Monthly Archives: December 2009

OnRPG Weekly News Roundup: December 01 – December 09

MMORPG Weekly News Roundup: December 1st – December 8th
By Joshua Temblett (Dontkillmydreams), OnRPG Journalist 

 

Christmas is getting closer and closer and whilst we all begin to put up our Christmas trees and prepare our stockings, MMORPG developers are working hard to give us Christmas content and make their respective game worlds look all cute and cuddly.  This week has been rather slow, however the news that has come out has been rather major and well worth noting.  So here we go into this week’s news roundup!

Final Fantasy XI: November Update Finally Finished

The falsely named “November” update has now been completed with the addition of the Synergy and Evolith features.  This has bought an end to rather big update with the developers obviously hoping that there’s enough content in this package to keep you occupied until Final Fantasy XIV.

 

Final Fantasy XI

Here’s a rundown of the two new features:

 

What is Synergy?

 

Synergy is an advanced form of synthesis wherein up to six players, each with unique skills, cooperate to create a single item via an apparatus called the “synergy furnace.” Communal synergy furnaces have been made available in certain cities, and access to them will be granted to players who have completed the quest offered by the Metalworks NPC “Hildolf.” Players who have advanced their synergy skill level to five or above will become eligible to undertake another quest offered by the Bastok Mines NPC “Selliste.” Completing this quest will earn you access to an item that allows the summoning of a private furnace for use in field areas.

 

What is Evolith?

 

Long ignored by the populace of Vana’diel, the ancient stones known as evolith each contain unique powers that adventurers may now harness to enhance and customize their equipment. In order to reap its benefits, evolith must be embedded into apertures-slots in equipment capable of housing these stones. Broadly speaking, there are two categories of equipment for which this will be possible:

– Specialized equipment: A new set of equipment especially suited for evolith enhancement has been introduced. Available only through certain synergy recipes, these will support high-powered evolith unusable with standard equipment.

– Standard equipment: A wide range of existing items may also be rendered evolith-compatible if outfitted with apertures through a specific synergy process. Players may check whether or not a given item supports this process by trading it to a synergy engineer.

 

The whole thing appears rather confusing, so you can find information about the ins and outs of each process at Playonline.

Guild Wars: Cute Paper Chibi Gwen Doll

GwenWant to make this:

Then visit the Guildwars Papercraft page here. Yes, in preparation for Wintersday Arenanet will be releasing a guide every Tuesday about how to create a paper vision of some of their most beloved characters.  Make sure you check back at the link above every week for a new guide!

Guild Wars 2: New Race Trailer

Anyone who knows me will know how much I deeply love Guild Wars, and how I am eagerly anticipating Guild Wars 2.  Well this week, my excitement for the game dramatically increased with the release of a brand new trailer which gives us a stack of information about the new races, whilst at the same time raising new questions about the storyline in GW2. I really recommend you to watch the Guild Wars 2 trailer.  If there’s one thing that really strikes out at me, it’s the visuals.  Whilst retaining the same look as the original game, Guild Wars 2 looks much more refined and truly does look amazing.  Keep it up Arenanet! The official website also has some really nice information about the new races

Battlefield Heroes: Mega Cash Shop Update

Just like that, DICE have somehow managed to practically destroy the community for Battlefield Heroes.  In a store update the developers raised the price foritems which require Valor Points (the money you earn for playing the game) and reduced the time you time you can buy them for, allowing you to only buy them for one or three days.  Unfortunately due to the high price you have to play for a very long time in order to be able to afford the items for just a day.

 

Those that have the means can buy the items with real life money for a cheap sum, which makes the game unbelievably unbalanced for those that don’t pay money to play the game. Take a look at the newly added items.

Eve Online: 12th Expansion Released

The long awaited 12th Expansion for Eve Online went live on the 1st December!  The expansion is free to all those that play the game.  Here’s some information about “Dominion”, courtesy of the Eve Online official website.

