Monthly Archives: September 2010

9 Empires

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Discover the world of 9 empires, an exciting mix of strategy and RPG set in a massive fantasy world. The game contains nine playable races, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, unique troops and special abilities as well as a huge range of features.

Throughout the game players will build up their cities and train multiple heroes, who command vast armies. The fully interactive battles against NPCs and other players offer a wide range of tactical possibilities and require skill and cunning. 9 Empires also offers an intricate crafting system that players can combine with skills, magical powers and thousands of items to create truly awe-inspiring heroes.

Players can also create their own legions with hundreds of other players and battle it out with others to conquer the lands of 9 Empires. Will you be able to prevail in this world at war?

SUN Global Updates PVP System

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SUN Global Updates PVP System

 

Soul of the Ultimate Nation (S.U.N) published by WEBZEN announced update plans including some long-awaited PvP content.

 

The Temple of Blood
The Temple of Blood is one of the most successful contents updated in S.U.N. It has been already implemented for other service areas, including Korea and China. The Temple of Blood is S.U.N’s first GvG(Guild vs. Guild) system that brought exciting fights to many S.U.N players around the globe.

 

The Temple of Blood is one of the most successful contents updated in S.U.N.

 

The scenario behind ‘The Temple of Blood’ is set after completion of the main missions for each mission map. After the liberation army eliminated the main boss, guilds start to fight against each other to occupy the territory.

 

The Temple of Blood provides a 20 player versus 20 player map. Although it is not designed to bring massive fights between hundreds of players, it will bring even more thrilling experience than those huge castle siege maps. Strategy is a must because the number of players in the battle is limited. Thanks to the system, smaller guilds also have the same chance to win the fight while bigger guilds can aim at multiple areas at the same time.

 

WEBZEN stated The Temple of Blood that will be updated in September will work as a turning point to Episode 2, which will be focused more on PvP than before, while maintaining S.U.N’s original fun of playing story-based contents.

 

Monster Coliseum: Arena of Death
In addition to The Temple of Blood, S.U.N plans to update the Arena of Death: Monster Coliseum. It is an enormous event dungeon that challenges the players with total of five hundred monsters and six furious boss monsters. The new dungeon will let players enjoy action in a greater scale and get valuable items, according to WEBZEN officials.

 

Plans for the Future
WEBZEN also released information regarding the update of S.U.N Episode 2, since Episode 1 is close to its completion. Episode 2 will bring many changes to S.U.N including new continent, maps for more story behind S.U.N scenario, UI updates and modifications for a more convenient gaming experience, character balancing and growth system updates for easier access for new players, Battle zone modifications to provide easier, simpler and quicker game play and more.

 

Tony Kim, Head of Global Publishing at WEBZEN Inc. said “S.U.N was somewhat weak on the PvP contents since the previous contents were focused on the story-driven game play, but we will focus more on the PvP from now on in order to bring diversity to S.U.N.”

 

On other note, S.U.N celebrates its first anniversary for global service in October. There will be various events and promotions for the celebration.

Former APB Developers Run Marathon For Charity

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Former APB Developers Run Marathon For Charity

 

A team of five from Dundee’s computer gaming industry will this Sunday tackle the Loch Ness Marathon. The team, mostly comprised of ex-Realtime Worlds employees, are keen to prove their dedication to Dundee’s games industry by taking on not just any marathon, but one that undulates over the hills of the South banks of Loch Ness on Sunday 3rd October.

 

The team comprises Colin Macdonald, aged 36, Hugh Malan, 34, Andy Elder, 36, Paul MacGillvray, 23, and Rory Kelly (from Dundee company Waracle), 22.

 

The team, mostly comprised of ex-Realtime Worlds employees, are raising money for GamesAid, an umbrella fund which distributes the money it receives to children and young persons charities around the UK.

