Monthly Archives: April 2008

April 9th Update: let the pets sleep!

On April 9th fly to Eversun and discover the brand new contents that GameTribe has reserved for you.

In the item shop you’ll find very useful new items:

  • First of all, a teleport gate to join your friends wherever they are from wherever you are!
  • The pet hibernation box ! This box stores a pet without losing loyalty
  • New potions to help you in your adventures :
    • Speed increase (Gale Pill),
    • Size increase/shrinking (Hulk/Midget pill)
    • 600 HP increase (Health Booster)
    • 300 MP increase (Magic Booster)
  • Last but not least new costumes to change your look (Kimono and Holy Cross).

 

Beside these new items, new quests will be available:

  • Flying quest step 2
  • Main quest step 6

 

All these new content will be added to DOMO during the weekly patch on April 9th.

MULTIVERSE SELECTS VIVOX® TO DELIVER VOICE TO VIRTUAL WORLD DEVELOPERS

Vivox Voice to Integrate with the Multiverse Technology Platform

Framingham, Mass. – April 1, 2008 – Vivox Inc., winner of the 2007 Game Developer Magazine Frontline Award for Best Audio Tool, today announced that Multiverse will include Vivox voice in the Multiverse Platform, its comprehensive virtual world development solution.
Bucking the traditional publisher model, Multiverse grants developer teams use of their platform, with full SDK access, documentation, and starter assets – including sample worlds – free through flexible revenue sharing plans. Consumers use the Multiverse World Browser, a single, free and downloadable application, to access any world built with the company’s technology.

Through this partnership with Vivox, Multiverse developers will have pre-integrated voice chat and enhanced communications. In addition to high-quality and massively scalable voice chat, developers will get 3D positional audio, buddy lists, presence, speaking indicators and management tools to match the unique environment and social structure of their virtual world. Premium features such as voice fonts and voice mail will also be available.
“Virtual worlds are three dimensional realms with increasingly complex social structures that demand strong, proven communications to thrive,” said Bill Turpin, CEO and co-founder of Multiverse. “By partnering with Vivox, we are enabling virtual world developers to quickly add Vivox’s superior voice services with minimal development effort or financial commitment. Our customers will be able to include feature-rich voice services designed specifically to enrich the virtual world experience with the full support of the Vivox team.”
“Multiverse is changing the way virtual worlds are developed, making it easier for more companies to take advantage of this innovative online medium,” said Rob Seaver, CEO of Vivox. “The inclusion of Vivox’s integrated and scalable voice service will ensure that developers using the Multiverse Technology Platform will be able to build effective communication structures, simply and cost-effectively. We look forward to working with Multiverse and their clients in the creation of visionary new virtual environments.”
# # #
About Vivox, Inc.
Vivox provides high quality, massively scalable voice chat for online games and virtual worlds. Developers can enhance game play and foster community with Vivox’s advanced feature set and unparalleled service. Today, the Vivox Network supports millions of users in more than 180 countries. Customers include leading online games and virtual worlds. For more information: http://www.vivox.com.

A New Phase Begins! Magic World Online (MWO) Will Start Closed Beta II.

Ingle Games announced today that it will start the second round of Closed Beta Test for its new-concept mythic MMORPG, Magic World Online (MWO) on April 6, 2008. The goal of this round of Closed Beta is to perform thorough stress test on the game servers, which can host up to 3000 peak con-current players per server group. The publisher decides to offer open registrations and invite everyone to join CB2. More excitingly, all CB2 testers’ accounts and characters will be preserved from this moment on, and there will be no more server wipes.

Meanwhile, Ingle Games announced that the recent MWO CB1 test was a tremendous success due to the help of over 800 devoted players. The game servers were was running smoothly, and the developers have fixed all of the major bugs in the game.

The CB1 testers were thrilled about some of the unique features of Magic World Online, such as the in-game Video Chat System and the Robot System. The Video Chat System allows you to see who you are playing with, and gives you more chance to make new friends in the magic world. The Robot System allows you to free your hands from the boring mouse clicking, and provides you a more relaxing game-playing environment: you can eat dinner, go to bathroom, chat, etc, while your character is non-stop leveling in game. While botting is a big problem and illegal in most MMORPGs, Ingle Game has found an innovative way to solve this problem and provide fair and better game-play for all players. Now botting won’t be your sin, but your genuine pleasure!

