Meta’s Verse: Seven Years of Super

by Meticulous Meta, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

City of Heroes is celebrating seven years of being live in a big way. Two meet and greets, a live stream from Paragon Studios and announcements galore. And that was just on the first day! I took some time to see exactly what was going on and all about it so I could share that with you.

 

Vanguard Pack

Released on the anniversary of City of Heroes going live, this pack was given freely to every global account that stayed active during February and March of 2011. This pack gave access to armor pieces that were only available once you were at a higher level in your hero career. Now you can use them from the moment of creation. Easily the most adorable and contested part of the pack is the Mini Vanguard Assault Suit (MVAS). It is a noncombat pet, something which I’ve personally see people complain about. But really it is just so cute how can you say no to having one?

 

 

Global Server Access

Now everyone, no matter if you play the European version of the game or the North American version can play on any server. A lot of people have been really excited about this and since it went live I’ve seen a lot of crossover exploration and even done a bit of my own. The only real downside has come for the EU players who had to change their global names because there was a duplicate already on the North American servers.

 

Praetorian Invasion

Praetoria is invading the Primal world! Ongoing all May while there is a weakness in the barrier between our worlds. Warwalkers and Praetors have been seen wandering the streets of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles already. The event will end on May 27th with the invasion on Freedom where everyone is asked to participate between 4pm and 7pm Pacific time. Everyone who attends will be granted a global badge to celebrate their attendance and hopefully our victory over Cole and his army.

 

 

Producer’s Letter

Nate Burkholz released April’s edition of the Producer’s Letter. It explained plans to expand the incarnate system further, introducing a new trial every so often to keep things exciting. During all of May the next trial, Keyes Island Anti-Matter Reactor, will be in closed beta. They are also looking into ways for people to experience the incarnate system in smaller groups or even solo. There is mention of Issue 21 already which will feature a new zone and tie up some old plotlines. Overall it sounds like they have a lot more exciting things to come in the future.

 

 

Steampunk Booster

Ok, maybe this should go after the Dev live stream, after all that is where I heard about it from, but you know what? I’m just too darned excited about it! Yeah, you read that right, Steampunk Booster pack. It is not due until June, but that is really an easy wait for something so awesome. It will feature new costume pieces, a new aura and new weapons for customization. But, the most exciting part of it is what it will introduce to us, Backpacks. No, you can’t put stuff in them they’re just for show. But it is something the players have been asking for and finally the wait is over! It goes to show that the devs on high really are listening to our desires. Really the whole steampunk pack does this for me. I don’t want to say too much about it yet though! I’m just so excited I couldn’t wait to say something.

 

Anniversary Sale

During the month of May various boosters and services will be on sale. Including Rename tokens, extra character slots and the Wedding pack (in honor of a rather famous wedding you may have heard about a while ago). So far the days when they change what is on sale seem to be random, so the best I can suggest is to check the online store often.

Meet and Greet

There was a meet and greet with the devs on the test server which I was fortunate enough to attend. When I first arrived I was a little late and ended up being pushed into a second instance of Pocket D where the main event was being held. There were only a few of us there but we got to spend time chatting with Dark Watcher. Eventually after the few of us tried to wipe out some giant monsters left on the slopes we each made our way to the main instance of Pocket D. There Positron and Black Scorpion were answering questions on important things like, how the cake was and what they thought about the speculation of a romance between Positron and Numina. For me though the highlight of the night was getting the chance to chat privately with the newest member of the Paragon Studios crew, Freitag. We talked mostly about life in Europe as well as life in California. Oh and there was more talk of cake. My fault really, the cake looked tasty!

 

 

Eventually Positron and Black Scorpion decided it was time to go and Dr. Aeon came to hang out with us for a while. I asked him about the bouncy castle course they had in the parking lot which the day before he swore he would beat the champion at. He didn’t want to talk about it much. (Villains can be such sore losers!) After a little bit of chatting with everyone he let some giant monsters out to play on the dance floor. And when that proved to easy we got to try our hand at defeating the signature heroes and villains. A lot of fun was had and the mediport system got a good working.

 

I’ll be celebrating the super seven myself on Meta’s Verse with a top 10 list every week for the rest of May. Come back next week to see my top 10 list of City of Heroes Issues.

 

ASDA 2: Cute, Cute… oh and Hardcore

By Nic van ‘t Schip (Nilax), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Asda 2 is the next iteration of Asda Story, the highly successful MMO run in the US by the lovely people at GamesCampus. Last October they released chapter 3 for this game and back then Vincent conducted an interview with them about it. The expansion was mostly aimed at the well established high level community Asda Story has as it introduced new high level content and raised the repeatable quests to level 70.