 

The team are raising money for GamesAid, an umbrella fund which distributes the money it receives to children and young persons charities around the UK, with a focus on small-to-medium charities rather than the better funded larger charities. Further information on GamesAid is available at www.gamesaid.org

 

Colin Macdonald said of the challenge “Many of us have found ourselves with more time on our hands than we expected, so it’s good to be able to channel that into such a worthy cause as GamesAid. We’re a little nervous about how hilly the course is going to be – we’re not sure how good training the Law Hill is going to prove. But hopefully as well as raising money for a great cause this helps reinforce that the games industry in Dundee is alive and kicking.”

 

Anyone who sponsors the team and leaves their email address will receive a link to an internet site from which they can see live on the day where the team are on the route. The team can be sponsored at http://www.justgiving.com/ScottishGamesLochNessMarathon2010

 

The OnRPG team wishes these brave people all the best on this worthy effort!

Galaxy Online Interview: Game Updates And More

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Galaxy Online Interview: Game Updates And More
Questions by Vincent Haoson, OnRPG Journalist
Answered by Sean Xie, Galaxy Online Project Manager

 

We here at OnRPG got the opportunity to talk to the people behind Galaxy Online, a space themed MMO and guess what? They’re developing a second Galaxy Online game! More information on this new game in the interview below.

 

OnRPG: Hello and thank you for giving us the opportunity to talk with you guys. It’s been more than a year since you launched your first ever self-designed game. How has Galaxy Online been faring so far?
Hello, thank you for your interviewing. As IGG’s first simulation game, Galaxy Online has been a great success. Since its debut in the first quarter of 2009, Galaxy Online has attracted more than 1 million players.

 

Galaxy Online

 

OnRPG: Are you satisfied with the lengths the game has gone since the start of its operations back in 2009? Why do you think so?
Yes, we are very satisfied. In contrast with RPGs, balance issues are even more important in simulation games. Since the debut, we’ve adjusted numerical values many times to improve balance. At first, players were usually tentative about taking part in battles. Now we often see groups of players working together to prepare for large-scale faction warfare. Players have become more and more experienced as Galaxy Online has become better and better, which we’re happy to see.

 

OnRPG: IGG has been handling a lot of online games prior to Galaxy Online. Can you say that the experience you gained from handling other games help shape the game to what it is now? Can you give us examples where this was applied?
Galaxy Online does not have many things in common with traditional MMOs. Nevertheless, our experience in handling RPGs has taught us a lot about how to improve both customer service and the gaming environment. In addition to learning from past experiences, we’re always exploring new ways to make improvements to Galaxy Online.

 

OnRPG: What were the changes made in the game since we last interviewed you guys in October 2009?
There have been many changes in Galaxy Online since last October. As a science fiction game, the ship hulls and science aspects are probably the features that players are most excited about in Galaxy Online. Since last October, we’ve added dozens of new hulls to the game. When designing new hulls, we naturally take into account players’ suggestions but also draw inspiration from the latest technological advances to make the game feel even more real. We think this provides the players with a better gaming environment. We’ve also added 10 new commanders. When designing commanders we put a lot of focus on balance issues, since a powerful commander can have a big impact on the game. So far, the additional hulls and commanders have satisfied most players.

 

Galaxy Online
New Hulls

 

OnRPG: How big has the game’s player community grown since the start of operations? Are you satisfied with the numbers you are seeing? Why do you say so?
A total of 1 million players have activated Galaxy Online accounts, and about 500,000 accounts are in use playing Galaxy Online. We’re definitely satisfied with these numbers considering the dominance that RPGs presently have in the market, but we would like to see them continue to improve.

 

OnRPG: How active and vibrant is the community compared to before? Would you say that the current game community is pretty welcoming especially to new players? Why?
Our community is always pretty active, and this is due in large part to the energy that new players bring when they join it. The nature of the game means that new players are usually busy laying the foundation of their Empire, so there is more for them to do. Also, GO puts a lot of emphasis on team play, so when there is a mix of newer and veteran players, we see how the veteran players really embrace their role and help guide and teach the newer players. Communities aren’t born from a template; they need to grow organically and that’s something you can’t simply decide you want. It’s something you have to foster and build. We do that by deliberately mixing the newer players with the veterans, and through our various events and activities. With GO, building a thriving community has been a main focus from day one and we’re proud of what it has grown into.

