Yearly Archives: 2008

LOTRO: The Ettenmoors Re-vamp, Part 1

Foreword
There have been many changes to the face of monster play since we launched The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™: the addition of the Orc Defiler class, changes to class functionality, the institution of diminishing returns, and delicate rebalancing of classes. Now it’s time to talk about the many changes to the field of battle in Mines of Moria™. These changes are varied, and are all designed to give a variety of gameplay options to participants in the battle for the Ettenmoors. This developer diary will cover the additions and alterations that have been made to the Ettenmoors for The Lord of the Rings Online™: Mines of Moria™ so you will know what to expect when you enter territory both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar.

Main Bases
Glân Vraig and Gramsfoot are meant to be safe havens for players and monster players. As time has progressed, it has become apparent that one lane of egress from the bases is not sufficient to give players and monster players an avenue to enter the fray. To alleviate camping of the exits, we have added another access point from each of these locations leading directly to the main keeps of Ost Ringdyr and Dâr-gazag. The pathways run along the mountainous borders of the Ettenmoors and feature an open face to the interior of the Ettenmoors. This means that players and monster players using these pathways can slide down into the Ettenmoors proper at any point along the paths. Additionally, the paths are blocked in the same manner as the main gate of Glân Vraig and Gramsfoot at their conclusion and a small set of elite archers watches over these new locations.
The goal of creating these pathways was two-fold. First, we wanted to provide players and monster players with an additional way out of their home base to alleviate the frustration of a push back to the gates of either location. Second, we wanted to provide a more direct and faster pathway to the main keep of each side of the battle in the Ettenmoors. Now players and monster players are able to leave the base by either means to mount a counter effort against their foes who may be camping the bases.

Main Keeps
Dâr-gazag and Ost Ringdyr have both seen a slight modification to building structure and defensive troops. The larger change is to the building structure of Dâr-gazag; it is more clear and channeled in a way that you must fight through the same number of encounters as are present in Ost Ringdyr. There are still some optional battles that you can partake in, but the main path to the keep Tyrant will now force you through a greater number of fights. We have also added a small room behind the Tyrant. This room is where you will find Artifacts, which will be discussed in depth in another developer diary. Ost Ringdyr has also seen some revision, mostly in the addition of the same artifact room behind the Captain-general. Access to the artifact rooms can only be granted once the Captain-general or Tyrant is killed.

Elf-camp and Orc-camp
Both camps now are ringed with stockade fences that make the areas safer for their factions. There is one entry point into each camp and multiple ways to leave. The camps have each seen an increase in the number of archers who defend each location. At each location, players will be able to find a flag that represents the forces there. (Again, there will be another dev diary that will speak about flags and artifacts.) The addition of these walls should do well to address the issues that we have seen with certain quest objectives in the Ettenmoors.

Bridges of Tol Ascarnen
Despite the sound of the heading, this is not the love story of a wayward Orc and pleasant hobbit. No, it speaks of the two bridges leading to the island where Tol Ascarnen stands. We have instituted flags at each location which represent either the Free Peoples or Angmar. The flag displays which faction controls the bridge, and defenders arrive around the flag to safeguard the location. Reaching and using this flag gives control of the bridge to the captors’ side. There are several guards at the location, but it should be easily captured by a smaller group of players or monster players.

Hot Points Go Away. . .
The original implementation of hot points was meant to provide slight bonuses to monster players when they controlled the location. They were also meant to force players to fight at smaller locations and fight in smaller groups. They were not the success I had hoped that they would be; beset by bugs and other issues, hot points were more hassle than they were worth, and the upside-downside of the hot point locations was too little to be of any consequence. As a result the hot points have been removed…

. . . and Outposts take their place
With the departure of the hot points we lose some of our smaller location conflict space. This is something that we wanted to remedy, as the Ettenmoors is supposed to allow players and monster players alike to enjoy many variations of gameplay from solo to group to raid. Outposts are meant to assist in the group aspect of gameplay.
Each outpost has a small number of defenders outside of the structure and a lord who watches over the outpost flag. Capturing the location requires that players or monster players defeat the outpost’s lord, and then use the flag to capture it for their faction. The outpost begins under the control of Gaergoth’s forces from within the Delving of Frór. These neutral forces will allow players or monster players to capture the location; controlling 2 or more of each of these locations will permit access to the Delving of Frór for your faction. When captured, the location becomes the province of the controlling force for a period of six hours. At the end of this time the outpost is returned to neutral control under the forces of the Rogmul Gaergoth.
There are five outposts altogether. Their locations are marked by the standard references of the Ettenmoors map: when neutral they appear as red flags; when controlled by the Free Peoples, blue trees; and when controlled by Angmar, a red and yellow eye.