Final Fantasy XI Interview

Questions by Brian Perry Jr. 
Answered by the Final Fantasy Team

Onrpg: Final Fantasy XI is a game that has been around for quite some time now. Why do you think it has lasted so long and continues to thrive? 
FINAL FANTASY XI was the first cross-platform, cross-region MMORPG in the world. For almost six years we have provided an identical gameplay experience to both PC and console users, while releasing simultaneous version updates in four languages. With such a wide variety of players, adventurers populate the lively world of Vana’diel 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Major updates—including all-new features, system changes to improve balance, and the implementation of user requests—take place every few months. This never-ending stream of content ensures there is always some exciting new facet of the game to explore. All of these factors have contributed to the establishment of a player base that has remained at an almost constant 500,000 users over the course of six years and continues to enjoy the evolving world of FINAL FANTASY XI.

Onrpg: What new classes did Wings of the Goddess, the latest expansion, bring to the game?
The dancer and the scholar were the new jobs introduced in the Wings of the Goddess expansion pack.The dancer stands at the forefront of battle with the melee and heals by using points earned through attacking the enemy–a job style that did not previously exist in FINAL FANTASY XI. By setting a melee job as a support job, it is possible for the dancer to be effective solo or in small groups. The scholar is a magic user, but with multiple abilities that allow for effective and flexible use of spells. As well as providing another magic-using job to choose from, the scholar also allows players to exceed the limits of a spell-based character through creative combinations of magic and abilities.


Onrpg: Where was the focus in terms of content for this expansion?

The main focus of the Wings of the Goddess expansion is the Campaign system and the Crystal War—a conflict that took place in Vana’diel twenty years before the current timeline. The Campaign system is divided into four main elements: Campaign battles, Campaign Ops, headhunting, and tactical assessments. Player involvement in these activities helps chart the course of the war effort on a week-by-week basis.Campaign battles refer to the conflicts with specific monsters that arise in an area within a select region. The control of the region in question can be shifted to the army of your allegiance through accumulated victories against the occupying beastman forces. Lesser in scope than the large battles waged over the control of lands, Campaign Ops refer to those special operations that afford players the opportunity to engage in a plethora of war-related efforts, including troop reinforcement, supply runs, escorts, reconnaissance, espionage, and small-scale skirmishes.

By participating in the weekly “tactical assessments,” adventurers can voice their opinions and alter the military policy of their respective army. The tactical assessment results and completion rates of Campaign Ops are then tallied to determine the following week’s battle strategies. In every area, players may encounter NPCs who have no ties to any allied nation. Such NPCs are called “freelances.” Players may convince these freelances to enlist in the Campaign effort, at which point they will ally themselves with the player’s army for a period of one week (Earth time), during which time they will engage in Campaign battles. But rather than read a long explanation such as this, the best way to learn about Campaign is to play it!


Onrpg: Are there any unique game mechanics that were added in for the Wings of the Goddess expansion?

Most of the new game mechanics in the Wings of the Goddess expansion were added to support the Campaign system. Players have expressed appreciation for the ease with which they can travel from town to areas under conflict by using the Campaign-specific warp services. Another game mechanic added at the release of the expansion was the ability to invite other people into your Mog House. Entry to a Mog House was previously restricted to the owner, but now players can share their clever layouts and show off those rare pieces of furniture to their adventuring friends.

Onrpg: How does this expansion affect some of the core gameplay aspects of the previous versions of Final Fantasy XI?
The core aspects of the game remain largely unchanged in the expansion. However, we have implemented many small adjustments and added several new features that affect gameplay. Some of these features include the official windowed mode, the Mog House invitation system mentioned earlier, as well as adjustments to battle music that allows players to hear the change in music when engaging a monster regardless of whether or not they have a weapon drawn. And now that macro information can be stored on the server, users can enjoy playing at a net café or other location just as if they were logging in on their own computer.

Onrpg: Were there any new quest lines similar to the artifact quests added in to give players more to strive for?
New quests and quest lines are added with every version update. We’re planning on releasing a range of quests that explore a variety of themes, so keep an eye out!

Onrpg: What is new for the so-called “endgame” for those who are at level 75 but do not want to play another class?
There is a wide variety of high-level content to choose from in FINAL FANTASY XI. There are the large-scale challenges such as Dynamis and Einherjar, as well as the smaller-scale challenges such as Limbus and Salvage. For those times when less people are available, single parties can also attempt the Nyzul Isle Investigations, or a player can undertake an Assault mission with as few as two friends. Players can choose to participate in any or all of these activities depending on their personal preference and play style.

