Yearly Archives: 2010

Neowiz Games Soars into North America with War of Angels

Neowiz Games Soars into North America with War of Angels

 

Neowiz Games, a global leader in online gaming, is bringing its expertise to North America with the launch of War of Angels, a free-to-play (F2P) massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The epic fantasy online game will be the first title on Neowiz Game’s global publishing efforts. Currently, players can sign up for War of Angels’ upcoming closed beta at the official website.  The website will be the only location to sign up for the upcoming closed beta. Access to the closed beta will be limited and given away on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

 War of Angels

 

“War of Angels is the perfect online gaming experience to kick off our North American expansion,” said John Nam, chief operating officer for Neowiz Games in North America. “The game will create the foundation for online gamers to find Neowiz Games as the next go-to destination for great online entertainment. Neowiz Games will share its great social and entertainment experience with North American gamers with War of Angels and other upcoming free-to-play online games.”

 

War of Angels is a high fantasy MMORPG situating players in a colossal struggle between good and evil. Players must choose their destiny as they battle to aid or prevent the resurrection of the evil fallen angel, Dertgotz. Gamers who engage in this epic tale will find a distinctive experience with several dynamic features:

 

– City Construction­ – Guilds can occupy locations, set up merchant stores to gain profit and branch out with their own cities. As economic activity takes place, guilds may find themselves in constant battle to control vital trade hubs from their neighbors.
– Good vs. Evil – Players will be enraptured in the core of War of Angels content, which enables players to develop their characters as either good or evil. Certain points throughout the game will determine a character’s alignment based on their actions. Upon completing the main story quest, players will be judged as good or evil, which opens up end-game player-versus-player options (PvP). Once alignment is determined, characters are locked in constant battle during quests and while hunting monsters in high level areas of the map.
– Deathblow Attacks – Turn the tide of battle with savage attacks. Player build the deathblow gauge by successfully wounding ferocious monsters, eventually unleashing different levels of devastating attacks when it’s needed most.
– Expansive Crafting System – As players level up their characters they will gain the ability to enchant their weapons and armor. Additionally, the unique Constellation system allows players to create exceptional and powerful items that are not attainable through enchanting alone.
– Item Store – Players can purchase many items via War of Angel’s online marketplace. As players gain Honor points within the Good/Evil systems, rare items will become available for purchase.

 

Though War of Angels is Neowiz Games’ first title for North America, the company is no stranger to the North American online gaming market. Neowiz is the powerhouse behind several online games in North America such as AVA, Soldier Front, S4 League, MLB Dugout Heroes and CrossFire. Neowiz Games has also enjoyed a strategic alliance with leading game publisher, Electronic Arts, since 2007. During the partnership, Neowiz co-developed and managed the following IPs in Asia, including FIFA Online 1 and 2, NBA Street and Battlefield Online.

 

War of Angels

Legend of Edda Tour – Greek Mythology Never Looked so Adorable!

Legend of Edda Tour – Greek Mythology Never Looked so Adorable!
By Michael Sagoe (mikedot), OnRPG Journalist
Tour guide: Henry Law (1eleven1), Producer for Legend of Edda

 

GameCampus’ latest title is putting a new spin on Greek Mythology with cute and adorable action. Legend of Edda (LOE) is an MMORPG centered on the Greek Mythology pertaining to the Gods of Olympus and the Titans. Players will chose to join either the Gods or the Titans and engage in small scale story quests that shed light on the conflict, or participate in huge wars for treasure and supremacy.

 

Tour start

When I first logged on, I was given three different characters at my disposal: A swordsman, an assassin and a wizard. Just looking at these characters made me D’AWWW just a bit, despite two of them being armed to the teeth (literally!) with equipment. With these kinds of games, I typically go with playing as the first character I see, so I picked the knight.

 

Legend of Edda

 

I was dumped into the starting town of Gaiyan after selecting my character and took the time to obverse the place as I waited for the GameCampus staff to show up. I noticed that LOE’s game world was permanently set in an isometric position and the game’s camera can only be zoomed in and out. The isometric game world mixed with the chibi character models reminded me a lot Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for the Nintendo DS.

 

After my little stroll through the town, I was greeted by Henry Law (1eleven1), producer for LOE. He gave me a little insight on what makes LOE so special: While the game contains content and game modes that would be found in any typical MMO, such as dueling, guild battles and such, modes such as sacred treasure wars are completely unique to LOE and will have you hooked after your first battle.

