Yearly Archives: 2012

Early Access: Bella Legend of Crystal

Early Access: Bella Legend of Crystal

By Darren Henderson (DizzyPW), OnRPG Editor-in-Chief

 

 

 

Hey OnRPG viewers. It’s been a while since my last Early Access column and this time I’m covering a game that is likely still a long ways away from a westernized launch. As such my facts are based on rough translations and I apologize in advance if I’ve interpreted any information incorrectly and will update the game profile should I come across such inaccuracies in the future. With that disclaimer out of the way let’s get started with our Early Access coverage of developer MacroWell OMG Digital Entertainment’s upcoming MMORPG, Bella Legend of Crystal!

 

 

Overview

 

The general concept of the game is that players spring to life as representatives of Flaya, the Goddess of War. Flaya is one of many gods sacrificed as martyrs in an endless war since the dawn of time. Her final act as a god was to set in motion the summoning of many brave heroes containing a portion of her spirit to protect the world from the once benevolent God of the Underworld. The God of the Underworld was responsible for saving the world once from a great dragon lord, but in his weakened state following the battle he submit to the darkness of his realm upon returning. He now bides his time and licks his wounds preparing for a new affront on the world to redeem himself following his clash with Flaya. It’s up to the players to use the time bought by Flaya’s sacrifice to collect the crystallized soul essences from the various slain gods to unlock the full potential of their power as a guardian of the world. This system of collecting and utilizing the crystals of the gods makes up a majority of the gameplay in Bella Legend of Crystal.

 

 

Soul Crystals and the Classless Class System

 

As a world guardian you basically start the game off with a clean slate, similar to a novice from Maplestory. However you will quickly come across the system of Soul Crystals which play the most important role in shaping your character’s development. Of the Soul Crystals, the Major Crystal is the most important one you will acquire, and you may only have one equipped at any given time.

 

 

After unlocking your first Soul Crystal, your character will gain access to 6 skills, appropriate stat bonuses, and ultimate skills dependent on the god represented by your Major Crystal. This will essentially determine your role in any party, decide your character’s elemental attribute, and set in motion the type of armor and weapon you will be acquiring.

 

 

The official website lists the following 6 primary classes acquirable through Major Crystals, which I’ve translated to the best of my ability:

 

Tank: The tank is specialized in absorbing all damage from magic to melee and everything in between. However their serious lack of agility, intellect, and sense will leave them reliant on allies to hunt down more agile crafty foes. Don’t underestimate the warrior though as with its strength stat topping the charts, one lucky blow can ruin any foe’s day.

 

 

Mage (Support): Support mages are surprisingly tanky for a caster class. Their high sensory and constitution along with decent vitality makes them durable enough to take a few fireballs and sneak attacks and keep on fighting. However their strength is near nonexistent and the majority of their int is focused on supporting their allies.

 

 

Mage (Elemental): The elemental mage is the definition of a glass cannon. While they can stand up for brief periods against other mages, that is the limits of their survivability. However with proper support from their allies, an elemental mage can dish out some of the most devastating skills in the game with their maxed out intellect stat. They are capable in specializing in various forms of elemental magic to adjust their utility to your style of play.

 

 

Battle Mage: This mage warrior hybrid is sure to be a popular pick. With high hp, and a devastating combo of strength and intellect, they are sure to wreck worlds.. if they can get in range to do so. Agility and sense are the limiting factors of this class, allowing more agile characters to dodge around the battlefield just outside of their reach.

 

 

Rogue: The rogue puts all its eggs in one basket, throwing defense to the wayside and focusing on pure agility and sensory expertise. This allows them to dart past the heavy hitting melee fighters and assassinate squishier back line characters like elemental mages with devastating critical strikes.

 

 

Ranger: Rangers are a jack of all trades that represent a hybrid between the rogue and tank, with precision ranged strikes at their command. The benefit of range comes at the price of lower damage output compared to their rogue cousin. but they still perform well as mid-range dps in any team formation.

