Yearly Archives: 2008

Atlantica Online wins a top award at Chinajoy debut

Atlantica Online, the new strategic turn-based MMORPG, won a Golden Plume Award for Best Foreign Online Game. The prestigious prize was bestowed upon the best games in China by the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy) on Nov. 4 in Beijing.

Atlantica’s victory comes as the game is preparing to enter beta testing in China. Atlantica developer NDOORS Inc. signed a publishing deal with Chinese gaming leader The9, which publishes World of Warcraft in China, last April. Beta on the Chinese edition of Atlantica is expected to begin in early 2009.

“Atlantica is The9’s most anticipated title,” said Jun Zhu, CEO, The9. “The title has a great premise with its combination of reality and fantasy and the legend of Atlantis. Atlantica will make a big impact in China’s online game market, especially with its exciting turn-based battle system.”

Atlantica has already made an impression on the Chinese, who are tapping into the Atlantica action on the Korea- and U.S.-based game servers.

“It’s an honor to be awarded the prestigious Golden Plume, especially considering Atlantica has yet to launch in China,” said Cho Seong Won, CEO, NDOORS Inc., which is based in South Korea. “We can’t wait to finish the localization process and prepare new content for gamers in China. We plan on living up to the expectations, which have just been set higher by this honor.”

Atlantica has been winning other accolades in addition to the Golden Plume. In Japan, where it is being published by Nexon Japan and is in open beta, Atlantica has hit number one in a most popular games list at 4gamer.net, one of Japan’s most influential webzines. In North America, Atlantica has reached number one on MMORPG.com’s “Most Popular” list and has been the top free-to-play game for three straight months at TenTonHammer.com.

With its licensing deal with Taiwan’s leading publisher Gamania, Atlantica will be reaching four of the major gaming markets in the world.

Atlantica Online is a strategic, turn-based RPG that merges traditional RPG gameplay and heavy strategic gameplay elements with a mercenary and nation management system. The turn-based combat gives players the chance to control a party of up to nine characters. In the mercenary system, players can recruit and develop mercenaries of different classes for their combat squad. The nation management system allows guilds to plan the conquest of cities and even whole nations.

Tales of Pirates: November Events Ceremony

The officials at Tales of Pirates have announced that they will be holding lots of cool events in November, like the brand new Fairy Chest event, the Everyday Surprises event, the new PVP arena event and much more. Among them the biggest ones are the Dream Wheel event and Bounty Hunter event. We will be taking a quick glance at these two featured events today.

Event I: Dream Wheel
The Dream Wheel event will debut November 14th with a 100% success rate. It is accessible for all Tales of Pirates users both by Point Card and credits.
This cool event only costs 16 points or 95 credits, and guarantees you’ll win something from among all the valuable gear and items available.

Event II: Bounty Hunter
This event is exclusively designed for players who love to fight BOSSes. From November 14th to the 30th players can gather the event required items through monster drops and then redeem these items for the huge rewards IGG has prepared. The challenging monsters range from Level 55 to Level 85.
The rewards for redemption are Level 75 Magenta Weapons which can increase attributes by 10, including the Sword of Dawn, Venom Gun, Tooth of Fury, Soul Spring, Gold of Tears, Primal Axe of Rage and much more. Players can obtain any one of the high-level weapons listed above. The new server is not included in this event and will have other arrangements.

Thanksgiving Quest Coming

To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, TQ team will offer you a crazy cast of entertaining NPCs to liven up your holiday.

Time: Nov, 24th – Nov, 30th

There is no doubt that a delicious turkey is an indispensable part of Thanksgiving. However, those once rampant birds outside Twin City are disappearing! It is all because an idiot accidentally ate the Fowl Egg, a magical artifact kept in Twin City to attract game birds of all kinds. Now players have to help the poor guy to fix his stupid mistake, or insane NPCs driven by the desperation of hunger will uprise to destroy Conquer Online’s capital!