Onrpg: Can you tell us a bit about the forms of PvP that have been added in since the game originally launched?
Since the launch of FINAL FANTASY XI, we have implemented two PvP “sports” known as “Ballista” and “Brenner.” While characters do have allegiance to one of the three nations, the setting of Vana’diel does not really support warfare between the countries. We therefore opted for a “friendly rivalry” approach that emphasized fun, and included no penalties such as loss of experience when KO’d. Balance between the various jobs and support jobs was our number-one priority. We continue to implement checks such as the system that automatically distributes team members by job, and restrictions that are imposed only during PvP to limit certain balance-destroying job abilities.


Onrpg: One major concern that has persisted is the difficulty of starting out. Many have said that without joining the game with friends it can be anywhere from difficult to nearly impossible to reach a point where you can consistently get a party together. Has anything been done about this, or are there any plans to look closer at this?
We are in the process of developing methods for new players to form parties with friends who are already veterans of the game. The exact nature and timing for the introduction of this method has yet to be decided; however, we are aware that this issue has troubled players for some time and hope to implement a solution as soon as possible.


Onrpg: SquareEnix has long taken a stance against Real Money Transactions. Can you tell us why you are so strongly against them? 

There are two main reasons why RMT is prohibited in FINAL FANTASY XI. The first reason is the fact that FINAL FANTASY XI was never designed with the existence of RMT in mind. We believe that the objective of a person playing to simply enjoy the game is fundamentally different from a person who plays with the objective of making real-world money. This difference can lead to the actions of an RMT player hindering the playstyle of non-RMT players. The objective of making money encourages excessive farming, and the use of bots and cheat tools, all of which lead to an unhealthy gaming environment and cause other in-game economical problems such as rapid price inflation.

The second reason is simply to protect our users. RMT transactions usually take place via a third-party RMT site. However, there are RMT sites that exist purely to deceive users into divulging account data and other personal information, as well as sites that seek to infect user PCs with viruses. We have prohibited any RMT activity in FINAL FANTASY XI to prevent such unfortunate incidents from happening.

Gala- Net Announces Release of New Achievement System

Sunnyvale, Calif. -March 28, 2008 – Gala-Net has announced a new Achievement System for their popular free-to-play game portal, gPotato.com. These achievements will provide new goals for their users to strive toward, along with the ability to show off their achievements and gain in-game benefits for completing them.

GPotato users can earn achievements by completing specific objectives within gPotato games. Every gPotato user has a profile page, and on this page they can show off their achievements, their scores in the various gPotato games, post information about themselves, and post to their own blog.
Every night, the Achievement System will detect any new achievements a user might have unlocked. When they have unlocked a new achievement, the achievement will be displayed on their profile page. They will also be given a point reward, called pChips. PChips can then be spent on in-game items found in a special web-shop.

“We wanted to provide our users with more goals,” said Michael Powers, Producer at Gala-Net. “We hope users will enjoy showing off their accomplishments to each other and form a stronger community.”
The Achievement System will first launch within the gPotato game Rappelz. The system will later be added to Flyff and the other gPotato games.

“ROHAN: BLOOD FEUD” RECEIVES ‘M FOR MATUREÂ’ RATING FROM ESRB”

Orange County, Calif. (March 24, 2008) – Online PC game publisher YNK Interactive
has announced that they have received an “M for Mature” rating from the ESRB, just in time for
their second round of closed beta testing of their upcoming massively multiplayer online roleplaying
game, Rohan: Blood Feud (www.playrohan.com).

After a successful closed beta test last week, YNK Interactive has made adjustments and
additions to be featured on their next round of closed beta testing. Players are invited to register
on the website to participate in the second round, which runs from April 3rd through April 9th.
YNK Interactive has also announced Rohan’s rating from the ESRB as “M for Mature”.

“We feel the ‘M’ rating is appropriate for a game title like this,” said Fred White, Senior
Marketing Manager for YNK Interactive. “While it was not our intent to build the game around
any particular rating, we are very focused on keeping the game true to its fantasy-based roots.
That includes content that may be more suitable for players aged seventeen and up. We are
happy to say that no content within the game has been compromised in our efforts to create one
of the best and most entertaining MMORPGs available.”

Lineage 2 Expansion

Though the largest free expansion in Lineage history, The Kamael, just launched in North America this past December,
the Lineage II team has more coming your way…so soon!

