Yearly Archives: 2011

Vindictus Prepares Episode 8, Promise Succubus and Glas

Vindictus to Release Episode 8, Succubus Boss, August 3rd!

 

 

The epic conclusion of the rebellion at Ortel castle arrives August 3rd with the Episode 8, part 2 content update for Vindictus. Players should be excited to know that a new quest, a new dungeon and two deadly raid bosses are just over the horizon.

 

After the tragic close to the rebellion, things seem to be getting back to normal at Ortel Castle. Keaghan, the childhood friend of many of the Mercenaries and now a high ranking commander in the Royal Army, stills feels as though something is amiss and continues investigating. Throughout the castle, it seems as though the other commanding officers are trying to hide a dark secret from Keaghan. It is up to the mercenaries to help Keaghan uncover the truth and find the true motive behind the rebellion.

 

New Dungeon: Ainle Catacombs

The upcoming content update allows players to explore the dark depths of the Ainle Catacombs in search of answers. What deadly challenges lay in wait for our mercenaries?

 

 

New Raid Bosses

The beautiful yet deadly Succubus will soon make her debut in the world of Vindictus. Strength alone might not be enough to prevail this time – players will need strong willpower to resist the temptations of this beautiful mistress. Lock away your hearts for this seductress will find a way to take it and use it against you.

 

 

A new threat of an entirely different variety also awaits players. All the pain and suffering that players have experienced up until now is nothing compared to the horrors that the demonic colossal Glas Ghaibhleann has endured. Now that he will be released from his prison, nothing will keep Glas from taking his vengeance.

 

Be sure to check out the new Trailer HERE to see both of these fantastic boss battles in action!

Star Wars: TOR, Should I be Excited?

Should I Be Excited for Star Wars: The Old Republic?

By: Vincent Haoson, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

It goes without saying that the Star Wars franchise is the most overused name in the video game industry. Time and time again we’ve been given Star Wars games (and spinoffs) that have been bearable to downright bad. Of course there have been different attempts to incorporate the Star Wars universe into something that’s playable, since the universe itself is well suited to be made into a very immersive game- it’s just that there are only a few Star Wars titles that were any good.

 

And now we have another Star Wars game coming out, and this time it’s another MMORPG. Now the question is, should we be really excited for this? Would it mean that we have to suffer through another Star Wars MMO?

 

 

In fairness to Star Wars Galaxies (the first Star Wars MMO), the game had a lot of potential. The game gave us the options and choices we don’t normally have in any Star Wars game. However, as the game progressed, certain decisions by the company that handled the game (I won’t be dropping the name of that company because it’s pretty obvious who it is) ruined it for the players. Of course I still acknowledge the dedication the game’s remaining player base has, but even Lucas had to pull the plug of SWG for TOR.

 

We then have BioWare making the newest Star Wars MMO. Should we then be excited? Hell yeah we should.

 

Now, I’m not much of a hardcore Star Wars fan. I loved episodes 4-6 while taking episodes 1-3 with a grain of salt. I’ve never immersed myself in the novels but I have had the experience of playing through a lot of the Star Wars games and even researched some notable characters in the Star Wars universe (Mace Windu fan right here). If you mention any game related to Star Wars figurative ears would perk up in excitement. I am glad that my enthusiasm for Star Wars games has not dissipated through the years- but with TOR, I’m more excited than usual.

 

 

One of main reasons why my excitement is greater for TOR is that BioWare is the one developing the game. Who would be better suited to create a new Star Wars game than the company who brought us one of the most memorable Star Wars game in history? Of course a lot of people who have been paying attention to BioWare would know that the company is treading on unknown territory because this will be their first actual attempt in the MMO genre. I myself have that nagging apprehension ever since I heard they’d be handling the reins on this one.

 

BioWare is known to create tons of great story-driven games. And seeing that the genre they’re going into rarely cares for storyline- we are left to wonder what would BioWare do with SWTOR? In fact, we’re left to wonder how they will incorporate storytelling into a genre that throws away stories because it’s too darn hard to maintain a flowing storyline. We then hear BioWare promising that every player would get their own story in TOR! No company would even dare to deliver that, including Blizzard, since most of the MMOs that have a player story comes from RP-ing or players who have the gift of wordsmithing.