Besides the main quest, there are also some interesting side quests from where players can feel the Thanksgiving atmosphere and gain rich gifts & experience.

Myth War II: NPC Manual?2

The war waged by the divine essences against each other was a curse on Rarus Continent and ravaged the land. Many deities were transmigrated to tutor gamers here to comfort their sinful souls.

Today the folks with Myth War II Online will complete their NPC overview with the following folklore about these eight NPCs.

Blazing Titan, Moss Titan and Gusting Titan
No matter where Takhisis, the god of the underworld went, three big thugs would follow. They were known as the Blazing Titan, Moss Titan and Gusting Titan. The three titan brothers use to have Takhisis as their patron. But, when Takhisis was overthrown during the war, they have since become the followers of Habakuk, the God of Sea and the patron saints of Desert City.
Function: Be challenged by gamers

Worn Messenger
Ennis, the Worn Messenger, was a passionate follower of the God of Darkness. As the plan for his ruin became a success, Ennis went to the Wisdom God for help. Now he rules Desert City and guards the five seals imprisoning the 5 Gods of War.
Function: Give gamers quests to challenge the Gods of War.

Kelina, the Queen Sorcerer
Kelina has a double identity. She is a girl inheriting a royal title but was picked by the Wisdom God to be his messenger. She was chosen because she accidently removed the seal on him when she was 4 years old. Now she is immortal and possessed with the power to be a Sorcerer and protect Rarus Continent. Kelina is the only NPC in Myth War to change from human into an immortal.
Function: Give gamers Level 4 plot driven quests.

Sorceror Hades
Sorceror Hades is the kind of leader who demands unquestioning obedience from his army. Everyone fears combating him because of his skill at sending opponents into the forever sleep. Like Kelina, Sorceror Hades was a messenger of the Wisdom God and had contributed a lot to the first war between the gods. Both of them were behind the Second War among the Gods.
Function: give gamers Level 4 plot-driven quests

Short Tom
It was about 4000 years ago when someone finally came out to save the decaying Dwarf race. Short Tom was born to be the leader of the Dwarf Realms. He allied with the Dragon tribe, took numerous Deity Beasts’ dwelling caves and made his Dwarf army the strongest and best in close combat. He was subsequently crowned as the God’s Messenger. There is a poem that spread wildly among the Dwarf race, it reads ‘…there’s only one sun in the sky, and there should be only one emperor in our kingdom.’
Function: Give gamers quests for Fortune Bombing Integrals

Mosura, the King Bonepoker
Mosura, the King Bonepoker, is the son of De Fina, the Queen Succubus. Although Mosura himself thinks little of his royal bloodline and prefers to be judged by his abilities, his companions are strong supporters because of his mother, De Fina.
Function: Give gamers the 5 ring Hunt quest.

Chronicles of Spellborn: US Closed Beta going to begin

Acclaim Games officially updates the release schedule for The Chronicles of Spellborn MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). With additional testing and ongoing game improvements, Acclaim’s release schedule has been updated with Closed Beta testing to begin on November 27 and a new release date scheduled for January 2009. Acclaim’s licensed territories for Spellborn will include North America, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South America.

When the European countries go live on November 27, Acclaim will simultaneously start Close Beta testing in its territories and then go live in January 2009. Both launches will have the exact same product versions featuring identical Freemium models but with a different release date to accommodate additional testing for a smooth official release. Extensive testing of the game will ensure players receive the highest quality gaming experience at launch.

With players around the world eagerly anticipating the launch of Spellborn, the game has undergone some key upgrades to allow more players to participate and enjoy the various features of the online game. In all regions, Spellborn will be a “Freemium” game, with a Free to Play zone and a required premium subscription service in order to access the full game past the Free to Play zone.

The Spellborn game client will be completely free to download and install, and will feature the special Free to Play zone with no time restrictions (only level limit). Key features of this Free to Play zone include the following:

– Free players are limited to the starting zones Hawksmouth and Aldenvault.
– A gameplay limit occurs at Fame level 7, when free players have progressed approximately 90% towards Fame level 8.
– Upon reaching this limit, all character progression is blocked and the player will receive a pop-up informing them of this block and what is obtainable beyond this with a premium subscription.