Tirith Rhaw and Lugazag
The changes here are to the final capture of the location. Each of the towers now contains a flag, hidden in a room beyond a door that can only be entered by the players who currently hold control of the tower. To gain access to the flag room, the keep Tyrant or Captain-general and his Chieftains or Marshals must be defeated. The door will disappear and the final fight takes place near the flag. Capturing the flag will flip control of the tower to the captors’ side.

Conclusion
This first diary explaining the changes to each location sets the foundation for the second, upcoming dev diary that explains the dependencies of each location and significance of the newest features to the Ettenmoors: artifact-control and flag-play.

Silkroad Halloween Event

Joymax, an independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced an exclusive Halloween event for the historical fantasy MMORPG Silkroad Online. Players can show off their ghoulish sides by obtaining jewel boxes to trade for Witch or Wizard costumes and accessories. These jewel boxes are dropped from monsters, and players can exchange these boxes with NPCs in order to receive these festive items. Gifts will be given at random, and players can make as many exchanges as they wish in order to complete their looks. The Halloween event will come to a close on November 11th, so be sure to join the party before it all fades away!

Silkroad Online is a massively multiplayer online RPG that puts the player deep into historical fantasy, joining the Chinese and European civilizations along the Silk Road trade route. Traveling across Jang’an, from China to Constantinople, players can make their fortunes as merchants, prey on the rich as thieves, or be protection-for-hire as hunters. The recently released expansion, Legend III Roc Mountain, added new territory, quests, weapons, and an increased level cap for adventurers. With over 18 million registered users and 170,000 concurrent players worldwide, the triangular conflict of Silkroad Online has never been more exciting.

World of Warcraft Surpasses 11 Million Subscribers Worldwide

Anticipation continues to mount for Wrath of the Lich King® expansion as Blizzard Entertainment®’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game reaches new milestone.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that the subscribership for World of Warcraft®, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), now exceeds 11 million players worldwide. This milestone was reached as the beta test for Wrath of the Lich King®, World of Warcraft’s second expansion, nears completion. Wrath of the Lich King will launch in several regions around the world starting on November 13.

“It’s been very rewarding to see gamers around the world continue to show such strong support for World of Warcraft,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment®. “We remain fully committed to responding to that enthusiasm with a high-quality, constantly evolving game experience.

Since debuting in North America on November 23, 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG around the world. It was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006 worldwide, and finished behind only World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade®, the first expansion pack for the game, in 2007.* In addition to being the bestselling PC game of 2007 in both North America and Europe, The Burning Crusade holds the record for fastest-selling PC game of all time, with nearly 2.4 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of availability and approximately 3.5 million in its first month.

World of Warcraft was recently launched in Russia and Latin America, and is currently available in eight languages. In addition to North America and Europe, the game is played in mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, Argentina, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions.

4Story

4Story (previously Gates of Anderon in some territories) is a free to play fantasy MMORPG that has similarities to games like World of Warcraft. Prepare for a massive adventure that includes territory wars, quests, and more!

Features:

Massive Quests: In addition to a long-spanning main quest line, sub-quests and hidden quests await you to discover the world of Iveria.

Secrets For the Curious: Special quests hide many secrets, including instant dungeons that will unveil key clues about the game world.

Legendary Weapons: Weapons can range from grade F to SSS – and can also be upgraded to +24 in level. Some weapons may carry additional and even legendary options to maximize your character’s power.

Real Time Strategic Command: A commander in chief can monitor and give orders to 48 players under their command, allowing them full control of the battle field.