 

Back then this begged the question what was in store for new players, wouldn’t they be left too far behind? Well not anymore because now GamesCampus is ready to launch the “Evolution” of Asda, aptly named Asda 2: Evolution.

 

Character Creation

The character creation in Asda 2 is a tad confusing at the start as the options for customization are quite limited. You are only given the choice between a male or a female character after which you can pick what Constellation your character was born under. The customization possibilities are downright scarce with only 5 different hairstyles, 3 different hair colors and 19 different faces. But don’t worry about that because the game will still offer plenty of opportunity for your character to look unique later on in the gameplay! You can see the various options in our video review here!

 

Another thing that is obvious right away is that there is no class selection in the character creation screen. Asda 2 let’s you pick that a bit later in the game and I think that is pretty cool! When you do get the choice of what class to become you can pick between eight very varied choices! On top of that the game boasts hundreds of skills and dozens of job classes. Plenty to progress through!

 

Gameplay

Your character starts out in the cute town of Alpen. A cute and peppy track plays in the background and the cute mapsystem will help you find some cute NPC’s that will send you on various tasks to help the villagers out.

Yes I realize that paragraph contains the word cute a lot. But only because it’s true! The first impression of this game is that it’s, well.. cute, and that doesn’t need to be a problem at all. GamesCampus very obviously targets a certain demographic with this game and in a world where companies are often trying to stick to the safe middle ground it’s refreshing to see that Asda is taking the risk and introducing an outlier.

 

An interesting feature to go along with the casual feel of Asda 2 is the autopilot function. I was taken aback by it at first but I now realize it’s a great little tool to stave off boredom. Who wants to simply navigate their character through a village themselves? Only scrubs control their own character while the real men (and women) just point their destination on the map and sit back! This is ideal for multi-tasking homework and gaming.

It may come off as sarcasm but I’m actually quite serious and the quest system takes it a step further. In the quest window there is a convenient button that, when clicked, runs you straight to the waypoint of the quest. And when you’ve completed the step the button changes to take you straight back to the NPC where you need to turn the quest in to claim your reward.

 

I bet lots of people will jump to the conclusion that this is a step too casual for them but think about it. What is the part of a quest that is fun? Is it “finding the right monsters” or is it “Where was that NPC again that I have to claim my reward from?” I say it’s neither of them, I say it’s bashing the skulls in of the monsters and then getting phat lewt for it and the game doesn’t automate either of those! It just makes it easier for you to focus on the fun stuff while the boring walking to and from tasks gets conveniently handled for you!

 

Another easy way to navigate the game is by simply clicking in the game world but full WASD and mouselook controls are possible too. So if you really dislike the autopathing feature you can just… not use it! All very cute so far but now it’s time to stab some monsters.

 

Combat

Combat starts out simple; my low level character has a sword and a bow to choose from and has one ability for each of them. Even with such a limited array of starting abilities combat still feels and looks dynamic. The monsters die easily at this level, and when they die they drop cute little stacks of gold.

 

At first I hated this kind of looting. The little stacks of gold are sometimes hard to click and it quickly gets tedious to try and pick them up especially where there are many other players or monsters around. But don’t fret, Asda 2 already has the solution to this. By default the F key on your keyboard will pick items off the floor for us. Rejoice!

 

Gear Customization and Soulmating

So all the basics are there, and they’re solid if a bit overly cute. Where Asda 2 really shines though is the customization of your character. The first thing I love is how the inventory system has a double layer. Don’t you hate it when you have a really good looking piece of gear but it has crap stats? And then you get a really good replacement item but it looks hideous? This game has totally solved that problem by allowing you to keep cool looking bits in the “Avatar” side of your inventory screen. The “Normal Custom” side can then still hold the better stat item while you can still look cool by wearing the better looking item!

 

The customization goes a lot deeper than that still. There is a remarkably comprehensive crafting and item buffing system in the game that I don’t have time to fully cover. The cool thing is how items you don’t want can be disassembled to gain materials to boost your current gear or create brand new gear! This system certainly beats npcing all your old stuff to buy new shinier preset stuff.

 

And don’t forget to brag about your zodiac sign in your quest to hook up with a soulmate! Asda 2 is very proud of this system and they are right to be. By connecting yourself to someone else through the Soulmate and Marriage system you give yourself and this other person a strong xp bonus as well as access to unique soul mate abilities and even bonus items!

