Yearly Archives: 2010

New Digital Expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online Launching Fall 2011

New Digital Expansion to The Lord of the Rings Online Launching Fall 2011

 

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment unveiled today The Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard, the latest expansion to the award-winning free-to-play massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) developed by TurbineRise of Isengard will expand the online world of Middle-earth where players will join forces to press further eastward into the legendary region of Isengard.  Rise of Isengard will be available for purchase in the LOTRO Store in the Fall of 2011 with an increased level cap, the new region of Isengard including the legendary tower of Orthanc, enhancements to monster play and much more!

 

Lord of The Rings Expansion

 

“2010 has been a year of unprecedented growth for The Lord of the Rings Online with our successful introduction of a free-to-play option for our players,” said Kate Paiz, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online.  “This is going to be another outstanding year for the game as we progress on our journey toward Mordor and it all begins with our upcoming November update. The journey will carry through 2011 ending with our arrival in the epic region of Isengard where players will confront the raging war and shadow that has spread across Middle-earth.”

 

NEW FEATURES:

Experience the Rise of Isengard – The Epic Story continues as the Grey Company makes its way south into Dunland, but troubles arise as their road takes them into lands where Dunlending forces, marshaled by the Wizard Saruman, prepare for war. The Rangers must seek new allies and face dangerous new foes, chief among them the traitor Saruman, whose web of intrigue threatens to endanger your quest, your friends, and your life.

Increased Level Cap – Players will be able advance their characters up to level 70, gaining access to new traits, virtues, skills and class quests. 

Expanded Monster Play – LOTRO’s monster play system will get a major revamp including opening up the feature to all players, changes to monster player skills and advancement and a brand new region for players to battle for or against the forces of evil.

 

Bloodline Champions Interview: No Crits, All Skill

Bloodline Champions Interview: No Crits, All Skill
Questions by Neil (Murxidon) Kewn, OnRPG Journalist
Answered by Tau Petersson, CEO of Stunlock Studios

 

Bloodline Champions is an exciting arena-based PvP game brought to us by Stunlock Studios, we sat down with Tau Petersson the CEO of Stunlock Studios to ask some questions on this highly anticipated title. 

 

OnRPG: Could you outline the main premise of Bloodline Champions?

Sure. Bloodline Champions is an arena PvP game where player skill and teamplay is the most important factor of them all. We wanted to make an online action-oriented game where there were no random numbers, not target locking, no critical hits. We wanted player skill to be the most important factor.

 

OnRPG: The game is currently in closed beta, how has the reaction been so far?

It’s been very good; the game focus completely on PvP and a lot of players says it’s the kind of PvP game they’ve been waiting on for a long time. That’s really the sort of feedback that we wanted to hear, so we’re very happy. The feedback from the press too has been very positive, which is great.

 

 

Bloodline Champions Halfmoon

 

OnRPG: Comparisons may be drawn between the arena combat in Bloodline Champions and that seen in a lot of massively multiplayer games (World of Warcraft being a prime example), what differentiates the two in terms of core gameplay?

In Bloodline Champions all abilities are aimed, so there’s no target system. This requires a different kind of skill than most MMO PvP and gives a fast paces gameplay that a lot of people seem to find highly entertaining. There’s also no luck or critical hits in Bloodline Champions, to help make sure the best players win. Those are probably the biggest differences, but there are also many other things that sets the two apart.

 

OnRPG: There are three game modes in Bloodline Champions, Arena, Capture the Flag and Conquest. With Arena being the standard no respawn, kill or be killed affair and the second mimicking Capture the Flag, Conquest makes for an interesting gameplay twist. What can players expect from Conquest?

Conquest is a game mode where teams take control over certain point on a map, when you hold all points you keep the enemy team from respawning. So if they don’t manage to get control over one of the points after a certain amount of time or they all get killed, your team wins.

 

OnRPG: Although 1v1 battles are available, team combat is likely to the most anticipated feature of Bloodline Champions, are there any mechanics in place to help teams establish themselves within the game? (Team names, logos, etc.)

To play with a pre-made team in the ladder you get to create a team with a name and a banner. When we get the tournament system implemented their might be even more features available to give your team a proper identity.

 

Bloodline Champions POI

 

OnRPG: The game goes out of its way to remove any element of “chance” from combat (such as critical strike chance), something we see a lot of in MMORPG arena battles, what brought you to this decision?

I guess our designers were tired of losing to luck rather than skill! There are many of those games out there, so we really wanted to differentiate Bloodline Champions from the rest, and making sure it was primarily based on player skill was pretty much the first thing on the list for us.

 

OnRPG: Whilst MMO arena teams may be attracted by Bloodline Champions competitive, skill-based encounters, does the game cater solely for the hardcore?