The following elements will be explicitly blocked:
– Players will be unable to gain Fame in any way or form, frozen at a fixed amount.
– The player will be able to accept quests, but not able to complete any objectives/quests.
– Able to kill mobs, but the player will receive no kill credit. This means, no fame reward, no pep reward and no item reward.
– Unable to travel beyond the zones Hakwsmouth and Aldenvault.

Players who want the full game experience and wish to go past the zone restrictions must purchase a premium subscription option priced at $15 per month to open all game content. This Freemium model will allow many more players to experience the gameplay before choosing the premium subscription to access the full array of game features and content.

Angels Online Interview

By Rick Charbs, Onrpg Writer
Person interviewed: Joyce Zhou, Product assistant of AO

Angels Online is an ever-evolving “cute MMORPG” released by IGG. During this interview, held with Joyce Zhou, product assistant of Angels Online, we have distinguished that there is certainly a bright future for this title: “The new expansion “Green Forest” is currently in development, so there is always something new coming for Angels Online!” explained Joyce. Provided that you are not too old to judge this game by its style, you will surely enjoy what is to come in the near future!

Onrpg: It is understood that Angels Online now has a special in-game bot program. How has this affected the game?

Angels Online: After the release of the new expansion “the Lost Atlantis”, the highest character level was raised to 100. If newbie players cannot level up fast, the level gap between them and veteran players will grow. We feel this is not good for the game as a whole.

In order to help newbie players level up fast and give our veterans something more than boring monster killing, we have released an AFK tool, the Angel Baby, for all players to use. Players have a chance to experience more game elements and systems after they raise their level. For example, the Totem Battle becomes much more fun becasue more and more players and guilds can take part.

Onrpg: IGG runs many events for Angels Online, both in the forum and in-game. What are some of the ongoing events players can participate in?

Angels Online: As a cute MMORPG, most Angels Online players are relatively young. Being they are our primary audience, we’ve decided we should be paying more attention to in-game interaction and holding more events for them.

Recently, in order to buzz the in-game atmosphere, we held the “Sharks Coming” event to offer all players a chance to challenge those monsters with distinct shapes and high drop rates. The GM also randomly selected 30 lucky players and presented them with Battlefield Cursed Stones after the event ended.

The “Pet for Precious” event has also been very popular in game. By raising 2 or 3 ordinary pets, players can then exchange them for an advanced pet from a GM after it reaches the required level.

Onrpg: The Item Mall is a popular addition to this title. What items will we soon be able to purchase?

Angels Online: Well, items which help players level up fast are always available in the Item Mall. Because Thanksgiving will be here soon, a number of new Paper Moppets will be on the shelf. What’s more, some hot items will be sold at a discount soon. All players are welcome to join us!

Onrpg: Despite the already strong customization value of the game, will there be more options for character customization in the near future?

Angels Online: At present, players can change their character shapes, complexion and even gender with some of the items available. Players can also change their skills and learn skills from other classes.

In the Lost Atlantis, we haven’t updated this part yet, however, we will add some new elements such as various shapes and stances in the near future.

Onrpg: How is Angels Online such a unique MMORPG? What plans do you have for further enhancing this factor?

Angels Online: Thank you for your question. Angels Online possesses a unique robot system and an exceptional PVP system. Players in Angels Online can even learn skills from different classes’ if they would like.

The Robot system is specially designed for Production players. In the new expansion, new robots with new functions are available for all Production players to quicken their manufacturing speed. Apart from the Totem Battle, we have also released a new PVP system, the Holy Battlefield, in which players will be randomly divided into two armies and they have to capture crystals to win. Fighting players can take part in the capturing of crystals while Production players can build defensive devices to hold the enemies back.

Onrpg: A very popular feature of the game is “Totem Wars”. Could you please explain this event?

