you the idea to release game maps that represent different countries of the world?
Brian: The story takes place all around the world and having maps that reflect that is what gave the dev team the idea to do that. I think it is very cool because in a lot of the maps, you can really feel you are in that part of the world.

 

Onrpg: What do you find most interesting about this FPS?
Brian: Well, FPS games in general are for both the casual or hardcore gamers. Play a couple games to scratch that itch or play competitively for hours. We still hold that true in our game.

Fred: My vote goes to the graphics and smoothness of gameplay.  And the game was designed so that you don’t need a screaming game rig in order to play it and enjoy the rich graphics of the world.  Beyond that, we have some of the best players in the world playing K.O.S. right now, which makes it interesting and exciting for all of us.

 

 

Mercenary Rescue

Mercenary Rescue in Process

 

Onrpg: If you had the opportunity to make one major change to this game, what would it be and why?
Brian: Add in female models to the game. Seriously, I know plenty of women that would definitely play as women!

Fred:  I think plenty of guys would, too!

 

Onrpg: What are your goals for the success of this game?
Brian: First, make this game competitive. We want people from around the world playing our game showing who is the best.

Fred: And we want to continue to give them the high caliber competition that they are looking for.  We aim for K.O.S. to be the one game that players from around the world can play to establish an undisputed ranking of the best that first person shooters have to offer.

Brian: Also, keep the cheaters out.  And, stay involved with the community. Hear what suggestions players have and try to implement those suggestions for better overall gameplay.

 

Onrpg: Will players have to ever expect paying for this game? Will it remain free forever?
Brian: Like all our titles, this game will be free to download and play.

Fred: Players can find our game at www.DONTBLYNK.com.  We look forward to seeing you in game! 

ROSE Online: Orlo Launches!

ROSE Online: Orlo Launches!


Gravity Interactive, a world renowned massively multiplayer online game publisher, is happy to announce the launch of Orlo, the third expansion to Gravity’s ROSE Online title. Over 800,000 ROSE Online community members can experience numerous feature updates including new monsters, regions, items, skills, increased level caps and the entirely new planet of Orlo!

Stranded Ship at Orlo

 
ROSE’s Orlo expansion presents players an entirely new combat system specifically created for the community based on their requests and valued feedback. In addition to a new combat system this expansion also provides players the opportunity to discover and explore the enchanted world of Orlo, a newly discovered planet in the universe of ROSE. The introduction of ROSE’s fate system will make user decisions crucial to their future and the future of the deities. But players beware! There are rumors of vicious monsters, dangerous terrain and unexplored regions through Orlo! But there are also rumors of priceless treasures and new skills for players to discover in ROSE Online: Orlo!
 
“The ROSE Online development team has worked really hard on this expansion ….” said Mike Lansing, Executive Director of Gravity Interactive. “…not only does this expansion provide users with a huge amount of new content but it also provided us the opportunity to make major upgrades to the game and enhance the overall user experience.”
Designed with fantasy and anime themes, Gravity’s title, ROSE Online, engages it’s users in story driven quests, battling monsters, worlds to explore and the ability to socialize with friends while engaged in special events and activities. Gravity’s games offer user controlled PVP and Clan combat systems, enhanced item upgrading systems, customizable stats, unique skills, pets, customizable characters and numerous events and community outlets.

Cityguards in Rose Online

Wolfteam TR

Wolfteam TR is the Turkish version of Wolfteam where mutated wolves and mankind are fighting each other. Once all mutated wolves were men; but a company developed a medicine called “Epoxyn”. With this medicine, they wanted to make more stronger soldiers. They used Epoxyn on men and they mutated them into wolves. And than the same company developed “Anti-Epoxyn” to mutate them back. But some of the soldiers refused to use Anti-Epoxyn. So the war began. Now men and wolves are trying to kill each other.
So you select your side and let the fight begin!
Easy gameplay, lots of item and weapon choices, lots of maps and many game play mods.