 

 

In a system reminiscent of Eden Eternal, the Major Crystal is not the only deciding factor to your class specialization, nor is it a permanent fixture of your character once it is equipped. As you venture through the lands and complete key storyline quests, your character will unlock the ability to equip Minor Crystals, with a current cap in place of 8 total. Each one of these crystals carry elements of the various gods in them, yet the essence is impure and lacks the full potency of Major Crystals. As such they won’t impact overall build but will grant you 2 new skills per crystal, as well as related stat bonuses that will either give you greater mastery over your strengths or balance your weaknesses depending on what crystals you acquire. In addition they carry their own elemental alignment as well that can help balance your weaknesses further. While solid evidence of switching crystals isn’t available to me at this moment, it seems the limiting factor is an energy system and the cost of changing your primary crystal is much more draining of your energy than if you were to switch out a minor crystal.

 

 

The following are currently announced minor class crystals you can acquire:

 

Swordsman, Thief, Spellsword, Warrior, Dark Stalker, Priest, Monk, Sacredwing Guardian, Hunter, Flame Swordsman, Pirate, Water Sorcerer, Water Shaman, Shield Guardian, Ranger, Mercenary, Darkflame Knight, and Warlock.

 

 

Some of these class crystals are actually advanced hybrid classes formed through the fusion of soul crystals. For instance by merging the warrior and thief together you gain the hardy nature of the warrior and deadly accuracy of a thief to become a ranger. Likewise mixing the priest and swordsman together forms the Monk crystal offering you the support power of a cleric but the battle-born readiness of a front-line swordsman.

 

 

Equipment Smelting and Soul Crystal Infusion

 

This is the part of the game that I’m still most iffy about so bear with me. Rather than simply acquiring strong weapons and armor over the course of your adventures, players can choose to grow their current equipment with them to unlock its full potential. This is done partially through standard MMORPG equipment refining and partially through integration of minor soul crystals into your Major Crystal specific weapons and armor.

 

Heavy Armor Progression

 

The fascinating part of this game feature is that Bella Legend of Crystal doesn’t merely add glowing effects to your armor and leave you hanging. It actually puts your armor through noticeable growth, portrayed in beautiful Japanese stylized graphics allowing you twice the bragging rights among your fellow gamers. For instance your caster may gain an armored corset and upgraded charms, or your ranger may gain Native American styled fur armor overlapping their standard fatigue wraps. Similarly, dull blades will undergo transformation into retextured bright broadswords. This theoretically combines to make an interesting effect of differentiating yourself from other players through both unique skillsets and appearances.

 

Spear Progression

 

 

Character Attributes

 

In an MMORPG it all comes down to the numbers and Bella Legend of Crystal doesn’t disappoint here. They follow a standard primary and secondary attribute system in which primary stats combine with equipment bonuses to create the various secondary attributes that determine a character’s power in combat. The primary stats are vitality, intelligence, strength, agility, concentration, and sense.

 

 

The main secondary attributes are level, HP, MP, vigor, rage (system used to access more powerful skills through combat), energy (possibly related to soul crystals), melee power, ranged power, and magical power. However other secondary attributes also exist including defense, magic resistance, MP and HP recovery, block level, ward level, attack speed, crit chance, target hit level, and dodge. This abundance of character stats incorporates popular stats from various games and should ensure plenty of variation in crafted armor sets between players.

 

Graphical Presentation and UI

 

If there’s one thing that immediately comes to mind when considering Taiwanese developed games, it’s their user interface. Taiwan has access to some top notch software for analyzing player eye movement during game testing and Bella Legend of Crystal clearly shows that this software has been put to good use in crafting the user’s experience during gameplay.

 

Alpha State User Interface

 

Even though the game is still in Chinese, the menu placements, design, and easy icon based access to everything you would need in-game ensures that you won’t need to search through endless menus to get a hold of what you need. The dual hotkey menus also make organizing your skills and potions a breeze.

 

 

In terms of the artstyle we are talking about a distinctly Anime look transplanted into a 3D environment. While these are usually words I dread when discussing an upcoming MMORPG, Bella Legend of Crystal does it in a way that I can say is pleasing to the eye without becoming so detailed as to alienate its intended target audience. In an attempt to make the game world feel more alive, characters will automatically change their facial expressions to mirror the mood they are in at the time. While the teaser trailer emphasizes the more over-the-top zany expressions known in anime styled games, thankfully the majority of expressions are subtle and naturally express the emotions of your character as they perform various attacks or react to ever changing situations.