Angels Online: Sure.The Totem Battle was released early and it continued the Outpost Battlefield system. Players can monopolize all materials in the area after they occupy the totem. Players who really distinguish themselves in battle even have a chance to obtain special equipment and titles.

The Totem Battle’s design is based on battle among guilds. Each map possesses a faction totem. By destroying the totem, players from the winning guild can monopolize all materials on this map. They can also trade with local NPCs, explore special materials, accept special quests and challenge the BOSS.

Onrpg: What have been your most memorable moments of running AO so far?

Angels Online: Hehe, fun question. Some of my friends even acted as ordinary players and created a guild in game to take part in the Totem Battle. After we defeated the most powerful guild in the server and occupied their totem, the whole guild was still cheerful. The cooperation and the friendship, not victory, was the most important thing to them. This is the sign of a true ‘community’ of players, which is something we really stress in AO.

Onrpg: What is your personal favourite faction in Angels Online?

Angels Online: As the publishers of Angels Online, we were able to experience a new system, the Holy Battlefield, first after the new expansion was released. What a surprise! Holy Battlefield is more reasonable than the Totem Battle. It offers players more interaction. It starts with participants being randomly divided into two armies which must PVP and capture crystals from their opponents. With the inclusion of Production class players building defences, and Fighting players capturing crystals and …well, fighting, we felt it was a really unique way of approaching PVP battle.

Players’ skills are not the only thing that matters in game. Team work and cooperation can decide whether an army can win the battle or not! It’s this team-based strategy that helps develop bonds of friendship among guild members and players in general.
After the event ends, players from both armies can obtain abundant rewards, making it fun for everyone!

Onrpg: What are the restrictions to owning a pet, if you do not wish to pay real money for them? Is payment necessary to distinguish yourself as a player?

Angels Online: Wind Elf, Fire Elf, Water Elf and Earth Elf are available in all cities in game. After players gain enough in-game coins, they can buy these pets from the appointed NPC.

It is wrong if you think that players have to buy items in the Angels Online Item Mall to succeed in AO. Each player can become a top player, even if they’ve never used the Item Mall. Items in the Item Mall just offer players more fun and faster leveling.

Players can set stalls in game. At present, most items in the Item Mall can be bought from players’ stalls in game using in game money.

Onrpg: Angels Online has undergone many updates, including a major expansion pack. What are the plans for future updates of the game?

Angels Online: Yeah, as you said, the new expansion “The Lost Atlantis” was released in October. Future plans will be made according to players’ level details and the game development. The new expansion “Green Forest” is currently in development, so there is always something new coming for Angels Online!

Tales Runner Review

by Vincent Haoson, Onrpg writer

gPotato, the company that brought MMOs like Flyff, Rappelz & Corum Online now brings a MMO racing game that is unique in its own right.

Tales Runner is a racing MMO that brings a breath of fresh air in an industry that has seen its fair share of racing MMOs. You would get to choose from 8 characters and you would have to race through fairy-tale inspired tracks.

But what sets Tales Runner apart is the race itself. As the name suggests, your character races by running, you read it right running.

Run, run run!
Out of the 8 characters gPotato posted in their website, four are the ones available as of the moment. They are the standard racers you can see in any kind of racing game, you have Charlie who’s the basic balanced type of racer, while Ming Ming is has more control and lesser power, while DnD has more speed yet lower acceleration and Apollo has more power.

The other four characters are more specialized than the default roster, though gPotato has yet to say when they will release them. Character add-ons, Lina, Big Bo, Maki and Rough have their profiles in the official roster of characters in the gPotato website, giving you at least an idea of what their stats may be.

Like most racing MMOs, you can customize your character, though in Tales Runner it’s your character’s clothes that provide you the stat boost. You can choose from a variety of items like, the head gear, shirts, pants, shoes etc. The cheaper items of clothing are just eye candy while the more expensive ones give players more stats.

