Yearly Archives: 2009

Chronicles of Spellborn official release

Acclaim Games is pleased to announce the official release of The Chronicles of Spellborn MMORPG.  To celebrate the official launch, Acclaim will offer all players a free 2 week premium subscription, along with the introduction of a new credit card payment option for added convenience.  With the official release, players are invited to join the fun in one of the most innovative MMORPG’s on the market featuring a unique real-time combat system that truly sets the game apart!
 
Acclaim now offers a new credit card payment option to easily purchase premium subscriptions online using a major credit card!  With the addition of this new purchase option, players have the option of buying premium subscriptions with either a major credit card or Acclaim Coins, the universal virtual currency used for all Acclaim games.  Those who purchase with Acclaim Coins can also take advantage of the special introductory discount pricing, offered for a limited time only. 
 
To commemorate the release, a special launch promotion will be available from April 23 to May 7 offering a FREE 2 week premium subscription for all new and existing players giving everyone a chance to evaluate the game and experience the unique real-time combat system of Spellborn.  New players must register between April 23 and May 7 to get the free subscription. 
 
“We meet with the gamers every week to discuss Spellborn, they tell us the fighting system is the most amazing thing about the game.  The idea being that your ‘moment-to-moment’ control during battle, mixed with your own custom skill deck gives endless possibilities. To see a smart level 5 player take down a level 15 player is something that SHOULD be possible in MMOs, and is something that really good players deserve to be able to do!”, says David Perry the USA Director for the Spellborn Project.
Once players download and install the game for free, they can choose between a PvE (Player vs Environment) server called “Dorzhan” and a PvP (Player vs Player) server called “Deiquonril” for a more intense combat experience. 

Pirate Galaxy Final Launch

Gamigo is excited to announce the commercial launch of our latest game: Pirate Galaxy. This unique 3D action MMOG can be played entirely in your browser – you can support mankind in your epic battle against the MANTIS menace on practically any PC, no special software required! As with all other games in gamigo’s diverse and growing portfolio, Pirate Galaxy is completely free to play! No download or subscription costs! To play, all you need do is go to pirategalaxy.com, register and start your engines…
Become a Space Pirate
In the outer realms of our universe, humanity is plunged into a fierce battle against the MANTIS. The only person standing in the way of complete annihilation is you. You will be tasked with destroying enemy ships, harvesting power crystals and  discovering MANTIS blueprints to help both you and your species in the war effort. As the game progresses, you can upgrade your ship’s capabilities as well as give it a personal touch. The missions form a story that takes you on a truly fantastic odyssey across many worlds and star systems.
As you earn the right to upgrade and replace your ship, you still need to consider what kind of player you want to be… Some ships are faster, others are more manoeuvrable – of course you could always choose simple, brutish firepower. Your task will be to work out what is the best combination to survive on the battlefield. Each of these ships can be personalised in millions of ways – a multitude of designs and colour schemes, as well as some special equipment, can be bought from our item shop.
Even as we release the game, we’re already working on expanding gameplay. “Gemini”, a brand new star system is in development and will be released soon. We’re working on some exciting new adventures and carefully crafted planets; players that want to test this new system can go to pirate-galaxy-forum.gamigo.com/ for details on how to be part of the exciting next chapter of Pirate Galaxy a little early…

Maple Story Europe

Maple Story is a massively popular side-scrolling MMORPG.
 
Your character is unique and can be decorated according to your very own taste and style. In addition to choosing wearable items, you can change their face, hairstyle and even have plastic surgery! There are so many items to choose from to create new looks!
 
In Maple Story Europe you will travel to unique ares and villages and you can attain a job. Join groups of players to travel to new continents and reveal secrets.

Violence in Games: The Never-ending Quarrel

By Rick Charbs (Jammart), Onrpg writer
Participators: Ben Lamb (BGLamb), Jeffrey Kerkdijk (Hyarume), and Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson)
 
A handful of Onrpg writers have been brought together to debate on a very controversial subject: violence in video games. Enjoy as you are dazzled in this colossal debate of rebuttals and fist fights.
 
Opening of Topic
Video Games have been related to various crimes and violent acts in the past years, as well as world-wide current happenings. Generally targeted at a youth audience, MMORPGS are some of the accused catalysts to the criminal, or simply the violent, mind. From stabbings in Australia, to gang beatings in Russia, to various cases of virtual murder and theft, MMORPGS have been targeted sensibly for inducing serious violent thoughts and actions in gamers’ minds. It has been stated that in some cases, emotional attachment causes such action: “Sometimes the emotional investment people put it into their online lives is so great that their anger can spill over into reality.” (Simon Hill of BrightHub) Is it possible that a game can provoke such emotions?
 