 

“DOMINION represents the type of conquest never realized by pretty words and poetry. It is true power born from the broken hulls of a thousand starships, the genes of the ambitious and the hubris of the greedy. EVE’s 12th free expansion offers the power of control to anyone bold enough to seize it, bringing you the tools for you to rally legions together and carve out your own space. Will your ambitious new Alliance rise up to the challenge and stake their claim, evolving territory to suit it’s needs? Will your established empire hold fast against the fleets that press at your borders, hungry for the wealth you protect? Will you call old friends to your side and convince them to join you once more in battle? Or are you the clever entrepreneur who sits clear of the danger and fuels the war from the periphery? DOMINION enhances the tools of communication and evolves the dynamics of war, altering the very way in which pilots interact with each other through warfare or cooperation. The vast riches of sovereign authority await for those bold enough to seize them amidst a beautiful, deadly universe of possibility.”

 

It’s definitely worth checking out the Dominion Trailer!

Mabinogi Europe: Closed Beta Now Open!

For those of you in Europe who haven’t been able to experience the sensation that is Mabinogi then you’re in luck as the European Closed Beta has now officially opened.  All you need is a closed beta key, a Nexon account and two free Gigabytes.  The beta will close on the 30th December.

Fallen Earth: Military Discount

“FALLEN EARTH, LLC, developers of the self-titled massively multiplayer online game (MMO), is pleased to announce the placement of a 20 percent off discount for all service men and women. As a bonus item, purchasers will also receive a Fallen Earth t-shirt with their order. The offer will apply to all five US military branches, including members of The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.

 

“Many of our players are men and women who are in the armed forces,” said Jessica Orr, marketing manager for Fallen Earth. “We appreciate the sacrifices they make and we are excited to extend this offer to them.” As of today, military personnel will be able to purchase the game via the Fallen Earth online store, obtaining immediate access to the game and a 20 percent off discount. In order to receive the 20 percent off discount, a .mil email address will be required for verification. Military personnel who purchase will also receive a Fallen Earth t-shirt with their order.

 

You can visit the official Fallen Earth website to place your order.

Non MMORPG News

 

White Knight Chronicles: International Release DateTravis
The release date for White Knight Chronicles in Europe and America is the 10th Feburary 2010.  This new RPG by Level-5 is sure to tick all the right boxes especially with its MMO inspired online mode.  Personally, I can’t wait to have this game in my hands.

 

No More Heroes: Travis Touchdown in Team Fortress 2
Travis Touchdown from the exclusive Wii (yet soon to be on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3) game “No More Heroes” has made a guest appear in Team Fortress 2.  You can now download a character model for Travis.  This model replaces the Scout with our favourite kick boxing hero.  Take a look at the video of the model in action.

 

That’s a wrap!  We’ll see you again next week, keep gaming!

Dungeon Party Review: Indescribable…

Dungeon Party Review

By Joshua Temblett (Dontkillmydreams), OnRPG Journalist

 

Dungeon Party is the first game in a long time that I’ve had real problems reviewing. It’s not the game’s fault that I’ve had these issues it’s just that it’s so unique, and indescribable that no matter what I write about it, I won’t be able to do it justice. What I will say though is that you won’t find an MMO like this anywhere else on the market. As soon as you’ve downloaded this game, you’ll know what I mean and you certainly won’t regret it.

 

Party Time

Time for a real Party

 

Gameplay

There isn’t much of a story in this MMO (apart from a few character descriptions) so I’m just going to dive straight in and talk about the gameplay. Dungeon Party is a fun and interesting title that attempts to fill the gap left by the free-2-play market. Instead of focusing on a persistent world and the various variables that make up games in the genre (such as exploring, gaining permanent levels and equipment), Cyanide, the developers, have opted for a different approach by just focusing on PVP. Instead of joining a world filled with many players, you join a waiting room (with about 2-10 other people) and then begin playing.

 

The concept for battles is intriguing, your team has to grab the incredibly personified treasure and take it to the end of the level. But wait, there’s more. You need to make the chest happy and feel loved before you can win the game. You do this by fighting bosses and carrying it. I know it sounds simple but there are a lot of things going on during the frantic fights with the other team. First off there are traps decorated around the entire map, meaning that it’s not as simple as just walking up to the treasure and taking it. Bosses, and mini bosses, also fill the map and by killing these not only do you gain experience (more about that later) but they’re one less thing to worry about. Last but by no means least are the mini games that occur randomly during gameplay.