 

 

I personally want to see how BioWare will try and deliver their promise. The company has proven time and time again that they can really spin a good tale, and I want to see them try and apply their magic into the MMO scene. If they are able to do this perfectly, I’m seeing that this is the biggest push the MMO industry, which has been stagnating lately, needs.

 

 

Aside from wanting to see how BioWare would pull this off, I actually love some of the features that BioWare has included in TOR. The most noteworthy for me is the space combat. I actually liked the route BioWare went with on this one. As a big Rogue Squadron fan, I really expected space combat in TOR to have the same intensity as I experienced in that old PC game. With the video I saw during E3 I felt that rush and I love the sheer beauty the space combat has. I also liked how BioWare expected that space combat could be tedious and that not all players would love to keep on shooting down ships so they made space combat as an optional “mini-game” for players.

 

 

The job classes on the other hand are satisfactory for me since most of them are the classes that I expected in a Star Wars game. What I really want to see is how they fare in actual combat since BioWare is boasting that they are trying to make your character look and feel as an action star from a Star Wars movie would. Would my Jedi knight fight with the acrobatic dexterity that has often left my mouth agape whenever I watch Jedi battles? Would I be able to see the smuggler in all his/her gun slinging glory?

 

 

The other thing that made me excited for TOR is the dedication of the people backing the game. The TOR community is huge even if the game is still under development. As a person who has had experience both as a player and as someone behind the operations of an MMO, the lifeblood of any online game is its community, and TOR indeed has that, in spades.  Speaking of the community, BioWare even has a special pre-launch guild program to bolster TOR’s guilds.

 

 

I always believed that a game company that knows how to take care of its community knows what it is doing, and BioWare has been known to foster a great community even before the TOR project.

 

As a person who is looking for the next MMO to spend both my money and time on, I’m pretty psyched for TOR. I trust BioWare enough to be able to deliver a lot of their promises. With my experience in their games such as KotoR, Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age Origins I think that my trust is well founded that they would make TOR into a great Star Wars game. Though of course I still have my doubts and concerns but I’m giving Bioware the benefit of the doubt after they proved time and

 

But rest assured if I’m disappointed in this game, my review will be far more spiteful than a death by Force choking!

Star Wars: The Old Republic Release Date Narrowed, Beta Access to Begin Soon

Star Wars: The Old Republic Release Date Narrowed, Beta Access to Begin Soon

 

 

 

EA has made a short announcement that beta testing for their highly anticipated Star Wars MMO will begin in September! These beta tests will be open to selected players from around the world, so those following the game closely might get in on this great chance! This tests will likely be short lived as EA predicts a 2011 release date for SW:TOR based on current development estimates.

 

 

Also as of yesterday, EA has begun taking pre-orders for both the collector’s edition and standard edition. The Standard Edition is retailing at ~$60 and the Collector’s Edition at ~$150.

 

Pre-ordering the game nets you a redemption code that will unlock early game access and an in-game color stone to change your weapon’s effect.

 

BioWare boss Ray Muzyka explained that EA was deliberately limiting supply at launch “to ensure that players easily transition into the servers”.

 

“So whether you’re waiting to join the Empire or the Republic, pre-order now to ensure you can enter the galaxy at launch!”

Realm of the Titans CB Date Made Official!

Realm of the Titans CB Date Made Official

 

 

 

Aeria Games today revealed that its hotly anticipated action strategy title Realm of the Titans will begin Closed Beta testing on July 27, 2011.

 

 

Realm of the Titans (RotT) delivers thrilling PvP gameplay inspired by a popular Warcraft 3 custom mod called Defense of the Ancients (DotA). Die-hard DotA fans helped grow the niche sub-genre into a specialized cache of titles, referred to as Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games. ROTT blends the competitive essence of DotA / MOBA games with a few inspired twists designed to keep novices and veterans alike on their toes.