No, definitely not, the basic game play is very easy to learn which makes the game very fun even if you’re not a hardcore player. It’s a bit like the concept of a fighting game, it’s very easy to play, but you can also get insanely good and competitive in it. I mean I’m really bad at fighting games, I just button mash, but I still enjoy them. Especially when playing with friends, and when you learn one combo it feels great that you’re getting better and better the more you play.

 

OnRPG: Will players new to the genre find themselves swamped in battles with highly skilled players? Is some element of matchmaking in place?

There is matchmaking available, and when you create your own custom games you can choose which grades (in-game measured skill level) people need to be between to enter the game. So in that regard the game is very accessible. People coming into the game for the first time can easily start playing with people their own skill level, which is really important considering the game’s focus on player skill.

 

OnRPG: Are dedicated servers available or will matches be created and managed by individual players?

The game runs completely on dedicated servers, this is to help us prevent cheats and hack since it would ruin a PvP game.

 

OnRPG: One of the most important aspects of any PvP-based game is how well players are protected from cheaters, bots and other malicious activity. What steps have been taken to eliminate the risk posed to both casual and high ranking players?

We run the game on dedicated servers to prevent cheats and such. This gives us the possibility to keep a close eye on the game and if we suspect any type on cheat we’ll set it to our number one priority to put an end to it. We have also implemented features in the code to prevent these types of activities. We continue to work on these aspects throughout beta, as it is important for us to have a fair play environment.

 

 

Bloodline Champions PvP

 

OnRPG: It is unusual for games that emphasize competitiveness and ladder climbing to allow for user generated content, usually to ensure fairness and reduce hacking. Are there plans to allow players to import custom maps, textures and other components into casual or ranked games?

There are no plans for that, no.

 

OnRPG: There are many different roles available to players, split into four classes. Tank, Healing, Ranged Damage and Melee Damage. Add this to the many skills and abilities available to the sixteen individual roles and it could make for some pretty varied encounters. Has it been a struggle to balance classes and class combinations within teams?

It’s very tricky to balance the different bloodlines, we put a lot of time into balancing to try and get it spot on. Since the beta started we also get a lot of help from our players to balance the game. With just 14 people at the studio it gets pretty hard to get it all right when the bloodlines get available to the real players, so then we let them help us out to get the final tweaks done. We tweak the bloodlines every patch to try and make the balance even better, it’s very important to us and the game to have it done right. The feedback we’ve been getting from players so far, though, tells us that balance is very good.

 

OnRPG: How many maps will be available for players when the game goes live?

As it looks now we’re sticking to the 12 maps we have, depending on the workload we might try to find time to develop an extra or two until launch.

 

OnRPG: With the game being developed with the Microsoft XNA Framework, could we see 5v5 arena clashes heading to Xbox 360 or Windows Phone 7 in the future?

It would be great to bring the game to the Xbox 360, but there are no plans for that as of now. You never know, though!

 

OnRPG: When can we expect Bloodline Champions to hit digital shelves?

The launch is planned late 2010/ early 2011.

 

OnRPG: Thank you for your time!

Thank you!

 

Ferion Online Review: Hours Of Fun?

Ferion Online Review: Hours Of Fun?
By Kei Beneza (dividelife), OnRPG Journalist

 

Ferion is an old school MMO browser game that deals with space exploration and governing. Here, players are required to explore the vast depths of space while ruling and arming planets to best their opponents in battle. The game has been around since 1999 (forgive me if I haven’t heard of it) and has been catering the same (awesome) gameplay since it made its debut. Weird enough, the game still has a large player base. It is pretty hard to comprehend as newer (and possibly better) MMOs are also available. I don’t mean to generalize but you know how the nexgen mindset works right? Anyway, the game is rather forward with titles, declaring itself the best of its kind since 1999. An exaggeration? I guess we’ll be the judge of that.

 

Objective Understood!

The object of the game is rather simple: Take over as many planets as you can. This is done by joining arenas that are hosted by the game. It may get pretty messy when competing with veteran players, hence the newbie arenas. This gives players enough time to mass up and learn. One thing that pretty much got my attention was the learning curve. It certainly is a hard game to master, and simply studying it overnight won’t suffice. Unlike other games that throw you in the middle of the battlefield with in game tutorials, this game prefers to keep it old school, advising players to read a long-arse manual before jumping in. Funny enough, the game also offers a hard copy of the in game manual (extra shelf space…). A bit too hardcore for my taste, so I guess the PDF file will have to do. It’s a long read, kind of like of one those Dungeons & Dragons manuals back in the day.

 

Ferion Objective Understood

 

Starting Out

Upon starting the game (provided that you’ve read the manual), players are provided with their pseudo-starter set, complete with your very own planet and settlement ship.

 

Hours Of Fun(?): Queue It!