 

Playing Minigames

Play Minigames

 

The name “mini games” may be a bit deceiving so allow me to explain. At any point during the round the chest can declare a mini-game, these are small events that change the general gameplay experience. These events include things such as the screen turning upside down and your characters not being able to use magic. Even though the effects are fairly insignificant, they do make the game much more exciting and if you play Dungeon Party regularly you’ll be more than happy when these alterations pop up.

 

What class you choose also impacts your play style and your role in the party. There are three classes the Thief, Executioner and the Wizard. There is also a fourth class, the Bard, however you have to pay to unlock it. You can customise your characters looks and add various pieces of “bling” to your avatar.

 

Earlier in this article I mentioned experienced points, let me elaborate a bit on this. You only gain levels during rounds, and you start at level one at the beginning of each match. At the start of each game you’ll be able to choose a skill or two but when you fight monsters you’ll gain experience and then when you level up you gain a skill point which can be used to unlock more skills. Most skills traditionally cost one point, however the more powerful spells costs two points. The more you fight monsters and engage in combat, the more skills you’ll have (although you can only have a maximum of five).

 

If you haven’t realised already, there’s certainly a lot going on at any given time, however it doesn’t feel that way in game. Dungeon Party is a deep game that is accessible to everyone and anyone, the fact you never feel over whelmed whilst playing the game is only a testimony to its brilliant design. The game is all about playing for fun’s sake, not for new weapons and a higher level. Whilst you can earn titles and there are guilds, the only incentive you’ll get for returning to the game is its unique and very enjoyable gameplay.

Graphics

When I first entered Dungeon Party I was surprised by just how beautiful the world looked, not only that but it has its own style that fills the world with individuality (something that is a rarity now days in our genre). From the monsters that try to kill you, to the characters you play, everything looks great especially with the soft glow that surrounds them.

 

The levels are designed perfectly and you’ll never find yourself getting bored of one particular map, which could have something to do with the excellent use of colour and the level layout. A unique theme runs throughout each level, such as a volcano theme, or a pirate theme. You’ll quickly find your favourite type of map. There are also various crates, which if picked up and thrown will do Area of Effect damage or debuff/buff the character around the area.

 

Find Your Own Type Of Map

Find Your Favorite Type of Map

 

Musically the game is supported by a light jazz score that suits the humour in the game. After a while though you may find the music just becomes annoying noise in the background, however the interesting sound is just one of the many things that makes Dungeon Party different from every other MMO.

Community

One of the most important factors about any MMORPG is the community that backs it, unfortunately for Dungeon Party; this aspect of the game is probably the weakest. This is probably due to lacklustre marketing scheme that hasn’t supported the game whatsoever. In fact this is so much of a issue that a variety of times I have had problems even getting into a game, with it sometimes taking at least ten minutes to get into a match after joining a waiting room. From what I can understand the game also uses Peer 2 Peer. Surely with this in mind it would be much better to have a match making system to aid the room system that’s already in place.

 

Generally the people you play with will be French, however there are a few English people playing the game. It’ll be very interesting to see what happens to the community in six months time, as it does feel very baron at the moment.

Conclusion

Dungeon Party is a unique experience that focuses on fun, rather than on grinding and gaining new items. Whilst it still feels like the game has some growing to do before it becomes a “must play” title and truly evolves into a great MMO, the premise is there and this game has more originality in it than the vast majority of MMORPGs on the market. One of the most unique and different online rpgs I’ve ever played and if you’re looking for something new, then make sure you check out Dungeon Party.

 

Pros:
– Unique and fun.
– No grind.
– It’s funny.
– The graphics are gorgeous.
– Level design is top notch.

 

Cons:
– It’s community is fairly small.
– It can be hard to get into a game sometimes.

Eudemons: Demon Rising: The Vengeance Flame of Alamut!

Eudemons: Demon Rising: The Vengeance Flame of Alamut!

The lovely team at Eudemons has sent us the following guide on how to find you way around the many challenges in the Demon Rising Expansion!
 
Once the most brilliant warrior of Cronus, Alamut knows his land well. By offering the soul and body as the final sacrifice to the demons, he has become more powerful than before! That’s how he annihilated the defense of Sunset County in few days and built his fortress for his overwhelming ambition.
 