 

Conclusion

All in all Asda 2 is a tad too cute for me but I can totally see how this game is excellent for those within the target demographic. But make no mistake, Asda 2 isn’t quite as cutesy as I may make it out to be! I only had time to check the first couple of levels of the game during the closed beta but there is a very hardcore Faction-based PvP system that will roar its head a little later in the game. OnRPG will definitely have a look at that more hardcore side of Asda 2 in the near future! For now I suggest you go give it a go yourself if this review peaked your interest.

 

Gates of Andaron:

By Mitch Baylosis-Benesa (Syllica)

 

 

Let me clarify what I think some of you have been wondering about: why does Gates of Andaron (GoA) look a hell of a lot like 4Story-from the graphics and interface, right down to its spells? The answer is pretty simple: the game is actually one and the same. So why is there the need to release the same content with two different names?

 

Actually, Gates of Andaron and 4Story are like identical twins developed by ZEMI Interactive. They both have the same history, identical looks, and some habits, but the two have different personalities and different clothes. While 4Story is globally released and directly updated by ZEMI Interactive, Gameforge 4D secured the rights to publish the game as Gates of Andaron for the North American market with ZEMI Inc’s support. GoA tweaked the chronicles and most character names, and the two have some different features.

 

Weaving Stories and Features

Gates of Andaron tells the tale of the gods, whose creation became the center for greed and a quest for power by the different races. Known as Andaron in the old days, Iberia became the battleground of Derion and Valorian, the two warring kingdoms who both believed that they earned the gods’ favour. Caught in between is Gor, another kingdom that refuses to take sides and remains neutral.

 

 

The game prompts you to choose between Derion and Valorian from the very beginning. You can choose from three races which are available to both kingdoms: the Humans who are, while physically agile and flexible, intelligent enough to utilize technology; the feline Neved who are very much in tune with nature; and the Fairies who have mastered the elements of magic. All classes are available to all races: the strong Warriors, the stealthy Night Walkers, evasive Archers, elemental Magicians, the healing Priests, and creature masters called Evocators. If you want to try all of the classes, you can create up to 6 characters in your account.

The plot of GoA, while undeniably already overused in MMORPGs, still works well because of the features that mesh with the plot. Because of the given conflict, expect to be conquering territories, laying siege on castles and killing enemies from the other faction as a staple of the game. The instances also provide light to the mysteries that still shroud the game’s world.

 

The Way I See It

Like other players, I can’t help but compare GoA’s graphics to that of the almost seven-year old World of Warcraft. It is very vivid, eye candy, and also a little on the cartoony side. But don’t let the graphics fool you into thinking that GoA lacks seriousness as a game. The beauty of the combination of the game’s lore and cartoony graphics is that it balances out the lore’s intensity with fun and enjoyable-looking characters. Another function of these graphics is that the game does not demand high PC specs to be able to run on maximum settings.

 

 

The similarity to WoW doesn’t stop there. Don’t worry; I am not going to turn the game review into a complete compare-and-contrast with WoW. In fact, I think that this is one of GoA’s advantages as a Free-to-Play game. GoA managed to pull off some of the same ingenious tricks that WoW, the pay-to-play MMORPG has done, such as ending up in the graveyard as a soul when you die. You must return to your body to be revived. Just watch out if you die in the middle of aggressive creatures or a player from the opposing faction starts camping your body. The latter scenario will be unavoidable since killing enemy players will earn you Achievement Points, which you can use for crafting. Don’t fret though, a certain player may want to only kill you for a maximum of 3 times since they will no longer receive Achievement Points after that. You have 10 minutes to scram afterwards and call backup to hunt down the creeper LOL. If you wanted to play WoW but weren’t convinced enough to pay monthlies, then GoA could be your alternative. Suffice to say, 4Story does have a lot of common things with WoW as well.

 

The Tickles and the Ticks-Off

The interface is neat and doesn’t take much screen space, but the sounds are just standard. There are also a lot of assigned buttons for alternate control, like the WASD keys for directional movement instead of point-and-clicking, R for run, and instant target hunting with the Tab button. Pretty much all the key options that everyone MMO should have, but not all do. Also, being part of a guild will allow you to experience Area Conquest, which fills your lust for regional conquest battles.

 

 

The game’s website is peppered with primers for new players. While I laude the fact that GoA doesn’t charge players for their weapon repairs like what Allods Online, GoA will make you pay with real money for mounts that will only be available for a certain duration. I’m not exactly sure at this point which is the lesser evil. Speaking of money, there is no auction house in the game. Of all the things that GoA didn’t adopt from WoW, it had to be one of the most useful and efficient features in an MMO. In this game, you have to vend or set up a shop to offer your goods. Thank goodness it’s F2P or I’d have torn a ligament over a day or two of my paid monthly wasted on AFK vending.