 

 

Although no official release date is scheduled for the western market, OMG Digital Entertainment definitely intends to send this game our way in the foreseeable future. The features seem sound but until we experience the gameplay I won’t make any further judgement on this game. Look forward to more detailed coverage once the game comes to the western world.

Bella Legend of Crystal

Bella Legend of Crystal throws players into a world torn asunder by an endless war among the gods. As the spiritual reincarnation of Flaya, Goddess of War, you must take up arms to prevent the God of the Underworld from destroying all creation while gathering up the crystal remnants of fallen gods to become the ultimate world defender.

 

Features

Detailed Anime Stylized Grahics: Characters react to their surroundings automatically with various facial expressions and emotions in a flowing and beautiful world inspired by Japanese animation.

 

 

Soul Crystal System: Equipping Soul Crystals determines your class archetype and players are not locked into a single class as the crystals can be exchanged if you have enough energy to do so. A series of minor crystals can also be unlocked to tweak your archetype in various ways.

 

 

Pets and Crafting: Players can expect to experience well tuned MMORPG elements like pet growth, and an in-depth crafting system that involves incorporating soul stones and growing your weapon into new fantastic forms.

En Masse Entertainment Announces Official TERA Launch

En Masse Entertainment Announces Official TERA Launch Date

 

 

En Masse Entertainment, a publisher built by gamers, focused on delivering fun and innovative online games, announced earlier this morning that its award-winning and highly anticipated action MMO title, TERA Online, will launch on May 1, 2012. The upcoming release of TERA will be available in Standard and Collector’s Editions at retail and online stores. Marking a new era in gaming, TERA sets a new standard by delivering true action combat to players who want more than the stale and repetitive gameplay that exists in today’s MMOs.

 

 

The recipient of multiple industry honors and accolades, including “Best PC Game” and “Best MMO” at last year’s E3 expo, as well as OnRPG’s runner-up for most anticipated online game of 2012, TERA is a new breed of online game that combines all the depth of a traditional MMO with the visceral gratification of an action game. In TERA, players must actively aim, dodge and block, as the game’s real-time combat system takes into account player position and skill, not stats alone.

 

 

Players begin by creating a character from seven races and eight classes as they join in an alliance to save the world from bloodthirsty armies of monsters who threaten to destroy the very gods who hold their world together. TERA also introduces a revolutionary political system in which players wield power in their province based on their in-game political prowess or PvP combat skill.

 

 

If you’re like me though you don’t want to be stuck waiting until May to get your hands on this title. I suggest you hop on your twitter account and retweet En Masse’s original tweet about beta sign-ups. Doing so by January 30th will net you entry into a random drawing in which 25 lucky participants will be included in the upcoming beta testing! Also be sure to follow OnRPG while you’re there as we’ll be ramping up our TERA coverage and bringing you the latest news and beta coverage as May 1st draws ever closer.

 

This Just In

 

Just received word that Frogster has also announced a release date for TERA EU on May 3rd! Seth Iorio, COO of Frogster comments, “We’re truly excited to announce this release date, and the extra time that has been taken to tweak the game for the European market has truly paid off. Followers of the game and newcomers alike will have an incredibly rich, exciting and polished gameplay experience available to them on May 3rd.”

 

Coinciding this news, TERA EU has launched a new community page with more detailed information on the races and classes, detailed world maps, and much more. Be sure to check it out HERE and learn all you can prior to the upcoming beta tests!

Adventure Quest Worlds Prepares a Unicorn Filled Friday the 13th!

Adventure Quest Worlds Prepares a Unicorn Filled Friday the 13th!

 

 

Artix Entertainment, the indie game development studio that delivers download-free, browser-based RPGs to over 135 million registered players, announced it will host an in-game Friday the 13th event with musician Voltaire and YouTube sensation Andrew Huang later today at 7 PM EST in the hit MMORPG, AdventureQuest Worlds.

 

 

Friday the 13th is always a big event in AQWorlds, and this one promises to be even more explosive than before. Players will find themselves sent on an unforgettable adventure to save a village from a gigantic, malfunctioning robot girl. If their luck holds out, they might even save her, too! And as AQWorlds players know, there would be no Friday the 13th event without Voltaire. So players must summon him for his aid… by standing in front of a mirror and saying his name three times, of course!

