Yearly Archives: 2008

TURBINE and Codemasters Online gaming to unveil book 13: Doom of the last-king FOR THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™

2007 MMO of the Year* Introduces Fifth Content Update for Subscribers

WESTWOOD, MA – April 24, 2008 – Turbine, Inc. and Codemasters Online announced the details of the fifth content update for subscribers to The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™.  Book 13: Doom of the Last-king continues the epic story of The Lord of the Rings Online, adds an entire new region to the world of Middle-earth, a new Monster Play class and the introduction of the hobby system.  Book 13: Doom of the Last-king will be available to subscribers of The Lord of the Rings Online on April 24, 2008 in North America and is coming soon in Europe.  
The Lord of the Rings Online has grown dramatically in scale, content and the size of our community in its first year of operation,” said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. “We’ve received a very positive response from players about the new region of Forochel and the long-awaited addition of fishing that adds an entirely new level of fun and enjoyment to the game.  It’s been an incredible first year and we are hard at work finishing up Book 14 slated for release this summer.  All of us are very excited for our journey this fall into the Mines of Moria.”
NEW FEATURES:

  1. New Region – In the far, frozen north of Eriador lies Forochel, a land unlike any other in Middle-earth.  This new region lets players see the ocean for the first time and introduces several new temperature based landscape effects.  Players will need to be mindful of the cold due to a new damage type – frost.  Frost will slowly damage their character until they find a source of warmth in the form of shelter or a campfire.
  2. New Faction – Beneath the brooding skies of Forochel dwell the hardy tribes known as the Lossoth. Suspicious of outsiders, they have long warred against other folk – especially the Guaredain, bloodthirsty wolf-loving barbarians in league with the forces of Angmar.  Players can earn favor with the Lossoth by helping them in the struggle against their ancient enemy in this latest addition to The Lord of the Rings Online’s (LOTRO) reputation system.  Lossoth reputation rewards include unique armor sets, weapons, a new mount, housing decorations, and class specific items
  3. Introducing the Defiler — The first new class for Monster Players debuts in Book 13.  The Defiler is a healer that will round out any War Band in their quest to dominate the Ettenmoors.  The Defiler uses new healing skills such as Fertile Slime and Fungal Bloom to aid its party in battle and has a host of new Debuff skills including Curse of the Lethargic Heart to defeat their enemies.
  4. The Hobby System — The player hobby system is introduced in Book 13.  Fishing is the first hobby being introduced in LOTRO.  From the Midgewater Marshes to the Shores of Evendim, players will find fishing to be a relaxing, entertaining and beneficial pastime.  Players can earn deeds and traits as they improve their fishing prowess and captured fish can be used to cook in recipes or be mounted as trophies in a player’s house.
  5. The Epic Continues! At Elrond’s urging, players venture into the frozen wastes of the north to continue Laerdan’s search for the remnants of the ring Narchuil.  Aided by the Snowmen of Forochel, players will uncover the fate of an ancestor of Aragorn and strive to thwart the terrible aims of Angmar.
  6. Over 100 New Quests — The story continues for players as they aid the Fellowship and encounter new adventures in Middle-earth. 

The Lord of the Rings Online is an award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game that delivers an interactive experience brimming with life and filled with the familiar people, places and monsters from the most beloved fantasy adventure of all time. From the picturesque surroundings of the Shire to the upcoming expansion to Moria, the most fearsome underground realm ever imagined, players will experience the world of Middle-earth as never before.  LOTRO is available for purchase at major retailers across North America and Europe. For more information or to download a free trial, visit www.lotro.com or www.lotro-europe.com.

Magic World Online Review

Magic World Online has some unique features and enough depth to give both veteran and new players a game that returns all that you put into it.

One idea behind MWO (Magic World Online) that I believe is the true highlight of it, is the Robot. Each character that you create has it’s own “MWO Robot”, this robot can be set to level, farm, gather tradeskills, or anything else you could imagine. MWO is a game that fits all lifestyles by letting you "grind" while at work or sleeping. Multi-clienting is also allowed so that you could have a healer for your warrior or an archer that assists your summoner, you can do a limitless amount of things with it.

There are 4 Basic Classes that all have “Class Trees”. You can choose to play an Archer, Warrior, Summoner, or Mage. Each of those 4 Classes can branch into 4 different classes, giving you a total of 16 classes. Your skills level up with your character, and spell books will unlock them.

MWO features Mounts which will have random bonus attributes so you can keep raising/hatching them until you get that special one that you want to bring into adulthood. Mounts can gain special abilities and each has Hidden Attributes that can be unlocked as well.

The items of MWO are also limitless, with random attributes assigned to magic items, weapons that grow with your character, legend armor that can be upgraded and that give set bonuses.

There are many other features such as State Wars, Guild Castles, a deep crafting/farming system, dungeon bosses, special instances, auction house and much more.

The Cons to MWOnline are the graphics, while they don’t hinder gameplay in any way, they are 2D and unrefined. Bugs being still worked due to Closed Beta phase. Movement animations are a bit choppy.