 

 

Realm of the Titans’ features:

 

Created by DotA Pros Designed by dedicated DotA fans, RotT brings back such popular DotA tactics as “deny” yet sizzles with new features, including flying mounts and epic Titan skills.

Intense PvP Action – RotT’s matchmaking is meticulously formulated to create balanced, edge-of-your-seat 5v5 matches. An added bonus, the bot system ensures teams are never down a player if someone quits.

Epic Heroes & Skills Choose from an all-new roster of ferocious heroes. Every hero is equipped with 3 basic skills and an Ultimate. Once in-game, further boost your hero with a selection of Titan skills. Titan skills automatically level up every 10 minutes and can be switched during the game to keep the action coming.

Loaded with Content – Take advantage of a ton of game features, including two map options, the AMP system, Titan skills, and a helpful ‘Recommended Items’ shop feature.

 

And of course, OnRPG still has plenty of coverage coming for Realm of the Titans prior to next Wednesday! Last night ColbyCheeze and I went head to head against the pro DotA players of MOBAcast and held our own in a grueling 50 minute showdown on Titan’s Eye. Look forward to the video highlights of that as well as my final Early Access column on Realm of the Titans before July 27th!

MapleStory Releases Much Anticipated PvP Modes!

MapleStory Releases Long Awaited PvP Expansion

 

 

 

This summer Maple World has been thrown for a loop with Chaos, a series of massive content updates that has added a whole new flavor to MapleStory. This week MapleStory ushers in the Age of Battle, an update that introduces players to the highly anticipated PVP battle mode.

 

 

Age of Battle will give players a chance to face off head to head in multifaceted, no-holds-barred competition. Players will be able to earn EXP as well as Battle points, which can be exchanged for Gallant Emblems. These Gallant Emblems can be taken to the new Battle Square zone to purchase unique items that can be used in during PVP battle.

 

MapleStory’s PVP mode will be split up into game types: Free-for-All and Team Match. During free-for-all matches, up to eight players will be tossed into a chaotic battle where everyone battles each other for supremacy. Team Match will pit two teams of three to six players against each other wherein strategy and communication will prove crucial to victory.

 

 

Players looking to beat the competition will be able to participate in the various PVP mode leagues, which are ranked based on players’ character levels. Players level 30 and above will fall under the rookie league; Gladiators level 70 and above will battle each other; level 120 characters and above will participate in the Veteran league, and characters level 180 and above will battle each other in the Legend League. Veteran and Legend League fighters will be permitted to use all of their skills while Rookie and Gladiator players can employ their 2nd jobs and 3rd jobs respectively.

 

 

While Age of Heroes is already the third content patch to hit this summer, there is still plenty more in store for Chaos. Players can expect to find out more information about upcoming content additions in the next few weeks.

AQ Worlds Hosts ArcAttack Event This Friday

Adventure Quest Worlds Hosts ArcAttack Event This Friday

 

 

 

Artix Entertainment announced that it will be hosting an in-game event featuring the music-and-lightning band ArcAttack this Friday, July 22nd at 7 PM EDT in the hit MMORPG AdventureQuest Worlds.

 

 

ArcAttack is a musical band that does live electronic rock performances using traditional musical instruments including a guitar and bass as well as two Singing Tesla Coils (devices used as musical instruments that emit sound and electricity). One member of the band wears a Faraday Suit (a mesh suit that allows the wearer to work with live high-voltage electricity without the risk of electrocution) and touches the lightning coming off the Singing Tesla Coils, directing it in different directions.

 

 

In AdventureQuest Worlds this Friday, all the members of ArcAttack are being held hostage by Vordred, an ultra-powerful boss bent on turning the entire world undead. Vordred is forcing ArcAttack to use their Singing Tesla Coils to charge him up into an even more powerful form. It will be up to the player to interfere with Vordred’s plan before he becomes unstoppable. But this will be very dangerous. If Vordred senses something going wrong with the experiment, he will destroy everyone.

 

The event will feature lots of electricity, all-new zones, quests, cut-scenes, and Event Rare items including armors, weapons, helms, and pets! Each new zone will play ArcAttack’s music. This event will become a permanent in-game content, but the rare items will only be available for two weeks.