Troubled teens generally seek an escape from reality and an MMORPG covers that pretty well, but I don’t personally think that a game should cause such anger to then be propelled into real life. However, I do accuse games of this to a certain extent. In the case of a troubled youth (most especially with temperament issues) video games can encourage violence and don’t necessarily heed any warnings for anger and provoked violence.
 
However, I believe personality is the true cause of these violent acts, and not the actual video game nor its content.
“In April 2008 a study carried out at Middlesex University found that World of Warcraft had no link with increased aggressive tendencies. In fact, quite the opposite may be true as many people were calmer after a session.” (Simon Hill of BrightHub)
 
The violent and addictive personality some gamers tend to acquire can definitely cause some trouble in the long run, but in majority, I believe a game is more of a form of entertainment in order to relax and enjoy ourselves (while possibly having an adrenaline rush here or there), but gaming is definitely not the time to get overanxious or angry. The one special trait of an MMO is that players will be together. Violence is much more easily provoked within a group, which is why online games are much more often related to virtual and game-related crimes.
 
Criminals and violent people are everywhere, and some just tend to play MMORPGS. It’s all about the person’s personality, not the game. Considering the amount of crimes linked to games, it is safe to assume that many people play games with different intentions.
 
When bad things happen people need to find a reason why. When its people that are the cause of these bad things, people want to know what made them do it. They will very rarely reach the conclusion that it was just ‘who they are’. It makes much less of a media item also. When it’s young people who commit a violent crime, all eyes are turned on that young person’s habits. Rock music, violent films and computer games are what catch people’s eyes.
A False Perspective
Argument by Ben Lamb
 
To people who are accustomed to these things, this finger-pointing at our sources of entertainment seems not only misguided but downright offensive. But when viewed from outside the perspective of a regular user, these things can be shockingly violent. This afternoon, after finishing a session of Deus Ex, before switching off I [Ben Lamb] turned my machine gun on all the random civilians in the bar. I wasn’t even really thinking as I idly mowed them down, chasing one woman into the toilets and throwing a grenade in after her. It wasn’t until I turned and saw the expression on the face of my girlfriend, who had been watching me that I even thought about what I had done.
 
We’re just not shocked by these things anymore. This doesn’t mean that real-life violence isn’t still shocking, but as this study found people do become desensitised to real-life violence, simply by playing a violent game.
 
It would be really gratifying to think listening to lyrics about pain and death, watching some gory horror film, and then massacring all your friends on a PvP server is completely unrelated to violence in real-life, but I think to take that view would be to deny the evidence of both scientific findings and common sense.
 
People will argue that a game or a song can’t make you do something you don’t want to do, something out of your character, but I would say we’ve all got a dark side. We’ve all got a little bit of violence in us locked away somewhere. With some of us it just needs less encouragement to come out than with others.
 
As a wonderfully intelligent film once put it, Movies don’t make psychos, they make psychos more creative!

Sensitivity is Relative

Rebuttal by Jeffrey Kerkdijk
 
All people are sensitive, whether they like it or not. However, some people are more sensitive to certain things than others. I [Jeffrey Kerkdijk] think that some are even sensitive to games. Some games have a lot of violence going on in them. What the eye catches stays in one’s mind. Every violent act you see, whether it is in a game or in a movie, does affect you.
 
To be honest, I agree with Ben that people seek reasons when bad things happen, but I also think that many of these “game related crimes” have nothing to do with games. Sure it might be how they act; they might act like playing a game in real life. Foremost I think that people commit these awful crimes because they have lost their view on reality, perhaps they are traumatized, abused, or in a psychological state. It is in those moments that crimes like this occur to the mind.
 
When a person loses his view on reality life may suck, but there can be a better future if you are willing to work for it.
It’s Not the Game
Argument by Vincent Haoson
 
I’ve always believed that whatever our influence is, we are the masters of our own action. There are a lot of cases where people who are surrounded by bad neighbourhoods, and even bad friends, would often grow into good people in society.
 
The same applies with violent video games, may it be console games like GTA (which has often been the target of the authorities as the prime suspect of teen crime influence) to MMOs (though I can’t really recall the exact MMO that they pointed out as the reason why a kid stabbed someone).
 
I say that it’s not the game that makes today’s youth act violently. It’s the lack of proper guidance and support from the parents themselves that pushes youth to do such atrocious acts. If a kid was properly guided by those who are near them (e.g. parents) then I would confidently say that regardless of whatever game they put their hands on, they wouldn’t come out as a psychopathic shooter or thief.
 
A classmate of mine in college did his thesis regarding the tendency of gamers to act violently when exposed to violent video games. His found out that violent games, does increase the tendency for the youth to act violently but they don’t do it because video games push them to do it, other factors such as friends and whatnot are the ones they put their blame on.
 