MWO is in it’s Closed Beta 2 phase currently, BUT, there will be no more server wipes as advertised, so you will not lose your characters like in most CB’s for MMORPGs. MWO is free to play for life and also free to download. There are still some bugs that are being quickly diffused by an active GM staff.

All in all, MWO is a game with great potential. With features that no other game offers and it’s commitment to the player, this game is highly recommended to any new or veteran players of this genre.

Shadow of Legend Spring Special

Players at or above Level 15 can receive materials and a free staff from the appointed NPC in between May 1st to May 3rd. In order to receive your items, please visit an
“Event Envoy” located at these locations:

South Horea coordinates: 404, 1561
Fluorescent coordinates: 555, 782
Distant Valley coordinates: 736, 225
Phynas coordinates: 721, 1157
Grey Rock Castle coordinates: 398, 906
Wild Track coordinates: 484, 484

Depending on your class, your character(s) can receive the following:

Warrior: Copper Ore*200/day
Mage: Pine*200/day
Monk: Ragged skin*500/day
Archer: Hemp*500/day

Crafting your own armor and weapons is not an easy job, especially when you have to travel through the dangerous lands of Agnes to collect the materials used to make your items. Only for a few days will we make it easy for you to hone your crafting skills. Just ask any high level player how important crafting skills are later on in the game. They be taking advantage of this opportunity, so don’t miss out!

May 7th update: a new mission and items!

A new challenge is waiting for you in the frenzy fighting world of Infinity.

On May 7th, we’ll introduce a new mission: Targen’s Porta Tournament.
You will be able to bet Luna coins on fighting NPC monsters. In each room a maximum of 8 players will be able to bet choosing among 3 different amount of Luna.
Be smart and bet well on the most promising mob to win other players Luna !

On the same patch, new items will be added to the Item shop:

  • Nickname ticket allows you to change your nickname
  • Rune Stone initializer can reset a Runestone slot. This is a very useful item if you want to to remove Runestones from your sockets.

These new content will be patched to Infinity on May 7th.
Discover the action, play Infinity Online!

NeoSteam closed beta has come to an end

After 7 days of fun, excitement and enjoyment, the much anticipated CBT of NeoSteam has finally come to an end. The NS Team wants to extend their most sincere gratitude to all “Steamers” that took part of the NeoSteam CBT. Thank you for making this CBT possible. Without you, NeoSteam closed beta wont be a success.

Always keep posted for more information regarding the next opening of the NeoSteam server. You can always visit www.neosteam.com for any questions, queries or suggestions to make the next period more exciting and enjoyable.

GALA-NET LAUNCHES PLAYSPAN MARKETPLACE WITH

Upshift players can now trade cars, mods, and other items in-game
Santa Clara, CA – April 29, 2008- PLAYSPAN Inc. and Gala-Net Inc. announced the launch of beta service today for Upshift StrikeRacer, an online racing game.
“Having the PlaySpan service added to Upshift StrikeRacer provides our players with the ability to trade their in-game items in a safe and sanctioned manner,” states Jikhan Jung, CEO of Gala-Net. “We are very excited about providing peer to peer item sales in our games. And PlaySpan provides a proven, scalable and secured system that has been proven with multiple games.”

PlaySpan’s system integrates into the game inside a widget. As an official, publisher-sponsored service, the application is a secure and reliable way to buy and sell goods without leaving the game.

“We are extremely excited about launching with Upshift StrikeRacer. This shows the power of virtual commerce in the different environments; our system and services benefit hardcore MMOGs as well as more casual titles like Upshift,” says Karl Mehta, CEO of PlaySpan Inc. “Players of Upshift can now trade lower-ranked cars and items once they advance to more advanced parts of the game, and enjoy the game more with real-world microtransactions.”

Ten Tools Revealed

Wonderland Online (http://wl.igg.com/) is a free 2D turn-based MMORPG brought to players by IGG. In addition to the unique [Tent System], there are also many tools available in the game. Before players use them, the WL team is going to talk about these tools.

1. Tent: It has three functions. The first is it can be used as a factory. No matter what kinds of items are manufactured in the tent. The second is it can be used as a house. Players can put all kinds of furniture in the tent and make it more comfy. Whether it’s a urinal or a bathtub, a washbowl or a vase all can be used to decorate the tent. More than that, players can take their tents with them anywhere they go. The last function is it can be used as a supermarket. Players can sell items in the village with the help of shelves and Coin-Op Games.

2. Remote Control: It is an AFK tool offered by WLO. A character can automatically attack monsters after players set options such as HP and SP replenishment and prepare enough food.

3. Vacuum Cleaner: It is one of the greatest inventions in the Wonderland. It can automatically collect materials. It can only be used in material spots however.

4. Fishing Rod: There are common, superior and luxurious fishing rods in Wonderland. All fishing rods can automatically fish. However, players may obtain different fish depending on the fishing rods used and their skill level.