 

AdventureQuest Worlds needs your help! No matter your age or level, everyone is invited to attend this very special event and stop Vordred.

 

WHAT: ArcAttack Musical Event

 

WHEN: Friday, July 22nd, 2011 @ 7 PM (EDT)

 

WHO: ArcAttack, the AE Team, & YOU!

 

WHY: To stop Vordred from using ArcAttack’s Singing Tesla Coils to charge up into an unstoppable form.

 

WHERE: In-game at www.AQ.com

Crimecraft Expansion Interview

Crimecraft: Bleedout Expansion Interview

by Bryan King, OnRPG Journalist

Answered by Executive Producer Michael Mendheim

 

 

I recently had to chat with Crimecraft developer Vogster Entertainment about its newest Bleedout expansion, and how it’s all been going so far. The episodic releases of content have meant a surge of new and returning players alike, so OnRPG turns its spotlight towards the current state of the game, and July’s major update.

 

 

OnRPG: Hey Michael, for those who aren’t familiar with you, please introduce yourself to readers.


My name is Michael Mendheim and I’m Executive Producer of CC: Bleedout. Some past games I’ve produced / directed include, Robocalypse, BattleTanx, Army Men, Def Jam and Mutant League Football.

 

 

OnRPG: Is there a backstory to Crimecraft that players should know about?


In 2012, a catastrophic event known as “The Bleedout” occurred.  The world’s oil wells suddenly and mysteriously ran dry.  In less than a year, society had devolved 200 years as power plants ceased to function, government power waned, modern technology failed, and lawless gunmen seized power.

 

Out of this chaos emerged  Sunrise City as an independent city state among the wastelands. Rebuilt by a tenuous agreement between six of the city’s biggest criminal organizations, Sunrise City maintains a façade of normalcy through its puppet government, the Municipality.  This political system guards the citizens from the numerous outside threats that wish to destroy everything Sunrise City is, consisting of Reunification US Military Squadrons to money hungry mercenaries controlled by the remnants of society’s major corporate powers.

 

 

 

OnRPG: Give us a quick rundown about what Bleedout has introduced to the game.


With the release of Bleedout we introduced a wealth of new content and changes to the game. Here’s a quick overview:

 

The Bleedout Campaign delivers 10 weeks of episodic content to Players and tells the story of the Bleedout. Each episode delivers about 2.5 hours of PvE content (Players can also play cooperatively). Comicbook style cinematics open and close each episode which is illustrated by an all-star lineup of comic artists including, Tim Bradstreet, Ben Templesmith, Howard Chaykin, Sanford Green and Nathan Fox amongst others.

 

The New Age of Ruin is a complete overhaul of the art direction of our three major community areas (Downtown, Oceanside and Midtown). This is a radical transformation to provide the perfect ambiance to the Bleedout Campaign — an artistic style that represents a gritty, near future, urban setting.

The Reputation system gives the Players an overall cumulative stat that measures their progress. Player’s earn points for PvP Combat, wealth, character progress, leadership (Gangs), special achievements and time in game. Players can monitor how well they are doing by viewing the Reputation Leaderboards.

 

New maps include, Belly Street, a smaller, close quarter combat arena,  Deckard Harbor, a dense maze of walkways in the port district, Municpal Bank, a heavily guarded financial fortress for the ultimate PvP robbery, and Maxym Alley, a small, intense map with few places to hide.

 

As with every patch and major release, our community is instrumental in helping drive development, and we’ve added multitudes of Player requests, such as more character customization options, refinements to character professions and skills, new playmodes, new weapon modification kits, new AUG’s, and much more.

 

 

OnRPG: The game has converted more fully to a Free2Play model recently, how has this been installed, and what has the response been so far?


Our game uses a hybrid Free2Play model, which includes both expanded memberships and a microtransaction cash shop. We currently offer three membership tiers:  Normal, Deluxe, and Premium. The Deluxe and Premium membership tiers offer increased experience, cash, and loot rates. These memberships also received gold bars (our cash currency) each month and receive full access to the Bleedout Campaign.