 
Capturing Alamut’s fortress will require all your cunning and strength:
 
1. Battle strategy is vitally important here. First, don’t forget to bring rare items you’ve got from the former instance quests. You’ll find them useful once you enter the fortress. Demon warriors are much tougher than monsters in Cronus; some will cast spells to confuse and entice you in order to take you out of the action, others may explode suddenly after being killed and devastate the surrounding landscape. Remember, a Paladin will be of great assistance for this battle.

Miss!

2. Terrain is no longer simple decoration. Pay special attention to the traps littered around Caria Fortress! The blizzard, thorn, thunder, rock, flame traps will cause your HP to continuously decrease, there even are some traps that contain a mix of effects and will stop you dead in your tracks. Teamwork is important, but there exist some traps that deal a huge amount of damage and can only be activated by multiple players. So try not to get caught in a blast. Be smart, or your team will die easily. There are also some barriers needing you to collect right items to disable them.
3. Side quests often provide hints to solving the main quest. We made sure they are not too difficult to complete, and always offer generous rewards along with an immersive storyline. So, if Alamut is too tough for you to tackle, try finishing some of the side quests.
4. Before reaching Alamut, you will receive a warm welcome by his loyal cadre. Their unique skills are deadly to the uninitiated, so I will give you a brief rundown of Alamut’s elite guards.
 

Watch out for the traps

Inferno Inquisitor
His faith in Alamut is unmatched. This Templar followed Alamut to the Demons when the lord lost his faith in humanity. The loyalty of the knight was such that Alamut granted him the Flame Cyclone and Flame Amor skills, giving this inquisitor the power of hellfire in both attack and defense. His dark strength can drag a target close to him and deal a critical hit.
 
 
Countess Sutton
Known worldwide for bathing in the blood of the virgins and infants in an attempt to remain forever young, this infamous witch was born to be evil! She can easily release a cloud of sulfur gas that enrages anyone nearby and causes them to attack anything they see! Anyone attacking her will receive rebounded damage equals to what she suffers.
 
 
Abyssal Overseer
Appearing to be the follower of Alamut, this demon knight is in fact the eyes and ears of the Demon Lord placed to make sure the Lord’s plans will run smoothly. Born as a demon knight in fire, he is second only to Alamut in this fortress! This infernal master of flames can summon fire monsters, create his image to attack enemy with fire, and summon some burning ivy to sprout and entangle targets on the ground.
 
 
Want to know about the final boss Alamut? There are still mysteries in this world. Maybe somebody in the fortress will know.
 
 
Today is a good day to die. What, you want to live forever?

Zodiac Online Final CB Preview: Interactivity Enhanced

The innovative game creator Ingle Games has announced that the brand new style MMORPG Zodiac Online will enter its Final Closed-beta phase on PST 19:00 Dec. 12.
 
Zodiac Online
This is a Chinese zodiac-based free MMORPG with cute and colorful graphics, never a clone of any other game. Its 24 characters are set in a fantasy land borne of an amazing legend of allegiance, valiance, and guardianship. In the game, players will act as Zodiac Envoys on a mandate from heaven, which creates an unforeseen and mysterious set of circumstances. The game’s alpha and closed-beta test achieved a perfect success by right of the various unique features, systems , events, and especially the warm custom service among all MMORPGs.
 
Ingle Games has developed a creative function in some recently launched games, the Video Chat function (web camera required). This function is also included in Zodiac Online so players of ZO can see the real faces of their in-game buddies and experience a much more exciting feelings and more interactive gameplay.
 
Brand New Features
In Final CB, there’re even two more brand new features which are going to take the interactivities between players to a new high. The features are the wagon escorting quests and the appending hijacking activities; and the war of divine animals, a daily event which is impatiently awaited by many players.
 
The Wagon Escorting Quests are adventures full of dangers and surprises, also with plenty of bonuses. Players need to get well prepared before heading out for a try. This is also a new part of the whole colorful PvP system in Zodiac Online.
 
The War of Divine Animals is a very hard daily event, players need to cooperate well with teammates to defeat the divine animals and their powerful guards.
 
A new competition and a new cooperation, with these two interactive features, Ingle Games is pretty sure that Zodiac Online Final Closed-beta test will be an amazing Christmas gift to all MMORPG fans.