 

Galaxy Online
New Commander

 

OnRPG:  You’ve just recently opened a new server, Neptune last July 14, what does this mean in terms of player turnout and registration?
The opening of the new server didn’t have much impact on player registration at all. The previous two servers had been available for more than 3 months, and many players told us they wanted a new server where they could have a fresh start. That is partly why we opened the Neptune server on July 14. Most Galaxy Online players are very experienced, so a new server levels the playing field for veterans and new players alike. We firmly believe in the importance of offering new servers to provide the best possible gaming experience.

 

OnRPG: This leads to the next question, what would then be the whole point of merging the Libra and Orion servers when in fact you’ve already planned out the opening of the Neptune server?
By merging the two servers, we can shake up the deadlock between the factions. It also gives veterans more potential allies and rivals with which to interact. Combining the servers offers players new challenges and opportunities, which we feel makes for a better overall gaming experience.

 

OnRPG: Are there plans on increasing the number of game features for Galaxy Online? Or will you retain the current game setup and hold out on any updates till the right time comes? 
We won’t be introducing new features to Galaxy Online because our dev team is currently focused on the development of Galaxy Online II, a new game based on Galaxy Online. The graphics and art style of Galaxy Online II will be quite different from Galaxy Online. We’ve given players several styles of artwork to choose from. Additionally, Galaxy Online II will be available on Facebook and players won’t need to download a client to play it. The features in Galaxy Online II will also differ from those in Galaxy Online. In the new game, we want to make sure players have a better gaming experience in the early phases than they had in Galaxy Online. At the beginning players won’t need focus on building their home galaxy like in Galaxy Online. While developing Galaxy Online II, we’ve been doing a lot of research into science and technology. We’re incorporating a lot of cutting-edge technology in Galaxy Online II to give players a heightened sense of reality. We’re expecting Galaxy Online II to be available on Facebook in about 3 months.

 

Galaxy Online

 

OnRPG: What would then be the right time for Galaxy Online to have any game feature or even game system updates? Why?
As mentioned above we are now focused on developing Galaxy Online II and won’t be updating Galaxy Online in the near future. Since its debut, we’ve received a lot of suggestions and feedback from players. Based on what we learned, we decided the best way to accomplish what we wanted to do was to develop a brand new game. Galaxy Online II will be very different from Galaxy Online, but it will retain the most important features of Galaxy Online, such as the warship design system, commander system, and other favorites.

 

OnRPG: Do you find it hard to keep churning out events for a game like Galaxy Online? Why do you think so?
It can be hard at times to keep churning out events for a simulation game like Galaxy Online, our development and project teams have tirelessly worked to introduce lots of fun activities. Among them, the trans-version battles and pirate counterattack events are especially popular among players. For sheer scale, the trans-version battle is hands down one of our most ambitious events. Our original concept was to find some way to get the English version players to compete against the Chinese version players. Looking back on it now, it seems like a no-brainer to pit these two distinct GO communities, which have virtually no contact otherwise, against each other in an epic competition. It was a true test of differing styles and approaches, and something that we really enjoyed watching. We’ve held the competition twice, with each side taking the top prize once. The pirate counterattack event is only available in the English version, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of our most popular events ever. The concept is simple: each weekend, some computer-controlled pirates launch an attack on random 5-star player galaxies. Players must then fend off these invaders or lose control of their galaxy. The random nature of the attacks and the tough fights the pirates put up lends it a realistic dynamic that is hard to replicate, and one the players seem to enjoy immensely.

 

OnRPG: How have you kept the player interest for this long?
I think the features are what have kept our players interested for so long. Galaxy Online has plenty of interesting and entertaining features that keep the gameplay fun. Our corps and factions system encourages cooperative play, which also helps keep players engaged.

 

Galaxy Online

 

OnRPG:  What’s your plan for players in the succeeding months ahead?
We will be holding various events to keep things fresh, and we’re constantly working to improve customer service, but our main focus will be the development of Galaxy Online II so we can launch it as soon as possible.