 

The reception to both the memberships and cash shop has been great, users can more easily progress to our endgame if they wish and the cash shop allows us to provide some really cool cosmetic clothing for our users.

 

 

OnRPG: The new art introduced with Bleedout looks great, can you give readers an explanation about the new comics and voice acting included with the recent Bleedout update?


Each of the episodes focus on a different NPC and themes, which offer different perspectives on the world scenario and different bits of insight into what led to this ultimate Age of Ruin.  It felt appropriate to get different popular comic artists to portray those different perspectives, based on their individual unique visual styles, to really showcase the broad variety of characters and agendas.   Each artist brought their A-game to the table, and really nailed the different moods and themes assigned to them:  Ben Templesmith’s chapter is suitably creepy, Glenn Fabry’s chapter captures the violent LOCK STOCK vibe, Howard Chaykin’s chapter really highlights the sultry smarm of local politics, etc.

 

Casting the voices for the game was also something we considered carefully, approaching some of the best voices in animation.  David Lodge, Yuri Lowenthal, Tom and Dorothy Fahn, and several other talented actors all brought their years of voiceover experience to the table to bring the many NPCs to life.  By giving these characters true, recorded voices, the world itself becomes that much richer and more engaging, with each NPC becoming that much more memorable and unique.

 

 

OnRPG: Can you give us a rundown of what the clan system offers in a FPS game like Crimecraft?


Our clan system revolves around gangs, and membership in a gang offers a lot of privileges unlike anything you’ve seen in a typical shooter. First of all you get crafting bonuses since the gang can have a “Crafting Specialty” with regular production of needed ingredients. Next, you have Gang Clubs, where gang leaders can create a nightclub with unique vendors and the gang gets a cut of the action. We also have a highly structured Gang Wars system where gangs can challenge each other for bragging rights and cold (in-game) cash.

 

 

OnRPG: For those who haven’t played the game, can you give us a detailed look on the game modes that have been in Crimecraft for a long time, as well as the ones being introduced in this month’s patch?


We’ve got a total of 11 game modes (three PvE and 8 PvP) and 17 maps. There’s a lot of variety built in there, and when you add in custom game options like Vampire Mode and Friendly Fire, you can see that we have a big buffet of match choices.

 

The most popular game types to date have been Robbery and Turf War. In Robbery, two teams battle to steal money from the opposing teams safe. In Turf War, each team fights to control five strategic points on the map.

 

We’ve also got your standard Shootout and Riot (team deathmatch and every man for himself) modes; a capture the flag mode called Snatch n Grab; and Capture the Zone (a king of the hill mode).

 

For PvE, we have Stockpile, a solo game mode where users battle bots and bosses to collect loot; Safeguard, a coop mode where users protect a “Defense Core” from wave after wave of AI foes; and Headhunt, a coop mode where users fight through  an intense AI defense to kill the enemy boss.

 

For this update, we added one new PvP game mode and expanded a PvE game mode.

 

The addition is Assault, Capture, Defend. This game mode randomly places a Core around the map that two teams fight over in three distinct phases. The opening phase has the two teams battling for position until the Core unlocks. Once unlocked, the teams must capture the Core by standing next to it and keeping opponents away from it. Once one team captures it, the other team must release it by standing next to it and clearing out their competition. Once released, the Core is moved to another random spot on the map and the process begins again.

 

The expanded PvE mode brings Safeguard to our Old Sunrise City Hall map, but with a new twist. Instead of one defense core, the players must defend three cores against waves of AI enemies. It’s an intense change of pace for one of our most popular game modes!

 

 

OnRPG: How will players be rewarded via these game modes? I mean, there’s probably the obvious EXP and Money, but what else can players earn?


In addition to XP and money, players earn Reputation, Rank and Power Points based on their performance. Players are ranked in game by a number of leaderboards that are based on a player’s in-game skill and activities.

 

Reputation is a measure of a player’s commitment to the game, and takes into account all game activities including match play, crafting, job, missions, tournaments, you name it. The players at the top of the Reputation Leaderboard are marked on your lobby minimap by their rank.