With the game just fresh off the Open Beta stage, there are already a lot of choices for customization. Though most of the things that are available as of the moment are just clothes without stats, I think gPotato would eventually add more to stat-related articles of clothing as the game progresses.

Gameplay, graphics & whatnot
A racing MMO is not just about the looks. Investing on a trendy character would be pointless if you find racing it isn’t as exhilarating as you expected. Thankfully Tales Runner doesn’t disappoint you in this regard.

There are 3 types of races you can join in the game. There’s the 8-player race where you can either go head to head against 7 other players or be part of a 4 man team, you objective here is to best the other players or team in the track. The other choice is the 30-player race, this one is more survival than an actual race, the maps on this type of race are linear, and the challenge here is that you need to survive a gauntlet- type match where your enemy is not just other players but also a boss monster that is chasing you. The relay race is also like the 8-man player race, but here you are part of a three man team that is separated on different areas on the map. You would need to pass a baton and whoever brings their team’s baton to the finish line first wins.

Racing in Tales Runner is easy to comprehend. You have your basic direction keys, and the three default buttons. You have your shift key for item usage, your z key as your dash button and your ctrl key as your jump button.

Another unique feature in Tales Runner is the Rage meter. Your rage meter is the red bar found at the other side of your dash meter, and this gets filled up when you are either hit by an item or by the map’s traps. When your rage meter fills up press the shift and z key to have a free “invincible dash” that serves both as defense, offense and speed boost for your character.

When racing in Tales Runner, you should also pay attention on the track itself. Maps in Tales Runner are trap infested. You would need to have a keen eye and alert fingers if you want to stay ahead of the pack.

Speaking of traps in the survival maps of Tales Runner, they can be as intricate as moving electricity bars or as predictable as a bunch of bouncing fireballs.

Another thing in Tales Runner is that player’s who have finished the track won’t have to wait that long for those who are far behind. The game immediately counts down to ten when the first player reaches the goal. The race immediately ends after the countdown, regardless of your position in the map.

The park of Tales Runner is another new concept for the genre. This serves as a place where players can lounge, chat and just spend time if they’re too tired from racing. There are still a lot of unavailable shops, but the park shows a lot of potential for a vibrant community.

Conclusion
There’s much to say about Tales Runner, the gameplay is solid and the race an exhilarating experience. There is variety in the types of challenges the game gives, and re-playability is high. You can be the first place on the previous race on the same map before, but you may see yourself eating the dust of a competitor because he got the right item and used it on you at the right time.

Tales Runner is very challenging to play, but sometimes it is a little bit too challenging. New players may possibly get frustrated with the game because even the easy levels are a handful. Plus, the competition is strong and you may be frustrated that you never tasted being first even after playing for a while.

Another thing is that, there are not enough players to play with. When I tried the game there are no rooms available in the chick level on the three race types. Majority of the players are either playing on the easy or normal free channel.

Yet you cannot ignore the fact that Tales Runner is that much fun to play. Things may fare well for Tales Runner in the future, that’s why I say this is a racing MMO to watch for.

Pros
– Stylish clothes for customization
– Challenging maps
– Unique game modes

Cons
– Players are scarce
– Some maps may be too challenging to new players

Fiesta Online: White Tiger Costume now available

Feeling frisky? Tap into your inner feline with the new White Tiger Costume now available in the free MMORPG Fiesta. Meow!
This cool new four-piece costume is now available in the Fiesta Store, and doesn’t just look look good — it makes you as ferocious as a tiger too with a whopping 10% critical bonus rate!
Stop by the Fiesta Store now and pick up the White Tiger Costume to earn your stripes!

Gamescampus.com and MLB Advanced Media sign licensing agreement for a free online baseball game

San Jose-based online game publisher, GamesCampus, announced today that it has signed an online interactive licensing agreement with MLB Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, granting it the right to incorporate official Major League Baseball league and club marks and logos, MLB ballpark images and more in its upcoming micro-transaction based online baseball game, MLB Dugout Heroes. It will be a free PC-based baseball game, expected to be available in North America for the 2009 baseball season.