Find Amazing Gifts in Zodiac Online

Grand Fantasia Launches New Server

AeriaGames has announced the launch of a new server for their popular (MMORPG), Grand Fantasia. The name of new world is “Siropas”, which was voted by the game’s community.  Aeria is celebrating the occasion by rewarding the first ten players of each class (80 in all) to reach level 35 on the new server with 1,000 Aeria Points (AP).
Set in a beautiful and carefully crafted world, Grand Fantasia offers players a variety of features new to the MMO genre, including an innovative pet management and crafting system. Players can customize their pets; control their moods and relationship scores; and use them to gather resources, craft items, and salvage objects for parts. For players seeking a more action-oriented experience, the game offers player-versus player (PvP) combat, team-based battlefields, massive dungeons, and epic world bosses.
For more information about Grand Fantasia, players are encouraged to visit the official website.

Welcome to the New Server of Grand Fantasia

Atlantica Online Releases New Content

Atlantica Online Releases New Content


Christmas comes early this year for fans of Atlantica Online, with the addition of a new map!  Adventurers are invited to join up to eight other players in a trek through Coyote’s Valley to thwart the dastardly plans of the forces against nature in this new “Call of the Wild” patch. Ndoors also introduces an all-new mercenary – Raging Wind, the boy druid – which players at level 100 and above can recruit to defend the tribe against the wave of invading forces.
 
“Ndoors is getting into the holiday spirit by giving our community the gift of new content,” said Peter Kang, CEO, Ndoors Interactive.  “We aim to continue making Atlantica Online an immersive and exciting experience for all players, and this new trek through Coyote’s Valley to answer the ‘Call of the Wild’ does just that.”
 
The New Content
Atlantica Online combines innovative combat with profound character and party development, as well as city and country management. Players take on the physically and mentally demanding quest to destroy the Oriharukon, a powerful energy source from the lost civilization of Atlantis.  This dangerous element survived the demise of the “Lost City,” and its rampant spread is quickly endangering humanity. The epic journey takes players to some of the most historic and exotic locations around the globe, where they will come face-to-face with vicious monsters ripped from history and lore.
 
The new content patch takes players to Coyote’s Valley, where the Great Bear tribe has lived in peace and harmony for 400 years with the guidance of the ancestral spirits of the land.  A chosen few are called to harness the land’s mystical power to become watchful druids who defend the tribe from all incursions.  But now a malevolent mastermind plans to unearth the powers buried deep beneath the land to leverage for his own evil gain.  Players will be able to experience the Coyote’s Valley, to battle alongside the Great Bear tribe, beginning Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009.
 
For more information or to explore Atlantica Online, please visit the official website.

New Content in Atlantica Online


Saga Online Europe

Saga Online claims to be the world’s very first persistant online real time strategy game.
You battle against or with thousands of players from all over the world!
The world of SAGA Online is a traditional fantasy setting populated by characters such as elves, orcs, dragons and giants. It is a free-of-charge, persistent massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game where players get to create their own realms, do battle or trade with one another, or set out on cooperative quests with their friends in order to earn experience and loot.
Among other things, the free-to-play MMORTS offers more than 1,000 quests and six factions, each with their own unique units and individual styles of play. SAGA Online incorporates many successful elements of massively multiplayer online games: there are guilds, raids, a live auction house where players can exchange cards, equipment upgrades, team quests, plundering of treasures, and so on. All of these are combined with features of real-time strategy such as city building, resource management, and warfare.

How the Purpose of Trials and Demos Has Changed Over Time

How the Purpose of Trials and Demos has Changed Over Time
By Joshua Temblett (Dontkillmydreams), OnRPG Journalist

 

I decided to examine the purpose of demos and trials throughout the video game industry, how each genre uses them differently to attract potential consumers to their product. What’s more intriguing: as this industry has moved forward, so has the use for us to have ‘small tastes’ of games. What once started off as a way for smaller companies to showcase their games for a minimum (if that) fee has changed into a large marketing ploy by multi-million dollar businesses. So what has exactly changed and why?

 

In the early 1990s shareware distribution was a popular method of distributing video game demos. These small snippets of the title were usually restricted to the first segment or section of the game. These demos were also available in store (on floppy disk) for a minimum fee. What was once a commodity for PC gamers has since growth into something available on consoles, both home and handheld.