 

Players also gain PvP Rank for each map for simpler ranking of a player’s killing ability.

 

Finally, each player has a power point rating that covers their equipment, level and their Kill/Death ratio.

 

 

OnRPG: In terms of events, what can players expect to see in Crimecraft next?


Our players take part in a large number of events on a daily basis. We have daily and weekly tournaments for our competitive players. These are highly structured ladder tourneys that give out some of the best rewards in the game.

 

Next we run daily events where a GM sets up a match and offers the winners prizes, usually in-game cash and rare mats. These events are often something fun like “Kill the GM,” a Riot match where whoever kills the GM the most times wins the prize.

 

These are all in addition to events we run on our forums for screenshots, scavenger hunts and more.

 

We’re heavy believers in events and try to have them as often as possible and at varied times throughout the day.

 

 

OnRPG: How do you guys attempt to create fairness between those who pay for the game, and those who do not?


The Black Market is a great way to pimp out your character, try out different combat builds, and experience additional gameplay content. However, no unbalancing items will ever be offered for purchase through the Black Market… the best items will always be earned through gameplay. While a players gear certainly helps sway the tide of a match, our game is a shooter at its core, so it will ultimately come down to the skill of the player.

 

OnRPG: A common complaint I came across upon visiting your game as well as the forums was about matchmaking. What plans do you have to address this issue?


Well first I can say we are definitely addressing this issue.  I’ll lay out the general direction we are headed – our new match-making system will go through a Beta process and our community will help us fine tune it.

 

On the “play the match” UI the player won’t see the list of active servers anymore. They will be able just to select their preferences and press the “Fight” button. The system will handle everything else and join the player into the appropriate instance.

 

The player should get more rewards (experience and cash) if they accept more game types and locations and this should be transparent for the players. By doing this we will push most of the players to select the “Quick Play” option and this gives us the possibility to create the teams for the games much faster so the players won’t wait for a next match for too long.

 

We will also be introducing an ELO system that will attempt to match players against others of equal skill level. If the wait is too long, this system will slowly broaden the ELO rankings allowed to be paired up to begin the match. This ELO rank will increase or decrease after the match in proportion to the ELO rank of those you played with and against as well as the outcome of the match.

 

 

OnRPG: What’s your favorite weapon in the game? Favorite Mode?


Ha, that one’s easy! Everyone who knows me knows I live and die by my LMG. I’ve been using it since Beta. Originally I was an Oslo loyalist, but since we brought the Raskolnikov into the game, that’s what I’ve been using. I’ve got a profile set up now with a sniper rifle for some of the bigger maps, but I usually end up getting frustrated and going back to my LMG anyway!

 

My favorite PvP game mode is probably Turf War. It’s a very tactical mode with great potential for the back and forth momentum swings that I love. For PvE, I really enjoy Headhunt for the frantic action and the solid rewards. It’s possible to rack up a lot of loot containers in Headhunt, plus fighting all the way to the boss can be extremely satisfying, especially when you’re working as a team with other players.

 

 

OnRPG: Tell new players why they should get excited about this month’s content update.


One of our Facebook fans said it best when she wrote, “New patch is THA BOMB, son!” This update was based on feedback from our community and that’s been our driving mantra for a long time here at Vogster Entertainment. And it’s not about to stop. We’re already working on our next expansion!

 

Our Players should be excited about this patch because they designed it. This is the Player Request patch and while we didn’t deliver everything we wanted to, we delivered an enormous amount of new content and have hopefully put a smile on our players’ faces. Our dev team is of modest size, they are extremely talented and passionate about the product. They work their butts off and truly care about the Player experience. This team actually loses sleep at night worrying about player issues and negative forum posts. They were dedicated to delivering what our players wanted.

 

The team is now focused on our major expansion release, which is targeted for this fall. This expansion is going to be bigger than Bleedout and it’s going to rock the PC MMORPG Free to Play gaming world. We are just starting to actively involve our community in the design. The team is super-pumped and we can’t wait to start talking about it…but not just yet.

OnRPG: Thanks for your time!