“It is an honor to be working with MLBAM to bring baseball fans a fully licensed online baseball experience,” said David Chang, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, GamesCampus.

“Baseball fans are so passionate about the teams they enjoy following, and now they will have the opportunity to play as their favorite team in a high-quality online game experience.

The multi-year agreement gives GamesCampus the rights to all current and historical Major League teams, ballparks, All-Star teams and jewel events such as the home run derby.

GamesCampus will also have rights to the official 2009 Major League Baseball regular season game schedule, enabling fans to simulate real seasons through actual game and series matchups.

Fans can expect a casual online baseball experience with a three-dimensional, cartoon-rendered graphic style and easy to pick up and play mouse-only controls. The game will offer four different modes of play for fans to choose from: tutorial, practice, single player and multi-player. Fans will be able to experience the fun of strategically managing a Major League Baseball club by forming a team, fostering its players and making all of the base-running, batting and pitching decisions – providing true interaction with on-the-field baseball play. With realistic character motions and unique verbal exchanges occurring between pitchers, batters, and color commentary, MLB Dugout Heroes will offer a truly unique and engrossing baseball game play experience – free of charge.
“We are excited to partner with GamesCampus in offering fans this interactive baseball gaming experience,” said Alex Pigeon, VP of international at MLBAM. “The ability to utilize current or historical teams and ballparks along with simulated on-the-field management will be an engaging way for players to interact with the game.”

LOTRO: Mines of Moria launches!

Turbine, Inc. announced today that The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is now available for purchase across North America and Europe. Mines of Moria expands the award-winning online world of Middle-earth and allows players to explore the ancient underground cities of the dwarves, battle epic characters in the depths, face off with the Watcher, be a part of the fateful release of Durin’s Bane and more! In addition to extending the challenge to new heights, Mines of Moria will introduce two new classes, ten additional levels, hundreds of new quests, and the highly anticipated Legendary Item system.

“The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) has established itself as one of the world’s premium MMOs for successfully integrating story into a game that features innovative and entertaining advancement through an immersive and breathtaking world,” said Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online. “Mines of Moria will raise the bar with the introduction of Legendary Items, a massive new system that will let players advance unique and powerful weapons and items that grow in might alongside their hero. These unique and powerful weapons will be by our players’ sides to aid in the challenging adventures that await them as we continue to journey through Middle-earth through the next several volumes of the game in years to come.”

Some of the new features in the Mines of Moria expansion include:

Ø Forge Legendary Items! – The Mines of Moria introduces Turbine’s revolutionary new item advancement system to LOTRO. Players can now forge unique weapons and class-related equipment and evolve them to build a legacy the likes of Bilbo’s Sting and Gandalf’s Glamdring. These legendary weapons grow in power along with the player through their adventures and are customized by advancing the item’s virtues, adding runic legacies and modifying its title.

Ø Speak Friend, and Enter – Moria, called Khazad-dûm by the dwarves, was their capital and the grandest of cities. This enormous underground world in north-western Middle-earth comprises an immense network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls beneath the Misty Mountains and represent one of the largest and most dangerous online underground environments ever created. Starting today players can journey through hundreds of new adventures and battle goblin hordes and the Nameless of the Deep in the ancient city underground which has served as the foundation for the modern-day dungeon-crawling adventures.

Ø The Epic Story Continues! – The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria begins Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online storyline. Players will experience six new books rich with new characters and content and face the fiery wrath of Durin’s Bane, battle the Watcher, bring aid to the Lady Galadriel and more.

Ø Increased Level Cap – Players can now advance their characters up to level 60, opening access to a wealth of new traits, virtues, skills and class quests. The crafting system also now offers a new Tier and gives players the ability to join crafting guilds to create even more powerful items.

Ø Discover Two New Classes – The Rune-keeper and the Warden, the first new classes to be introduced since the launch of the game, offer players the opportunity to create all-new characters and experience LOTRO in exciting new ways.