Yes, that’s right! Hours! Unlike other browser games that allow you to experience your progress, Ferion Online makes you wait a few hours before your units finish their research. It is rather troublesome considering that this is supposed to be a game. Games are supposed to be fun and should keep you entertained through the duration of your playtime rather than make you wait (watches TV). Anyway, that’s just my pet peeve. The game allows players to queue their progress, allowing them to continue their space race even when they’re offline. Another way to quicken the pace is, of course, by enhancing population. This is done by conquering neighboring planets.

 

 

Ferion Hours of Fun?

 

Braniac Mode

The game play is a bit fast paced but eventually puts you on hold. At first you’ll find yourself clicking on various links, researching and building to make use of each tick (hour). The first step to conquering the place is by moving your ship (or Settle Ship) across the map to populate neighboring planets. Note that it gets really hard once you decide to enter the free-for-all arenas as other players will most likely race you to each neighboring planet.

 

Ferion Braniac Mode

Hint: Always aim for the planets closest to you.

 

It’s a battle for supremacy, so you better watch your back and plan 3 steps ahead. Conquering planets is essential in the game as it enhances both your researching ability and your effectiveness in combat. No use fighting a whole galaxy of enemies if you’re just one little planet, yes? It’s actually nice to see a game that demands this form of strategy. It really does feel like you’re the ruler of various planets. It’s like micro-managing at a higher level, with tons of planets and objectives to ponder while preparing for war at the same time.

 

When The Going Gets Tough, Let Someone Else Do It!

Having problems? You can always join alliances, which sort of acts like the Guild system of various MMOs. Unlike other games, joining alliances actually costs you money, through your tax rate. Joining alliances has both its ups and downs. First off, you can instantly be dragged into conflict by other members (especially the shady ones). Secondly, the lack of performance can greatly affect the reputation of your empire. Also, just to clear things up— there is no guarantee that you’ll win on each arena by joining an alliance; however, if you do feel like this group is leading you somewhere, then by all means join. Joining can be pretty expensive for starters, so better take your time going solo before committing to any peace treaties.

 

Cannot Be Considered As Free To Play

I was pretty disappointed when I saw the imbalance spawned by the lack of keys. For those of you who don’t know, keys are acquired through real money. You can still play the game for free but will continue to suck until you finally decide to give in. So what exactly do these keys give? Well, they gives you the ability to access your own arena, which means gaining access to various research items, defenses and units. Let’s face it, it’s practically a free to play MMO sickness! They hook you with sugar-coated cookies and eventually throw you in the fire.

 

The Interface

1999? If this interface existed during that time then it’s pretty good. From a modern perspective, the visuals aren’t that bad, but a bit text heavy at times, especially since you’re bound to read a hefty book upon starting the game. The game has a pretty nice map screen that moves around every time you press the corresponding arrow but I’m not sure if it will suffice. It’s actually not too shabby for an old game… Other than the hefty read (because reading is for school and work), I’m pretty much okay with the whole interface…

 

 

Ferion Interface

 

Verdict

The best since 1999? Maybe! I must say, the game has a serious level of game play. There are tons of things to ponder on, but will most likely be followed by countless hours of waiting. In my opinion, it can actually function as an intermission game rather than a main one. If you’re just going to queue stuff then might as well play something else during this period; still, the game provides a very unique experience, with combat strategies and galactic domination unlike any other. If you’re into games that are hard to learn and have some serious depth, then Ferion is the one for you… if you can take the waiting time that is…

 

Pros

-Broad content
-Alliances
-Pretty good for an old game
-Queue system (how I wish modern browser games could incorporate it)

 

Cons

-Waiting time
-Keys are essential to victory
-Imbalanced at some point
-Not newbie friendly
-Requires lots of reading time

Aerrevan to be released this November 25th!

Aerrevan to be released this November 25th!

 

Today CubeForce Media has announced their Early Adopter release of Aerrevan is poised to be released on November 25th 2010. This Early Adopter release is the first stage of the Aerrevan gold launch, giving players the ability to get a head-start in the world of Lurris for a great deal. Early Adopters of Aerrevan pay only $39.95 for the full Aerrevan client with a special introductory offer of two months of game time free! Early Adopters also gain access to CubeForce Media’s unique community driven development pack system, where customers get to vote on what new content and features the developers add first.

 

Aerrevan OnRPG

 

“We have an ongoing commitment to our customer base in regards to the development of new and exciting content for Aerrevan,” said Project Manager Sean Oosterveen, “Our Early Adopters will clear the path for the future expansion of Aerrevan and will find themselves at the helm of an exciting and dynamic player experience. We plan to work directly with our community to make sure Aerrevan is as good of a game as it can be.”

 

Early Adopter pre-orders are poised to go on sale November 18th 2010. As a special bonus, pre-order customers can reserve up to two character names (available on a first come, first serve basis), and pre-download the game client three days before the launch date! Pre-order customers will also receive one additional month of free game time! The Early Adopter and pre-order deals are only available for a short time, so act now to get three months of game time free. To learn more, visit Aerrevan online at www.aerrevan.com.