Zu Online: Fashions to Change Sex

With the release of Zu Online, version 1.5.06, many new features have been added to the game, such as metamorphic fashions. The newly released metamorphic fashions allows the wearer to change their appearance into that of a Male Bead Fairy, Female Swordsman or Male Moonmaiden all of whom have never before been seen in the game. Fashions for shifting shape into a Female Summoner and Female Sun Warrior will be added to the game in the later version. So pay attention to the constantly improving Zu Online!

Male Bead Fairy
They were the orphans the Jade Pool Fairy took in from the human world. Under their senior female fellow apprentices’ care, they not only know how to take care of the wounded and sick, but also know how to be as gentle as the other Bead Fairies. Upon seeing the forces of Evil take so much from their people, they can no longer stand by and do nothing.

Female Swordsman
Even encased in the shining steel armor wrapping her slim body, she radiates warmth and compassion. Born to a life of privilege as the General’ s daughter, she spurned the easy life of parties and marriage to follow her father into training as a swordsman. Beautiful and smart, she appears soft as silk, but in truth she is hard as rock inside. When her father and family were killed, a little part of her died as well. Now, no force of evil will survive the touch of her blade.

Male Moonmaiden
Long strands of hair black as the night danced around the smooth, molded face of the young man. Perched high on the mountain top overlooking the valley he stared intently into the darkness. A full moon bathed the valley in front of him with its ghostly radiance. Twirling among his dexterous fingers is a long, slim curved blade that seems to dance around his arm. This cold face had once known the warmth of love, but like the moon, it had dissolved into a barren reflection of its former beauty. Death can be so painful, but watching love die is a pain few can endure. Ruthless in his personal quest for redemption, his Moonblade is feared by devils far and wide.

Zero Online: What Will We Have in November?

Want to rescue your friends and apprentices when they are in jeopardy? Want to trade with your trade partners whenever you need? Want to instantly join the battle with your fleet or squad members? Or maybe you want to take revenge to your enemies for what they’ve done to you? Apparently, all these will be nonsense because of distance.

Let me introduce you something: Space Teleport System.
If your potency ranks top 50 of any server, you will be our VIP. You are authorized to be teleported to the players mentioned above instantly, that is, for instant, you don’t have to check your enemies’ coordinates and follow them. As you long as you get well prepared, you can let them pay for they deeds whenever you want!

Inner cabin is an important space for each unit. Sometimes, if you check other units’ inner cabin, the only word you may come up with is DISORDER. Now you can help them tidy up their cabins. More importantly, that is a new way for you to make profits.

In order to prevent using bots in the game, you may need to do some simple sums during playing the game from next month. If you can’t get the right answers for 3 times successively, you will be put into the bot jail.

From November, medical infantry units can learn skills and transform into bug forms: rearhorse, hornet, dragonfly, grasshopper, sand worm and scorpion! Unit’s supreme level will be upgraded to level 188! You can have 10 more lottery chances each day. In addition, 2 new spacecraft missions will be available for you to carry on!

Double EXP Weekend
Time: November 8th – 9th
Level: All Levels
Reward: Double EXP

Crystals! Crystals!
Time one: November 15th 19:00 – 21:00
Time two: November 16th 09:00 – 11:00
Level: All Levels
Reward: Rose Quartz, Sapphires, Amethysts

A contest about crystal will be held during this weekend.
The pilot who can get the most crystal bags will be awarded with all the Rose Quartz, Sapphires and Amethysts in the bags as well as an awesome gift!

The Hidden Traitors
Time one: November 22nd 19:00 – 21:00
Time two: November 23rd 09:00 – 11:00
Level: All Levels
Reward: Galaxy Gold

Warning! Warning! We’ve just got the intelligence that there are some spies among the Alliance’s pilots! What’s worse, they’ve broken into our unit arsenal! Steal? Destroy? No one knows what they will commit! We strongly suggest all pilots help the Alliance find out the hidden traitors!

Alliance Carnival – by request
Time: November 27th – 28th
Level: Above Level 80
Reward: Alliance Gift

Most pilots must have got lots of awesome gifts from the huge big box on Steel Warship in October. But we are sure that some of you missed the carnival and feel regretful. Don’t worry, here comes the chance! At the end of November, the Alliance will prepare another carvival for you! On top of that, try your best to make sure that you’ve reached level 80!