 

 

Player-favorite musician Voltaire is returning to Adventure Quest Worlds for this spectacular event. The release will feature three of his newest songs, including Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking from a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children. And since two songs about unicorns are better than one, players will also enjoy internet videographer and musician Andrew Huang’s Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing On Rainbows.

 

 

Each artist’s piece came from the same source – their followers. After a fan jokingly referred to his music as being similar to the experience of “riding a black unicorn down the side of an erupting volcano while drinking from a chalice filled with the laughter of small children,” Voltaire thought it was a fitting song title and wrote his tribute to the mythological creatures. Once his fan base saw that he had recorded a song about unicorns, another viewer linked Voltaire to Andrew Huang’s unicorn song. All of Andrew’s songs, including Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing On Rainbows, are written and recorded based on fan feedback and suggestions.

 

 

Everyone of every level is invited to play this one-of-a-kind Friday the 13th event where the AQWorlds team will combine Voltaire’s Black Unicorn with Andrew’s Pink Fluffy Unicorn in a volcanic eruption of flames and fluffiness!

The Demon Slayer Beckons in Maplestory

The Demon Slayer Beckons in Maplestory

 

 

Maplestory Demon Slayer

 

The third and final character class to complete MapleStory’s Legends update has finally arrived in the form of the Demon Slayer, who joins Mercedes and the Canonneer to round out Maple World’s elite roster. As a former underling of the Black Mage, the Demon Slayer came to his senses and discovered where the real truth in battle resides, within the Resistance movement.

 

 

In his quest to free Edelstein and atone for his evil past, the Demon Slayer fights with a mighty one-handed mace and defends himself with the Demon Aegis, a shield made exclusively for this formidable class. His unique energy gauge, known as Demon Fury, charges as the Demon Slayer defeats deadly monsters. Through his Demon Impact skill, the Slayer’s dormant power is instantly activated to target multiple enemies at once, becoming more amplified as the power is used against boss monsters.

 

Maplestory Demon Slayer

 

With his Demon Cry, the Slayer tackles monsters’ attack, defense and accuracy stats while raising item drop rates and EXP points for the player. Finally, the Demon Slayer’s Dark Winds allows him to double jump and glide using his majestic wings while battling through Maple World foes. For players looking for an extraordinarily dynamic character with insane attacks and major strategic advantages, the Demon Slayer will not disappoint.

E-Sports @ OnRPG: January 13th Report

E-Sports @ OnRPG: January 13th Report

By Umar Farooq (Kluey),  OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Hello! January 6–13, 2012 was a good week in E-Sports. Lots of things happened, most of which were amazing. Before we start, I’d like to point out to everyone that there will be spoilers! Skip Homestory Cup IV and GSL 2012 parts if you are still intending to watch these matches with your own eyes.

 

 

Homestory Cup IV

Like I’ve said before, Homestory Cup is an amazing tournament and this one was nothing short of that. I usually like to not judge a tournament based on its games as the tournament had no way of enforcing that but, you cannot overlook the games of HSC IV especially MC vs. JYP. Before we get into the players, I’d just like to say a couple of things. First is that MC, MKP and Reis are an epic casting team. You’d think that broken English with a crazy guy and an extremely shy person would be a bad casting team but, nope. MC, MKP and Reis are extremely funny and left me giggling after every cast they would do. Second is that players casting is really cool. It may be anticlimactic, it may be a bit boring and they may not have the most beautiful of voices, but their knowledge of the game is unparalleled. You can be good at analytical casting but players will always understand more simply because they’re the ones playing at the highest level. And last, Koreans are still dominating Starcraft 2.

 

LiquidHerO

LiquidHerO simply couldn’t handle the pressure of the spotlight this week. He tried to cannon rush a player that I felt was much worse than he was. He also let zerglings slip into his base which never happens on his stream. Actually, now that I think about it, he doesn’t actually lose PvZ on his stream…

 

ST_Sound

Koreans are… pretty good at Starcraft! Sound proved this by showing up in Germany as an unknown player and leaving as one of the up and coming players. His extremely abusive play style punishes any slow players that aren’t familiar with micro, attempt greedy builds, or are slow to start. At least one of these three traits was common on nearly every player competing at Homestory Cup IV and ST_Sound capitalized on it. I don’t expect Sound to win Code S any time soon but you’ll definitely see him placing among the best. MKP and MC even said that he’s the next Bomber which I feel is overestimating him a bit.