 

Same Difference

GoA has a workable and enjoyable system. It has cartoony but vivid graphics, a perfect balance of pvp and pve mixed content, and a rich lore that ties together the plethora of features in the game. While the elements and features have been done already and have been somewhat blatantly copied from other MMOs, GoA can still be an appetizing game amongst the free-to-play MMORPG throng. But it still lacks the substance of a main course MMO. GoA’s population is decent, but how the staff will keep their players hooked on GoA will be the question since its twin is already offering citizen switch to the neutral kingdom. Overall, I guess the defining factor for GoA to be enjoyable is how the community grows as an integral part of the game because it not only has to compete with the genre itself but against a clone of the same game.

 

Practical MMO and Gaming Traits Part 2

by Kei Beneza (Dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

 

Another day is upon us and another list must be completed. Here is the rest of my list of traits that give us gamers an advantage in the real world.

Trait Number 6: Epic Social Skills

One thing about being an MMO gamer is that they must socialize in order to get anywhere in the MMO world. Though some are not aware of it (shut-ins), they are actually capable of talking and conversing well with various individuals. Regardless of race, background, and personality, MMO gamers can communicate extremely well. There are definitely no social barriers for an MMO gamer, and if there are, they are more likely related to hygiene issues instead of social skills.

 

 

Trait Number 7: We Rise and Fall Together

When playing an MMO, especially at the peak of its challenge, players know that one death may be the death of many, especially when it’s the healer. Here’s the drama: The real world as I see it is much like a typical raid (okay that’s indeed geeky, but who cares?). We have the Tank, who takes the damage; the DPS, who deals damage behind the tank; and the Healer, who heals everyone from the back.

 

 

Once a player is in trouble or is about to get squashed to bits by some monster (can be related to whatever troubles you have in real life), the tank comes up and takes the damage, allowing the player to recover before letting him fight again. In a way, we are all tanks, DPSes, and healers in society, and the death of one may very well be the death of many. MMO players are literally capable of picking comrades up from the ground after their worst mistakes. Though watch out for us PvP types, we usually will trash talk you for it after you recover!

 

Trait Number 8: They Carry a Creative Outlook of the World

The world of gaming is quite broad in terms of storyline, system, and puzzles. Some puzzles also demand a rather creative way of solving and can only be solved by someone who thinks at least three steps ahead. Gamers in general are always known to have different and creative ways of solving problems outside the box.

 

 

While other people would deem it as unorthodox and out-of-this-world, gamers are used to dealing with things in a creative manner, and would even stick their neck on the line for something that is completely incomprehensible for the average Joe. Just be warned, while most gamers are creative, only a few tend to be logical.

 

Trait Number 9: They Are Prepared for the Unexpected

Let’s face it, gamers are future-oriented. We know how to plan out agendas in order to get what we want. Gamers know how to scan a large amount of information and quickly find what is lacking in a character’s build and then set out to improve themselves. This talent makes them quite useful in the workforce as they can often find security loopholes or improve company efficiency before any real problems arise.

 

After years of gaming, most MMORPG players also gain quite a bit of tech knowledge. From solving virus issues to purchasing the correct parts to upgrade their PCs, these people are forced to take a minor in technology. Try arguing the same about someone who spent their high school days engrossed in football. Yea the odds of finding a tech savvy person in this crowd drop significantly.

 

 

Games have opened up their eyes to different possibilities on what the future may bring, whether it’s a steam punk city, or a regular zombie apocalypse. While some individuals think about flying cars and the typical Jetsons scenario, we already deem them as passe’. I mean, what is with the Robot maid? Our Robot Kafras look better, yes? Survival skills are also another thing that gamers naturally posses. If you think we are wasting our time playing these games that don’t contribute to our knowledge, then you should definitely see how we deal with bears.

 

Recently a 12 year old Norwegian boy saved his sister from a moose attack. In the heat of the moment, all he could recall was his endless hours of video game training. The kid actually taunted the ‘monster’ and then ‘feigned death’ once the moose was successfully ‘agroed.’ Mad skills, I tell you.

 

Trait Number 10: They Fight Continuous Battles Without Losing Their Efficiency

In online gaming, the battle for the future of the world never ends. MMO players should know this first hand. Even after bringing down bosses such as Arthas, they know that their journey is far from over, and will continue to strengthen themselves continuously to prepare for the next battle. These are the type of people who will never be satisfied with the status-quo and allow stagnation to take place. So long as you can equate success to a puzzle or gaming challenge, a gamer’s mind won’t allow them to rest until solutions are found.