 

While the game has a heavy focus on PvP content, the PvE content will also provide an enjoyable experience. Curious on how well the PvE aspect would hold up, we decided to do a quick dungeon run. In Gaiyan town, there was an angelic warrior statue available that allowed us to warp to a dungeon zone nice and easy. The dungeon had a simple objective of simply defeating the boss as fast as possible while destroying any enemies that got in the way. When we first got in, I wanted 1eleven1 to lead, but that was kind of silly for me to ask since I was the tank and he was the healer…

 

Anyway: We had to do battle with some nasty toad warriors, toad archers and even a toad samurai!

 

Legend of Edda

 

1eleven1 mostly stood in the back and to the left, healing me when I was in need and so I returned the favor by provoking any enemies that got near him. After all the side enemies were taken care of, it was time to take on the King of Toads: Tsathoggua! (Tentative name, of course.) The boss was pretty tough, but it was no match for me and my skills (and by skills, I mean my amazing attack spamming and potion guzzling!) After we defeated the big boss toad, we were graded on our performance in the dungeon and earn a B rank with ease.

 

Legend of Edda
Boss battle

 

It wasn’t quite time for the next PvP event to begin, so after completing the dungeon,  we decided to head back in for another one. Only this time, another player joined in on our party: Shogun4, a knight player who is a part of the GameCampus staff and is a part of the LOE localization team.  Running through the second dungeon was also filled with evil toads all over the place. Still, it was a total breeze for us.

 

While the PvE dungeons were pretty enjoyable, it was now time for the main event: The Sacred Treasure war. On the top right hand corner of the screen, right next to the mini-map, there’s a special button you can press that shows you when and where sacred treasure wars are happening. Me and 1eleven1 jumped into an active war that was already filled with a moderate amount of players. The objective of sacred treasure wars was to capture crystal points all over the map. These matches can last from 5 to 30 minutes depending on how well each team plays out.

 

Throwing caution to the wind, I ran out just to see how many players I could take down. Like I mentioned before, my knight character was pretty decked out to take damage like nobody’s business, so I was able to defeat at least ten dudes before having my HP lowered below 10%. Before that moment, players from my faction rushed in, healed me back up, and gave me a physical barrier buff, so I was all like “IT’S ON NOW, FOOLS!” and I ran back in and took down another ten players afterwards.

 

I was feeling pretty invincible for that moment, but I would quickly learn my place when they summed some mystic guardian on my behind. That thing took me down with only a few swings!

 

Legend of Edda

 

After my death, I respawned back in and went around assisting other players. Several minutes into the war, it ended with my faction, the Titans, winning by a huge margin (although, my faction was largely stacked and outnumbered the Gods easily.) Of course, everyone else in the faction did the real work with capturing crystals. As for me, I just wanted to kill some dudes. The entire war was on a pretty moderate scale, so I can only imagine how hectic battles will get with tons of players participating.

 

Tour conclusion

So the tour ended with me feeling pretty good about the whole concept LOE has going for it. While it takes Greek mythology in a direction that no one would ever think about taking it, the visuals and PvP is definitely something to get hyped about if you’re a diehard MMO PvP’er that happens to like cute stuff.

 

Check out the Legend of Edda closed beta over at http://legendofedda.gamescampus.com/ 

Soul Order Online

Soul Order Online is a MMORPG with full 3D visual angle.  It has good definition but low PC requirements, fancy graphics and shocking skill effects.  It has a fantastic background of ancient Oriental Legend.

There are two opposite realms: Fairy Land and Demon Land in the game, and these two realms have many chances to launch fierce fights and free PvP.  There are five different class properties in each realm, various inherences, skills and different weapons will customize your character.

Game Features:
1. Soul system which includes mysterious Souljewels, gorgeous Soultreasures and soul refinery will give you a novel experience. 

2. Feat system is a system for dungeon.  Player will get corresponding benefit after he/she finish a certain percentage complete.

3. Battlefield system provides a relatively formal war between two realms.  This system includes protecting Life Cup, maneuvering Gun Bogie, scrambling for Treasure Box, accumulating honor points and getting Battlefield rewards, it’s a good time to test tactics.

4. Damage Statistics system will collect damage output data of your attack.  You can collect and compare these data and optimize your fighting mode.  Other data statistics will be added according to players’ need in the future. 