Great new content is coming your way in Hellbound, a continuation of The Kamael and the final installment of the First Throne
saga for Lineage II. This update includes high-end content and features requested by players, such as an enhanced pet system, high
end skills/skill enchantments, and legendary transformations.

New Content: First introduced in The Kamael, the Hellbound area is the main focus for new content, making this area epic in difficulty
and intensity. Reaching the raid boss, Beleth, requires large scale cooperative play and nerves of steel. In addition to beefing up the
Hellbound area, high level skills, sub-classes benefits, new skill enchants, top tier items, and transformations are available with this update.

Level Cap: With the Hellbound expansion, the game’s level cap is raised to 85.

Enhanced Pet System: Players can now nurture, train and level their own ride able wolf, as well evolve their
current buffalo, cougar and kookaburra pets.

Sho Online CBT, Just the tip of the ICEBURG?

Lizard Interactive ended a successful closed beta testing of ‘Sho Online’ on March 25, 2008. Sho Online is a free MMORPG game based on the war between the Yin and the Zhou in 11th century BC and the struggle between good and evil.

In the Closed Beta Testing, players started out as villagers of either the Yin or the Zhou dynasty. They explored their surroundings, hunted monsters, collected items and started quests as in other games. However, this peaceful atmosphere was quickly broken when one Yin player was attacked by a group of Zhou players. The Yin player managed to get back to their village and this was the beginning of long lasting brutal war. As the game progressed, battles quickly escalated into wars and sieges on 11 castles and 36 territories. In the game, more territory means more resources for your side.

Most of the players knew that the game was based on a great war which took place in ancient China between the Yin and the Zhou dynasties.

During the 7 day test of ‘Sho Online’, the siege war system, rank promotion system, faction system, Item enhancement system were introduced to the testers with much success.

CEO Sang-Wook Lee said “This is just the tip of the floating ICEBURG. There is much more to come.”
The ‘Sho Online’ Team reported that the CBT ended without any major problems and they will start Open Beta testing by late April which is earlier than scheduled.
Details will be updated soon at ( www.shoonline.net )

9Dragons Liaodong Map and Storm vs. Storm PvP Event Released

Japanese Invade Ancient China as Team PvP Event Launched in 9Dragons MMORPG

Los Angeles, CA (March 19, 2008) – Acclaim Games announces the latest content releases for 9Dragons with the new Liaodong map and Storm vs. Storm PvP event. Players of the free to play martial arts MMORPG must defeat Japanese invaders in the beautiful and challenging new Liaodong map. In the new Storm vs. Storm event, they can team up with other players to take control of the manors, and then fight to defend their territory against other teams. These amazing new game updates will give players all new and exciting challenges to test their martial arts skills!

The Liaodong area expansion represents a new direction for 9Dragons – a journey into history and the age-old Sino-Japanese conflict. Players must come to the aid of the villagers who must deal with the “invaders from the east” and vanquish their mystical Samurai monsters, such as the legendary Oni and the magical Phantom.

Liaodong offers a whole new map area, with new NPCs, new monsters, new items and new quests. And with new rewards and opportunities for advancement, Liaodong is the place to be if you’re in ancient China and a martial artist!

Storm vs. Storm is an exciting new team-based PvP event. But this is not your ordinary PvP. This is about territory, control and hard cash. That’s right, the winners own the territory and they get a tax on all transactions in their territory, so it’s worth more than pride to win in Storm vs. Storm.

So gather your hero bands and leagues and get ready to fight for pride and control. This is going to be fun… and profitable! Oh, and by the way, winners get some great treasure items, too.

9Dragons is free to play with an in-game Item Mall where players can purchase various items with Acclaim Coins. Items can be purchased in-game using a simple click and buy interface. Players can easily purchase Acclaim Coins with their credit card, home or cell phone, bank account, or a variety of other payment methods using safe and trusted online payment services to ensure secure online transactions. Prepaid cards are also available in select locations worldwide.

Players have the option of joining one of 6 starter clans: Shaolin, Wu-Tang Clan and The League of Beggars are loyal to The Imperial Emperor of China, while The Brotherhood of Thieves, Heavenly Demon, and Sacred Flower Clan (for women only) are opposed to his rule.

New players can easily register for a free Acclaim account at www.9dragonsgame.com to experience the world of martial arts in ancient China, and train to become masters of Kung Fu!