 

OnRPG: Would IGG create a new game like Galaxy Online in the future? Why or why not?
That’s what Galaxy Online II is all about. It’s based on Galaxy Online, but is also a brand new game that we think our existing fans will be really excited to play when it goes live.

 

OnRPG: Thank you for the time, but before we end, may we know what’s in store for Galaxy Online players in the weeks ahead?
We will be revealing more information about Galaxy Online II soon. We’re looking forward to welcoming new players to the game and we hope everyone will feel that Galaxy Online II was worth the wait when they finally get a chance to blast off on new adventures.

 

Galaxy Online

Zentia Tour: Have Fire Monkey, Will Travel

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Zentia Tour: Have Fire Monkey, Will Travel
By Jonathan (Ardua) Doyle, OnRPG Journalist

 

In a word, this game is cute. In several words, because “cute” doesn’t quite tell you what you need to know about anything, Zentia is a quick, easy and visually pleasing distraction. Why “cute” for the description? Well from the opening cinematic to the character selection to the tutorial region, it simply is the best descriptor. I must admit most of the time I was unsure why I was doing any given quest beyond the fact that some short guy or guy in a dress insisted I should. Not all is lost though. The game, and it is a game outside my normal experience, lends itself to quick play. Pick it up, knock out a few quests of varying difficulty and put it down. At least that’s how I would approach it. Children however may well eat this up. Your avatar is even a child of sorts and there is a casual ease in picking up a quest, following it to its conclusion and getting your reward.

 

Gameplay

Quests and tools come quiet easily through the Zentia tutorial area and into the Serene City proper. I had some trouble getting used to the static camera view and so opted to swing it around as I felt necessary. Click on a location and off you. Need to get somewhere further afield? Well then you should ask your omniscient pet.

 

Follow the Cat

 

Very quickly you are presented with an egg, mine hatched a cat. No I have no idea why I got a cat from an egg, must have something to do with the fact that it knows the location of everything. Your pet is your helper in all things, but most importantly in travel. If there is underlined text in any quest, click and hit the big friendly button on your pets skill bar and it will autopath you. No more following of the magic yellow arrows for you… well that’s not true you still follow the arrows but the magic egg animal will do it all for you. Not to be out-done, Mulberry Village (your starting area) will soon give you a donkey to make the travel even faster, also from an egg.

 

Skills are responsive, aggro in the tutorial is typically a non issue and lets you get used to your various abilities without eating dirt every time you wander into an unpleasant area. Certainly at this stage in the beta process I have no complaints about the gameplay. Everything was stable and enjoyable on that front.

 

Fire
Fire

 

Visuals and Style

Here is where I am in two minds about Zentia. Visually the game is very appealing. My little fire-mage certainly could break out pretty little flame effects and every so often I’d come across pretty sights and enjoy the eastern vibes. Everything feels like it should for the setting presented. My problem comes in towards the end of the tutorial when you are taken on a flying cloud ride to the Serene City. I was at first very glad to have a little exposition. Helping Mulberry Village was enjoyable but I never really knew why I was doing any of it, so some explanation was more than welcome. Up until the moment the little fat cloud taxi man started talking well… like a taxi man. Little magical Eastern Myth fat cloud men should not be telling me to kick ass and that they will catch me on the flip side. Then again maybe I’m taking it all a little too seriously. What I have seen of Zentia is coherent in its own way, even if the text has been given an unfortunate western spin.

 

Cloud Taxi
Cloud Taxi

 

Wherein Ardy is impressed

I can’t be all negative on the game. Even if my first impression is one of “cute” there were still things that I had not seen before. If you move around many games or even review many, new things are always a pleasure. Of course I know I haven’t seen it all so what I may find new and thus good could be old hat to some of you. First up in Zentia was a tool handed out to all players that would allow them to solicit help from the player base if ever they became stuck on a quest. Having the ability to reward other people for coming to help you where you are stuck is certainly clever and I imagine it will help foster a close game population in the future.