5. Notepad: It can be used to record everything that has happened in a player’s game, including finished and unfinished quests, quest details and dialogue. The most important feature is that it can automatically record trivia. Player’s can press [CTRL + M] to check their details anywhere at any moment.

6. Radio Set: When a character is level 10 or above, players can yell on the world channel with the help of a Radio Set by consuming SP.

7. Title Deed: It can be used to increase tent space. There is no time limit and it is unable to be traded.

8. Roca: She is one of the most helpful NPCs. She has a high attack ability, good skills and excellent defensive skills. However, she may kill the pet players want to capture. Even if players ask her to stay on defense, her powerful counterattack may kill the pet.

9. Cat and Dog: They are only friendly envoys who can help players express items.

10. Star: It can be used to learn skills during the trials, can be exchanged for subway keys, or for Title Deeds to increase tent space, for bouquets to increase the pets’ amity or to cure human pets which die during quests.

These ten tools are very popular and very useful in Wonderland. Remember them; they can help you very much in game.

News link: http://wl.igg.com/news/newscontent.php?aid=412

Show Your Love

You may have no friends, no girlfriend/boyfriend, or even no child. However, everyone has a mother. Your mother is the one who loves you most in the world. There is nothing more precious on earth except the day when she gave birth. Why not show your love on Mother’s Day? We will be holding two very special events so you can send out your best wishes to your mother. The whole world can hear your praise!

Event One

Event Duration: From May 5th to May 11th

Event Flow:
1. During the event, players should organize as many other players as they can and yell “Mother, I love you!” at any location in the game world. Then, print a screenshot and save it.
2. Players can post their screenshots with the theme “Mother’s Day” in the forum. Their posts should contain all the participating players’ forum accounts in the screenshots.
3. All participants in the screenshots should reply to the relative post.

The quantity of participants and the originality of the screenshot are two important criteria. We will choose the most original screenshot and present the player who posted it with abundant rewards. Other participants can obtain Karma as a reward as well. (Karma can be used to exchange for credits.)

Event Rules:
1. All participants should reply to the relative post in the forum. Otherwise, they will be unable to obtain rewards.
2. Players should obey the forum rules. Otherwise, they will be disqualified.
3. Post with the same screenshot and the same participants can only be posted once, by one player. If there are 2 identical or mostly identical posts, the one sent first will count.
4. IGG reserves all the copyrights to the works submitted and all rights for final judgment of the event.

Event Reward:
Players can choose one of the following rewards: Pure Steel*10, Steel Plate*10, Handle*10 or Steel Thread*10.

Event Two

During the event, players can send out their best wishes to their mothers in world channel with the help of a [Greeting Card]. Our GMs will be online every day and will randomly choose several lucky players to present them with rewards.

Event Duration: From 4:00am to 5:00am and from 10:00pm to 11:00pm every day from May 5th to May 11th.

Event Rules:
1. Lucky players should send out their best wishes with the help of a Greeting Card.
2. We don’t appreciate rude or impolite messages and we don’t think anyone else would either. Remember these kinds of messages are NOT allowed.
3. Each time, our GMs will randomly choose 3 lucky players from each server.
4. Players are unable to spam with the help of a Greeting Card.
5. IGG reserves all the copyrights to the works submitted and all rights for final judgment of the event.

Event Reward:
Players can choose one of the following rewards: Pure Steel*10, Steel Plate*10, Handle*10 or Steel Thread*10.

News link: http://vc.igg.com/content.php?news_id=871

Tales of Pirates Event: May Your Revenge be Vicious

The Tales of Pirates (http://top.igg.com/) team will be holding a “Vicious Revenge” event in May. 2 bosses will appear in each main city (Argent, Shaitan, and Icicle Castle) at the beginning of the event.

Last month, the warriors of TOP helped the cursed GMs get back their normal life. However the Black Dragon became enraged by this, and is planning to take his revenge on the TOP warriors. The 2 bosses will try every means of killing the TOP warriors.

TOP Warriors need to defend their own homeland once more.

For more details: http://top.igg.com/info.php?articleId=1010

Angels Online: Rose Dating Event

The expansion of Angels Online (http://ao.igg.com) from IGG is about to launch with the new marriage system added to the new version. Now, a romantic proposal ceremony will be held at the forum to encourage players to participate.

Contents: Upload pictures taken with your sweetheart to our forum (Photoshop can be used to modify the images), plus your proposal declaration.

Contest duration: From April 30th to May 10th

Contest location: AO Media Overview section

Rewards: Winners will be given a Gentleman’s Tailcoat and a White Wedding Dress

Rules:
1. Each couple of participants needs to make a new thread in AO Media Overview section, and the TITLE must start with [marriage].
2. Screenshots posted must include a female character and a male character.
3. Proposal declaration must be at least 50 words.
4. The character names and server name are required, either on the screenshots or in the declaration.
5. All screenshots and declaration must be original and not be connected with violence and sex.
For more information please visit us at:
http://forum.ao.igg.com/viewthread.php?tid=10955&page=1&extra=page%3D1