 

Some game developers choose not give the gamer a demo of the full game, instead opting to create a prologue for the game or something separate from the full game. These experiences, while not being from the final product, are still relevant as they give you a peek into the gameplay.

 

In the late 1990s, around the PlayStation era, demos were used to show gameplay and hopefully convince an undecided customer to invest money in the game. Nowadays, whilst this is still one of their main purposes, another reason lies beneath the skin. When a company releases a small taste of their game to the public, it’s showing that the developer in question has confidence in their product. Well, enough confidence to show us the final product of what the game may be like.

 

Of course, some games don’t need to provide the consumer with free demos. Legend of Zelda and Grand Theft Auto are series that generally don’t need to show potential buyers what the product will be like, because the majority of gamers trust the developers and know that these titles are going to deliver on their promises.

 

If a game doesn’t have a demo then it generally implies that the developers are hiding something; this is what most gamers believe, and after all if the game was really that good, they wouldn’t be afraid of flaunting it.

 

Empty Trial Servers

Trials offer you a chance to test any game.

 

You see, in this day when games cost large amount of money, especially in Europe and the UK (who get ripped off with regards to pricing), people just aren’t going to shell out $60/£50 for a game that isn’t worth it anymore. When you add the economic crisis into the mix then it doesn’t take a genius to realise that people just don’t have the money to buy less than perfect games anymore.

 

With MMORPGs there’s a different investment. Not only do you have to buy the game, and pay the monthly fee, these games also require an investment of time. Now you could argue that this isn’t a ‘cost’ but is the whole reason why you play the genre (to have something to waste lots of time on). However you know when you buy an MMO that you’re going to put a lot of time (and effort) into it, so you’ve got to make sure that you choose the right game.

 

A trial has a different purpose for MMORPGs and online games. For online games the developers are hoping that you’re going to get addicted to the game and that you’re going to feel the urge to buy the game to feed that addiction. Just look at games like World of Warcraft. I was against playing that game, but after the trial-month I found myself incredibly infatuated with it.

 

I’m starting to make trials sound like a brainwash technique, aren’t I? But at the end of the day, that’s what they are. In what is an incredibly competitive market you have to be able to offer players a taste of the game to hook them in.

 

With MMORPGs it’s not just about the trial though, it’s about how they get it to you. Once again I’ll use WoW as an example. When I first looked at the trial of the game I saw that it downloaded as you played the game. This meant that after two minutes of downloading the executable and installing it, I was playing the game. This instantly got me into the action and I didn’t have to wait two to five hours to get into it.

 

Of course there are other types of trials/demos, non playable ones. You may be thinking: “What do these have to do with MMORPGs?” Well, what you may or may not know is that Final Fantasy XI has a benchmark ‘demo’, which you use to see how well your computer can cope with playing the game. Whilst these types of demos aren’t playable, they still give you some idea of what the game will be like and to provide you with information on the game’s content.

 

Game Content

See what a game has to offer.

 

After all one of the most important things about demos is the availability of them and with Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, getting these little slices of games to the consumer is much quicker and easier, not only that but these services are open 24/7 allowing the gamer to try the demo at anytime.

 

Demos and trials are all parts of the marketing plan and when a game doesn’t have one it might even imply that the publisher doesn’t think that the game will be worth it, or that the publisher is losing a lot of money and can’t afford it. The thing you’ve got to remember about game demos is that the developers don’t just remove a small segment from the game, in most cases game developtments take about 1-3 months away from development time to make these demos and really polish them, and some publishers just can’t afford losing the development on the final product.

 

What once started off as small and simplistic way to get people to buy a game has evolved into a large marketing plan that has a lot of thought and politics behind it and can even give us, the consumer, an idea about how the developer feels about their game and how successful they think it will be. Trials possibly hold even more importance for the MMORPG genre as these really need to hook people and get them to pay-to-play.

 

It’s a competitive market out there, and game developers and marketeers need to do everything that they can to get their product, which they’ve been working on for several years, off shelves and into the consumers’ hands. And we need to choose wisely by perfecting our skills in joining the trials!

 

Which trial will you play today?