 

Items
Item interface

 

The second thing that popped out at me as clever was the option not to simply give over my various loot bits to a vendor but to peddle them myself. Granted, when push comes to shove, if you need inventory space, heading to the vendor will likely be your primary means of getting cash and unloading your burden. Still the ability to pop up my own little stall filled with items I have come across at prices I have chosen really pleased me. Again this strikes me as something that will bring people together. I was not however impressed by the vanity clothing items I came across. I’m having enough trouble with the cute, you don’t need to make me look like a cross dresser.

 

Zentia
Cross-dresser

 

Final Verdict

Zentia isn’t the game for me, but I never set out thinking it would be. That said however, I can see why it would be the game of choice for many people. It’s clean visuals, clearly explained quests and multitude of class options means that if you aren’t sticking your kids on it (or don’t have any… I don’t suggest borrowing any) it can be quite a pleasant distraction in another window. Set your auto path and go back to writing that serious mail in serious world before popping back to the world of Zentia to set your fire monkey on some deserving bad guys. Ardy says give it a look.

 

Pros:
– Clean and quirky visual style.
– Easy to pick up and progress.
– Plenty of tools given to players.

 

Cons:
– Unfortunately out of place “westernization”
– Certain to be too cute for many.
– No clear reason behind your quest initially.

Soul Master Gets Major Content Update

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Soul Master Gets Major Content Update

 

Starting Today Players Will Be Treated To Three All-New Field Missions And Boss Fights, Leveling Rewards, New Scrolls, Potions And Much More.

 

Leading online game publisher, GamesCampus, today announced that its genre-bending, free-to-play MMORTS, Soul Master will get a major content update today, September 28, 2010. The new content includes Three new missions and boss fights, Exp that is now given per each monster defeated, new Bonus Life and Warehouse Expansion scrolls, a Life Recovery Potion and a new Chat Window.  

 

Soul Master

 

Developed by NPluto, Soul Master is an addictive new game that takes the innovation behind customizable “Hero” units in the RTS genre to a whole new level by allowing players to have complete MMORPG-style control over their characters. “The Soul Master community has continually grown since we launched the open beta in August and we have gotten a lot of feedback on their wants and needs,” said Uyen Uyen Ton Nu, Head of Marketing for GamesCampus.  “The additional features and items in the new update are just some of the exciting new content coming for the game. We look forward to continuing to monitor the community closely as we plan and implement more updates this year.”  

 

Soul Master features a unique combat system that allows players to create structures, progress through technology trees and produce and command units–all while developing a persistent character of their own.  With resource-driven RTS combat, Soul Master allows players to create defensive towers, barricades, resource harvesting structures, and unit production facilities while progressing through simplified, traditional RTS tech-trees that let players focus on strategic, active gameplay in both Team and Free-for-All PvP.  Players will find the game’s PVP highly competitive and a variety of strategies will be necessary for each player to utilize their own strengths in order to win. Players enter the game’s battle lobby and can join teams of up to 6 people and enter Team Vs. Team games or Free For All matches playing against either human opponents or AI controlled characters.

 

Soul Master includes rich item customization systems that enable players to acquire unique stat and skill bonuses both for their personalized avatars, as well as their RTS buildings, production capabilities, and controlled units.  In addition to the robust PvP content, Soul Master features a wide range of PVE scenario modes such as defending objectives, escort missions, co-op challenges, boss raids, and AI RTS battles.

Dreamland Online

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Dreamland Online  is a beautifully made 3D side-scrolling MMORPG. Dreamland Online features attractive anime-style graphics in a world that you can easily immerse yourself in. With an incredible line-up of stylishly cute and cartoonish characters, this game focuses on being fun for every audience. Introduce yourself to an incredible storyline filled with magic and adventure…

Set in a once-peaceful dreamland, this fairy tale world was turned upside-down when Evil Fog brought about a deadly plague. Desperate to save themselves, the people of Dreamland were rewarded for their faith by the appearance of a huge branch of the life tree, known as the Courage Source. The branch pierced the cloud of death and gave the people a special gift: Hero Faith that can endow the brave with power. The people summoned heroes to take up arms and use the power of Hero Faith to defend their homeland from monstrous threats. War has come to Dreamland. Will your hero be ready for the challenge?