 

oGsMC

MC is pretty good and he proved that this week. He also proved that he is extremely unpredictable. Everyone knew that MC has skills and was a front runner among the pack but his past performances had everyone doubting that he’s take home the Cup. He’s fallen to Code B sometimes and won Code S sometimes… However his Stalker control is by far the best. Be it Blink or no Blink, his stalkers are worth twice as much as they are to normal people. Min Chul has never failed to entertain and this is a well deserved win for him. Furthermore, he’s won his GSL matches! He barely made it out of his group beating Leenock with a nice 7 Gate timing. I hope to see him do well in 2012 as he is one of my favourite players of all time.

 

Koreans at Homestory Cup IV

 

GSL January 2012 Code S

So far, no foreigner has advanced. Let’s be honest, no one expected them to actually advance. IdrA probably would’ve had a chance if he had an easier group but that was not the case. Sen has shown his worth before, but he choked or just wasn’t feeling well as he very well could’ve made it out of his group. If I am not mistaken, Sen does play on the Taiwan/Korea server so he should be well prepared for this meta.

 

 

My predictions for this GSL are calculated and expected. I’m going to go ahead and pick the players who will most likely do well instead of going out on a limb to pick someone crazy. I think Ns_HS.Jjakji, MVP, MC, DRG and MMA will be Top 5 in no particular order.  Zenio might do well for himself along with JYP as they are both very solid players. I also think that players like Brown and Parting who are new to the GSL will get absolutely ripped to pieces as they lack experience in a booth. I feel like if there is a weakness to Koreans, it’s that. Apart from the GSL what offline tournaments does Korea have? I may be wrong, but they have none and the few that they have are played by the already experienced players. In the West we have GSL’s and IPL’s that can train a good player to overcome his fear of live events.

 

 

Team EG closes Counter-Strike Division

After seven years they are finally shutting down and I think it may be the right decision. What company looking to sponsor a team would chose Counter Strike 1.6 over the new and more popular games? While it may upset some fans, business wise this was the right choice.

 

 

CS: GO might bring a new team though. They are in fact keeping one player, 2008 and 2009 eSports Player of the Year in North America , Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert. He’s staying as a “FPS gaming evangelist”. I really hope EG becomes a top CS: GO team or even any type of CS: GO team as that will help bring CS: GO into eSports.

 

 

As far as CS 1.6 is concerned, that game should be dead now. It’s an amazing game to play while passing time if you don’t have access to your gaming PC, but it’s simply not a top FPS game now because there are games that are essentially Counter Strike 1.6 with more features and better graphics.

 

 

EG’s Counter Strike team.

Dawn of Fantasy Reveals Update Plans for 2012

Dawn of Fantasy Reveals Update Plans for 2012

 

 

Since its debut release in September, Reverie World Studio’s MMORTS Dawn of Fantasy has seen its fair share of updates. With over 30 patches and dozens of new features recently introduced, all offered subscription-free, the persistent game world of Mythador is growing by the day. Player empires rise and fall, rebel armies roam the horizon for their next victims, the first flurries of a winter storm bring trade to a halt. And now… the world is about to get a whole lot bigger.

 

 

Reverie World has recently revealed their plans for the next six months, almost all of which has to do with free updates for Dawn of Fantasy players. These progressive changes will introduce an abundance of exciting new features to the game’s premier Online Kingdom mode, including a Player vs. Player ranking system and 6-player skirmishes, co-op town battles, 16 new explorable and attackable NPC towns, hero customization, alliances and guilds, new player homelands, an updated economic system with new resource types, and improved visuals. Dawn of Fantasy will also get its first two DLC packs, introducing a complex magic system and naval warfare to the game.

 

 

These are times of fear. Veterans of the ancient wars are called to arms once more. Walls are strengthened and weapons readied. Strongholds are prepared for siege. A new conflict is in the wind, and the wind is building. This is Dawn of Fantasy. Make yourself at home. And sharpen your sword.

 

 

Dawn of Fantasy can be purchased from the official website for only $29.99, offering a growing, persistent online world completely free of subscription fees and hidden costs. If you want to learn more about this game come back to OnRPG later today for JamesBl0nde’s first impressions video!