I personally think that blaming violent games as the reason why today’s youth act violently is downright irresponsible. I say that it’s the lack of proper guidance from the parents and those who influence the youth that pushes kids to act what they see.
Complications
Argument by Ben Lamb (He is aware of its contradiction!)
 
I don’t think that you can point to any one ’cause’ for an ‘effect’ as complicated as the actions of a person. Everything that people experience will affect them to some extent.
 
If a child is brought up with a good grounding in life then they will have the understanding to put all subsequent experiences in their proper place. It’s quite easy for a middle class white-boy like myself to listen to some gangsta rap and enjoy it for what it is without being unduly influenced by the messages it, often explicitly, conveys.
 
Give a child an education via the television instead of through ‘proper’ parenting, and that child’s founding experiences will lead them to understand all later messages in a different way. The commonplace violence in these mediums will forever skew their view of the world and leave them more likely to make choices towards violence in their later years.
 
Is it the responsibility of the parents to bring their children up with an education that allows them to relate to society in a non-violent way? Yes. But this does not remove the responsibility of the rest of society.
 
There is no use in pointing the finger of blame at the portion of society who is probably in the worst position to do anything about it. (EDIT: By this I mean parents who themselves were educated in front of the telly)
 
As members of society we are all responsible for society’s children, and if our children are finding education in violent games then we must seriously question if these games are what we should be supplying to them. (EDIT: ie: producing and selling them)
 
Closing Statement
 
With all of these varied points of view in mind, should violent video games be banned from society? Should they be heavily regulated or ignored? It is virtually impossible to draw such a conclusion on a matter as elaborate as this one, however, we can still rely on ESRB ratings to protect youth from seeing or playing what they should not.
 
“If you start banning or even restricting everything that might be bad for people, where do you draw the line? Most people would draw it somewhere between drugs (probably should ban) and media (probably shouldn’t ban), but even that is open to huge debate.” (Ben Lamb)
 
Censorship may be adequate to solve this problem, but it cannot be the only method to take action. What is your opinion? We hope to receive your views on this topic via the Onrpg Forums!

Atlantica Enabling Cross-Server PvP Battles

NDOORS Interactive, creator of the strategic turn-based MMORPG Atlantica Online, today announced that the Titan Server, Atlantica’s first cross-server PvP battle area, is now open along with a few other updates. The independent game server will enable interaction between all players from all Atlantica servers, creating the first true test of who is the best of the best. Players can now board a designated Titan ship and journey to and from the Titan Server to access new content, chat with other players, and compete against each other in massive PvP tournaments.
Later this year, the Titan cross-server will feature an entirely new continent, unlike any current game location, where players will have the chance to compete against each other for control over regions in this new and unexplored territory. Before the Titan Server, players could only communicate with users on their same server, but more updates coming later this year will allow Atlantians to interact regardless of their server, enabling players to meet more friends (and enemies) in Atlantica Online.

“The developers wanted to create an all-inclusive server that would give users from the separate servers a chance to finally meet and battle against one another, to determine who the best of the best really is,”
said Peter Kang, NDOORS Interactive, CEO. “The Titan Server encourages additional community interaction and player participation, and will continue to do so as new features are added in the future.”
Additionally, the Titan Server will offer a “Grand Championship Tournament” where players can battle it out for glorious rewards, beginning each Sunday at 3am and 3pm PDT. Players will earn Gold Coins just for participating – more if they are the winner of the first battle, and participants who win more than one battle will receive EXP for their main character and mercenaries. The top 30 players will receive 4 Platinum Coins, Observation Rewards and 200 Fame/Battle points, but the overall winner of this tournament will reign supreme, receiving the Barbarian Lord’s Black Tiger, Platinum Coins, Observation Rewards and 1,000 Fame/Battle Points. The Grand Championship Tournament winners will be the very best of the best, earning rewards and bragging rights galore.
Upon traveling to the Titan Server, initials of the players’ original server will be added to their character names to prevent any conflicts. Currently, only basic user information will be copied over to the Titan Server, but in the coming updates all player details, including communities, friends and guild members will be available on the Titan Server. Cross-server trade, chat and whisper features will also be implemented in the near future.
Recognized as one of the best MMORPGs of 2008, Atlantica Online has received critical acclaim for its quality, accessibility, and entertainment value. The Titan Server is only one of many exciting content updates scheduled for Atlantica on April 21, 2009. With new massive features already in development, the implementation of the Titan Server promises exciting things to the world of Atlantis. Preparation for in-game events is already underway, so players should check back often to participate in the cross-server excitement.