 

 

And There you have it. Yes, gaming has become a staple part of our culture, and even though some people still think that we are wasting our time on the couch eating chips and fighting bosses, I would say that it is most definitely the opposite. We are gamers, and there’s no way in hell that I would want it any other way.

 

MMO/Gaming Traits For Real Life

by: Kei Beneza (Dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

 

Being an MMO gamer is not easy, especially if you are surrounded by non-gamers in your daily life. Not only do you see things differently, you also come off as weird to others. As an MMO player, I would argue that being an MMO gamer is actually far from being a disadvantage. While the geeky remarks and lifestyle may not appeal to ‘normal’ people, I find that it is something that helped and will continue to help me in real life. Now let’s take some time to review our mad skills.

 

Trait Number 1: They Don’t Quit

When they put their hearts into it, gamers in general are well driven in the careers they pursue. I have yet to find out where their burning hearts come from, but gamers definitely know better than to give up. In my personal experience, I have seen many gamers who succeeded where others fail (three of them in my own office). Since MMO gamers are used to wiping in raids, repairing gear, and studying lost battles, you can bet your Orcish arse that these people are ready for a series of trial and error. MMO gamers are used to failure; just look at their average love life!

 

 

Since gamers are always up for a challenge, you can say that one hard task is not enough to break these burning hearts. Some games are challenging by nature, and it helps gamers surpass their own self expectations. This is exactly why no goal is too far for a driven gamer. Even if it’s about saving the world from an evil half demon prince, you will know that these people will stop at nothing to accomplish their tasks.

 

Trait Number 2: They Have Good Leadership Skills, Both In Real Life And In War

If you are familiar with IBM, they actually consider gaming experience (particularly in MMOs) as a huge addon in their work experience. They believe that MMO players in particular are used to stress and are effective workers even when paired with random people. Maybe it’s because we are all capable of adapting to various individuals when playing with guilds. Let’s face it, at one time you did teach ‘that KID’ how to tank or DPS properly (despite the horrifying results).

 

 

In accordance to what I said above, these individuals are never afraid to voice their opinions and will even go down to pick up a ‘downed’ comrade when they need him. The main fact that these people are able to bring down boss monsters that often take COUNTLESS hours to finish with proper team coordination already means a lot. Anyone can count numbers and study business management… but not everyone can lead a band of warriors in an epic journey to defeat the Lich King.

 

Trait Number 3: Adaptability

One thing I myself am familiar with is the gamer’s ability to adapt to different surroundings. Whether it’s adapting to people or co-workers we don’t like, office changes, or lack of materials to work with, MMO gamers will always find a way to push through. At some point, it can be associated with the MMO environment where the world drastically changes at certain times.

 

 

While some characters are buffed to the bone, others are nerfed down to oblivion. And even though those nerfed classes are undergeared for a random dungeon run, you can bet that they will always try their best to make it work. This is exactly why these people are able to adapt well to their surroundings.

 

Trait Number 4: They Have More Than Two Hands, Figuratively Speaking

No, not like World of Warcraft’s six-armed Mother Misery—- I’m talking about ‘Multi-tasking’. If you have played an MMO, then you know how vital multi-tasking is to efficiently progress. It is VERY hard to do one thing at a time when you are in a rush to get gear and level for a scheduled raid. Healers, for example, not only make sure that their party survives random encounters, but also powers them up, making them hit harder and such. This often involves a complicated piano finger dance between hotkeys, potions, and wasd + mouse clicks to keep out of danger. Some MMO gamers even do six quests at a time on a normal basis. In layman’s terms, ‘they can watch TV, feed the dog, and discuss politics at the same time. Up till now, people question how I am able to concentrate on multiple things at a time. The answer is simple.

 

 

“I cast spells, drink coke, and power level lowbies on a regular basis”

 

Trait Number 5: Gamer Want—- Gamer Get

Gamers are very goal oriented when it comes to playing their favorite MMOs. Some even give themselves deadlines on when they will reach the max level to join other players in their quest for end-game content. Once an MMO player sets his mind on something, they will stop at nothing to attain it.

 

 

For All You Non-Gamers: You see those violet glowy items on our characters? You have no chance in hell to get these. Well, if you did, you probably cash shopped for them with your epic ‘real world’ loots!

 

For single player titles, finishing a game is no easy feat for the average Joe. Like I said, gamers don’t give up easily. When mixed with their power of adaptability, not even the hardest of modes can keep them away from the ending credits. They will definitely fight for it if they have to.

 

Well that’s it for today. I will be back tomorrow morning for the continuation!

 

Edit: Part 2 is now available here.