It’s free to play, and players will make worldwide friends.

Motion Control in MMORPGs – Why It Just Won’t Work

Motion Control in MMORPGs – Why It Just Won’t Work
Neil Kewn (Murxidon), OnRPG Journalist

 

Whatever console you pledge your allegiance to, there’s no questioning that the new motion control gadgetry developed by Microsoft and Sony is pretty impressive. PlayStation Move tracks player movement with pinpoint accuracy, Xbox Kinect is a striking display of camera trickery and motion sensing technology. The hype machine has been put into overdrive as gamers prepare for a new wave of motion controlled games and gadgets spurred on by immense publicity and awe-inspiring tech demos. With the popularity of the Nintendo Wii seemingly floundering, it remains to be seen whether or not Sony’s wands and Microsoft’s cameras can rejuvenate the motion sensing scene and convince hardcore gamers that it isn’t all casual platforming and family-oriented sports games.

 

But what about PC gamers? There’s little sign of any motion control contraptions heading to PC anytime soon. Perhaps the humble desktop just doesn’t appeal to the average family as a group gaming activity. Whatever the case; the motion sensing bandwagon has garnered quite a number of followers over the past few years, and some have been questioning the possibility of having your hand waving and arm flapping recognized and mimicked in your favorite MMORPG.

 

Massively Multiplayer Motion Controlled Online Roleplaying Games

Nintendo Wii first brought motion controlled gaming into people’s homes what seems like an eternity ago. Hoping to replicate the success of Nintendo’s little white box, Microsoft and Sony are gearing up to unleash a new generation of motion control products that frankly eclipse the Wii in terms of game play possibilities and sheer technology. Coming off the back of this year’s E3, interest in the two devices has never been higher. Whilst the games on show look the part, and the previews, demos and trailers promise full interaction and feedback, they’re just not as complicated as your average MMORPG. Whilst swapping your keyboard and mouse for your whole body would certainly make an interesting change, I can’t help but shake the feeling that even translating the simplest of MMORPG dynamics into a form where your body controls the action is a mammoth task.  A task which if even possible, would strip away the depth and fluidity of MMO games.

 

Guild Wars 2
Guild Wars 2 – Too complex for motion control?

 

On the face of things, MMORPGs are hugely complex video games. Everything inside a persistent online world spells “immense”. The world is huge and the game play is complex. There are hundreds upon hundreds of abilities, activities and actions that can be performed in any of today’s MMO games – each of which has an effect and a consequence. Cast a line and you catch some fish. Attack a grizzly and it mauls you. Taking things back to basics, and from a player’s point of view, your impact on the game is realized by hitting a key and watching as your character performs the appropriate action. It probably isn’t too much of a logistical nightmare to transfer a keystroke to a hand swipe, but that is just one ability. There are countless other skills and crafts that must have their own individual, unique gesture which needs to be at least somewhat comparable to what their level 67 necromancer is doing on screen.

 

Full motion control – 360 degrees of pure mayhem

Full motion control is the idea that whatever you do with your hands, arms or other parts of your anatomy, is replicated to the fullest extent in game. The gestures you make, whether it be swinging a sword, drinking a potion or looting a corpse, is not only mimicked with the utmost accuracy on screen with your own character, but to the other players in your vicinity. Xbox Kinect, and to some degree PlayStation Move, will encounter a huge problem if they take any of their games online. How does one translate full body movement from an actual human, to a virtual avatar that up until now, got by just fine with a set of predetermined animations? The server-side mechanisms that must be employed for this to be successful boggle the mind. In the already unpredictable world of MMORPGs, giving players this much freedom with their character can only lead to one thing. Disaster. One huge incoherent mess where players make up their own gestures, instead of replicating what developers should implement from the start. And we still haven’t figured out how to make our character walk.

 

Kinect
Kinect – An impressive piece of kit, but not for MMOs

 

Partial motion control – Costly, and I don’t mean your monthly subscription

A more practical, and more sane, approach to massively multiplayer motion controlled online roleplaying games (MMMCORPG, I should probably trademark that) should entail the use of programmed animations for actions that are triggered by a players body movement. As shown in the PlayStation Move promotional trailer, firing an arrow involves grabbing behind and making the appropriate actions like you were in fact wielding a bow. The same premise would be applied to sword swinging, spell casting, weapons crafting (hammering a shield over an anvil, for example) and any other of the hundreds of abilities. Yet that’s where the problem lies. There are just too many actions to replicate in your modern MMO. There needs to be some element of button pressing for motion controlled MMORPGs to be feasible, and even then, the game must be stripped down dramatically in order to justify the absence of your average 101 key keyboard.