GodsWar Online: Trading System Guide

Have you ever dreamed of being a billionaire? Are you a successful business man in game? Today GodsWar Online team talks more about the secret of being rich in GodsWar.
I. Trade with Players
1 Click the target player and choose “Trade”.
2. Drag the item you want to trade and input the selling price.
3. After both sides have confirmed it, the deal is done and cannot be changed.
4. Bound items cannot be traded.
II. Set a stall
All players are able to further promote their items by setting up a stall. It is highly recommended that they do this in the densely inhabited districts.
1. Click the “Set Stall” button on the Bag panel.
2. A stall interface will pop up; drag items into it and set their selling prices. You can also click Offload Items to cancel a previous action.
3. Give your stall an attractive name to draw the customer’s eyes and click Show Items to begin selling goods.
4. Bound items cannot be sold on a stall, your character cannot move from that position until you wind up your stall.
5. The stall name will be displayed above your character’s head. Other players may view and purchase goods simply by clicking on the stall name.
III.  to NPCs
Selling items to the system’s merchants is yet another way to earn money.
1. Almost all items can be sold to the system’s merchants. Items cannot be reclaimed once you decide to sell them, so please think carefully before confirming the deal.
2. You can also choose to purchase various skill books, potions, equipment and other essential items from these merchants.
3. However, the more valuable items, like gems, materials and so on, must be bought from the Item Mall.
4. In the meantime, players can also buy precious items in the E-Gold Shop with E-Gold, but all of these items are bound and may not be re-sold.
IV.   Deposit in Storage
Warehouse managers are distributed around each city and newbie village. Players may deposit and draw their surplus items and money there for free.
1. Both bound and unbound items can be deposited in the storage facilities.
2. However, Silver, Gold and E-Gold may not be deposited there.  It is too valuable.
3. The system will place any rewards into the Reward column from there they may be drawn out only. No rewards may be deposited in the column.

The Warlords Open-Beta Giveaway Events

TQ Digital Entertainment is happy to announce that The Warlords will begin the open-beta test at 20:00 April 24, 2009 PDT.
 
During the current closed-beta test, the 1st group of players have gotten a nice glimpse at this Chinese-style MMO, and helped our developers in fixing several major bugs. Now, we feel that The Warlords is ready to begin servicing more adventurers who are eager to explore the mysteries of ancient China.
 
For the open-beta launch, the TQ team has prepared a string of exciting events from which our players would obtain rare items, WPs, and even $300 cash as a reward!
 
1. From April 24 to May 24, by downloading the Warlords client from the official site, players can join in a special lottery, with a jackpot of up to $300.00!
2. Between April 24 and May 10, all new arrivals can receive a free bonus pack, and 1380 WPs in the game.
3. A weekend event will be held from April 24 to April 26, from which players can collect free WPs by exterminating monsters in all the regions.
 
Can’t wait to start on your own epic adventure? Get yourself ready to create your own legend, only on The Warlords!

Darkeden: Bonus EXP

Joymax, an independent developer of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced the start of the Super Power Event for the vampiric MMORPG Darkeden. Slayers, Ousters, and Vampires can now gain up to a maximum of 2,000% experience for every quest completed and enemy killed, making this the perfect opportunity to level up and do some damage to the opposing forces!
Dark Eden

Premium card users also have their standard experience bonus doubled, combining for an impressive maximum of 8,000% experience gained. As if that weren’t enough, the Super Power Event is a harbinger of things to come: events that will provide luck, rank, and drop rate increases across the board. The modern war between humans and undead is heating up, and the time has never been better to join the fight and help decide the fate of our world!

Nostale: Global announces unique event for Earth Day 2009

Nostale: Global, serviced by Uforia, Inc. is hosting a unique event to celebrate Earth Day.  This event will begin at 3pm PST on April 22nd, 2009.  The “Find the Five Forests” event requires players to view five (5) separate screen shots taken by the Game Master and then journey throughout the game in order to locate where those images were taken.  Players send their answers (a screenshot of themselves at the same location indicated in the screenshots created by the Game Master) to the Game Master in order to claim their prizes. 
Another special aspect for this event is that players who send in their answers by the end of April 22nd, 2009, 11:59 PM PST will receive a special prize known as Sculp of Twee Fox. 
Any player who sends in their answers after Earth Day, but before the end of day (11:59 PM PST) on April 29th, 2009 will receive a Sculp of Jolly Fox prize.  
“We created this event because we wanted it to serve two purposes.  We wanted to raise awareness among our players about this important day and also we wanted them to have an event that would allow them to meet other players as they are racing around the multitude of maps that Nostale: Global offers them”, said Chris Keswani, Marketing Manager for Uforia.