Voyage Century: Autumn Fishing Festival

Voyage Century is holding a Fishing Festival event until October 31st. During the event, players can use a fishing rod with fishing bait to fish on the open sea. There are kinds of rare fish such as the Deep-sea Sword Fish, Deep-sea Tuna, Deep-sea Salmon, Deep-sea Eel and others. If players are not satisfied with these, there are still fierce Great White Sharks. Different kinds of fish are scattered everywhere in the whole sea.

Players can obtain different fishing points for different kinds of fish they catch, such as Anchovies, Sturgeon, Sardines, Cod and Herring. Players can exchange these fish for abundant silver coins from the Fishing contest judge. 100 high quality sturgeons can be exchanged for 15 million silver coins.

Apart from the silver coins, players can also disassemble the rare fish to obtain cool items randomly. In addition, players can collect a certain number of rare fish to exchange for all kinds of valuable prizes from the Zealous Fish Collector!

There is also a fishing contest during the festival. After the event ends, we will present the top ten winning players who possess the most fishing points from each server with abundant rewards. All winning players will obtain a bottle of Holy Water and titles. The top 3 players will obtain advanced refining items.

Halloween Online Events Are On This Weekend!

Halloween is the most enjoyable holiday of the year. No matter how old you are, you just can’t help but get into the Halloween spirit! With the exception of Thanksgiving, this is the last of the year’s harvest festivals. The crops are in, and it’s time to relax and prepare for the coming winter ahead. The idea of playing tricks is not a malicious one, but just as a way of having a bit of lighthearted fun before the long dark winter settles in.

This year, Eudemons Online decides to celebrate Halloween with all the Eudemons Online players. Now we launch a series of Halloween online events which are “Punch the Pumpkin”, “Live Items”, “Trick or Treat” and “Answer Ghost’s Questions” to celebrate the festival this weekend. Ghosts and spirits emerge out from the lower world to visit Yartland. Halloween online events are the climax of a whole Month of celebrations. The gate to hell is opened at midnight, and ghosts swarm into the world of human beings in search of food and money. You can collect special materials dropped by monsters and pumpkins to fulfill the quest and exchange them for rewards. Kill the monsters and enjoy the feast of all saints!

Angels Online: New Homepage Unveiled to Celebrate Halloween

The Angels Online team is happy to announce that the brand new Angels Online homepage has been available with a new Forum event to celebrate the coming Halloween.
The re-designed homepage continues some of the styling from the former page, but more intensely focuses on helping newbie players by giving prominence to the “Newbie Guide” and other game information tabs.
Besides, the “Register” and “Download” buttons will be displayed more clearly. It will be much easier for players who log into the official website the first time to download the game client and get started. The whole homepage is simple but distinct. There will also be rotating banners to advertise important new features, events and other news.
What’s more, abundant rewards such as Double Exp Cards, Double Skill Exp Cards and forum Karma await players in the forum event.

Tales of Pirates: Industrial Analyzing

The players from Tales of Pirates recently had some fun with an industrial experiment in game. In the last chapter we heard about manufacturing, today we will continue to take a glance at another handicraft, analyzing.



This handicraft can turn what seems like waste into some really useful items. Apart from manufacturing, analysis changes unused gear into one of several useful items. According to the catalyst used, the waste gear can be analyzed into very different materials, like weapon parts, armor parts or even cooking materials.



Necessities for Analysis:


Fairy Analyzing Skills: Can be learned from the Lifeskill Book of Analyzing Pet Fairies.

Catalyst: There are 8 different types according to the items you want to get. They are the Stone Catalyst, Liquid Catalyst, Food Catalyst, Special Catalyst, Bone Catalyst, Plant Catalyst, Fur Catalyst and Wood Catalyst.

Tool: The Particle Crystal is the very best tool for Analyzing.
Analysis Effect: 100% success rate of Analysis, followed by the release of from 1 to 10 items. The quantity of the item obtained relates to the level of the pet fairy, skill level, tool level and so on, while the quality of the item obtained is related to the item to be analyzed.



Analyzing Flow:



Find the Substance Generator at Icicle Castle (1341, 565).
Click to open the analysis page, and then drag the item you want to analyze, pet Fairy, and Particle Crystal into their corresponding positions.



Click Start, and then the progress bar below will begin to move with a five-digit number display.



Click Finish before the progress bar is complete.