 

PS Move
How fast can you fire an arrow?

 

If it ain’t broken, don’t replace it with motion sensors

Unfortunately, there are still other potentially game-crippling problems that need to be addressed. Every player is different, so naturally, the time it takes for any player to perform a gesture can vary. This could conceivably give some players a huge disadvantage when playing an MMO. If it takes one person four seconds to unsheathe and swing a virtual sword, but it only takes another player two, someone is heading for another unjustifiable corpse run.

 

In all likelihood, MMORPGs controlled via motion sensors will make their way to market eventually. Whether it be on a console, or a PC, it’s clear that huge sacrifices will have to be made for it to be hypothetically possible. In my opinion, there is little chance of today’s mainstream MMOs ever getting the motion sensing treatment. There needs to be a new kind of MMO, one that is scaled back so much that hand gestures can replace the plethora of keystrokes we are accustomed to today. This means that there won’t be hundreds upon hundreds of abilities to perform, or a wide selection of professions to master. In essence, it would be a casual MMORPG, and isn’t “casual” what motion sensing technology is all about?

Questionable EVE attack deals 30 billion ISK in damage

Questionable EVE attack deals 30 billion ISK in damage

 

It’s often said that EVE Online is a game that revolves around PvP. Even people who engage only in PvE aren’t safe from the wrathful influence of other pilots. Players are almost forced to compete with each other in a ruthless open sandbox where all the rules are thrown out the window.

 

Eve Ship

 

Even in the relative safety of high-security space, the threat of harm isn’t completely removed. Scams, spies, corporate infiltrations and suicide attacks are a common occurrence in New Eden, forcing players to stay aware of their surroundings and exercise good judgment. This week, a player by the name of Solarius became the unfortunate target of EVE‘s more ruthless player element. Solarius, CEO of Quantanamo Corporation, was running missions in high-security space in his Paladin when players destroyed his ship in a coordinated suicide attack.

 

What makes this particular suicide attack special is the sheer magnitude of the loss. Solarius had fit the ship with an impressive array of rare and expensive officer modules, putting the total value of his ship at over 30 billion ISK. Since a destroyed ship drops around half of its modules as loot, flying a ship with such an expensive setup is almost guaranteed to draw some unwanted attention.

 

Eve Details

 

Pilots from the corporations Honorless Internet Jerks, Ex Obscuritas, Suddenly Ninjas, Alarm Clock Corp and Defner.org jointly participated in the attack and split the proceeds from the loot. To put the magnitude of this kill into perspective, 30 billion ISK could currently buy over 80 PLEX, which is around seven years of game time. To buy the same number of PLEX with cash would cost over $1200 U.S., making this a costly warning to all EVE players that you’re never completely safe in New Eden.

 

Source: link.

Iris Online to Enter Closed Beta Testing on October 15th

Iris Online to Enter Closed Beta Testing on October 15th

 

Leading free-to-play online game publisher Gala-Net, Inc., is excited to announce that their much anticipated gypsy-themed MMO, Iris Online, will be entering its Closed Beta Test (CBT). The CBT will run from October 15th through October 29th and will allow players to explore 3 different races, 6 classes, 11 zones, 2 dungeons, 2 different PvP modes, and levels 1 through 40.

 

Airship

 

Players are eligible to register for CBT keys on the official Iris Online Website until Thursday, October 14th. Users who have already pre-registered will be receiving their beta keys today, as well as bonus keys for three friends! We also have a limited number of keys distributed to our media partners.   We encourage players to sign-up early, as space is limited and granted on a first come first serve basis! The CBT game client will be available for download starting on Friday, October 15th and will also be available.

 

Don’t miss out on getting the first peek into this season’s most charmingly addictive MMO! Trust us, everyone loves Iris and you will too!

 

Lycan

EA Employee on Why Warhammer Failed

EA Employee on Why Warhammer Failed


A soon to be former employee of EA Bioware/Mythic has written a very lengthy post on why he or she believes Warhammer Online has failed.

 

“I would think myself to be part of some noble cause, like the original EA Spouse trying to save her husband from a hellish work environment at EA. That had a happy ending, however, with tons of publicity and a total change of overtime wages and salaries and how they are handled within the company. I do not expect a happy ending, so I’ll be personal and selfish, and this is just for me.


So just call me EA Louse.”


The poster pulls absolutely no blows and gets quite personal at times:

 

“My boss who will not be named, again and again would tell us that Rob Denton, one of the original owners, said we should “do this” and “do that” and we would say “omg it makes NO sense, please explain A, B, and C to him. “And then he’d come back and tell us, after we thought he had gone to talk with him,” No, Rob wants in this way. Jeff agrees, this is what we’re going to do. Understood? ” They never actually talked back to Rob. We didn’t talk back to them.


Rob said jump, our leaders said, “How high?! And on who?”

 

A soon to be former employee of EA Bioware/Mythic has written a very lengthy post on why he or she believes Warhammer Online has failed

 

And the bit about Paul Barnett is just plain nasty:

 

“Oh yeah, and he needed Paul Barnett. You know him as the crazy British dude that appears in random videos at EA to promote his latest bullshittery. We know him as the crazy British dude who we have no idea of how he still has a job. This man was supposed to be the savior of Warhammer’s vision and design. Now all he can do is promote his strange ideas about his little secret project web Ultima game that’s been almost universally criticized by all of us and focus groups. What’s that? You didn’t know Paul loves one of those old Ultima games sooooo much he’s making a literal copy of it for Facebook? Well, the cats outta the bag. Too bad it sucks ass.”


The discussion in the comments very quickly gets very heated and there are some interesting revelations in there as well, particularly this one describing why famed Community Manager Sanya left the company:

 

“Wow, Sanya. That was a long time ago.


Yeah, that was actually not Rob Denton. That was her having a fierce, loud fight with Mark Jacobs about forum postings. Sanya had a very hard line stance on developers posting on the boards.


They shouldn’t. That’s community’s job. <- Is what I’m sure she would say.


But Mark Jacobs, who loved posting, especially about things he couldn’t guarantee and made our lives hell because he would essentially promise them, did not like having to play by her rules. She totally called him out on it in an embarrasing way and too many people at the company knew about it, so she was out the door.”


Ah, Games Industry Drama, will we ever bore of it?

 

Source: EA Louse Blog

Eve Online Announces Commissioned Officer Edition

Eve Online Announces Commissioned Officer Edition

 

CCP has announced a new boxed retail edition for EVE Online. This fall, the sci-fi MMORPG will be arriving in an updated retail package with exceptional support for new pilots in the EVE Online: Commissioned Officer Edition.

 

This latest boxed edition will include an exclusive in-game item, the Cerebral Accelerator, which is a military-grade implant that significantly increases a new pilot’s skill development. While they are a very strong boost to nearly all abilities, these bonuses are temporary and are only effective for the first 30 days of a pilot’s life as they get up to speed in the universe.

 

CCP has announced the EVE Online: Commissioned Officer Edition

 

The Commissioned Officer Edition also includes a CD key for starting a new account, 30 days paid game subscription time and an EVE poster with helpful hints and tips for getting started on the reverse side. This edition can be used to start a new account or to convert a free trial or buddy program trial account into a full account with the access and benefits afforded to all EVE subscribers. The Cerebral Accelerator will be delivered to the first character created on the account and cannot be acquired through any other source.

 

“The Commissioned Officers Edition is the best way for a new player to get a running start in the highly competitive environment of EVE Online” says Sr. Producer Arnar Gylfason.

 

CCP has partnered with Atari for publishing and distribution of EVE Online: Commissioned Officer Edition in North America. EMEA market publishing and distribution plans of this edition will be announced at a later date.

 

The Commissioned Officer Edition can be pre-ordered at a number of leading game retailers. This edition, the finest ever for a new EVE pilot just getting started, will not be available via digital distribution.

WWII Online – Battleground Europe

Set in World War II Western Europe, WWII Online: Battleground Europe is a brutally realistic MMO featuring hundreds of towns and cities in a huge, zone-less map where battles rage for days and campaigns for weeks. Choose to fight alongside the axis or allies against thousands of players and advance your character rank to unlock equipment and permissions. With over 100 weapons and vehicles accurately modeled and utilizing military-grade physics, every soldier can make a measurable contribution in the battle for victory!