Monthly Archives: August 2012

OnRPG Shotgun News 8/3: Planetside 2, Cabal, Pirate101, and Much More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 8/3: Planetside 2, Cabal, Pirate101, and Much More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

PlanetSide 2 Beta Starting Monday

 

According to John Smedley, the President of SOE Planetside 2 Beta is expected to start on Monday, August 6th. This is according to a tweet from his account yesterday.

 

 

Mechwarrior Tactics Beta Keys at GenCon

If you’re lucky enough to be heading to GenCon this year be sure to stop by the Catalyst Game Labs booth early on to get one of the limited beta keys for Mecharrior Tactics.

 

 

Shadowrun Online To Be Cross Platform

 

Shadowrun Online, the Kickstarter project everyone is talking about, will be cross platform. You will be able to play it on PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and Ouya. With just 11 days left in it’s Kickstarter fundraiser it’s future may appear a bit uncertain. Should it be successful this tactical action RPG is due to be made available in 2013.

 

 

MilMo Developer Junebud Files for Bankruptcy

Swedish developers Junebud have filed for bankruptcy after four years of operation. It is unclear what is expected to happen to their free to play 3D browser game MilMo. The company employed 15 full time staff members.

 

 

WoW Down 1 Million Subscribers

The Activision Blizzard earnings report for Q2 2012 have shown that subscriptions to World of Warcraft are down 1.1 million players since last May. This has been put down to Diablo III which has been very popular, selling more than 10 million copies.

 

 

Pirate101 Sets Sail Towards Beta Testing

 

KingIsle Entertainment has announced the start of the closed beta for it’s new Pirate themed game Pirate101. The first round of invitations have gone out and more are planned over the next several weeks. To take part sign up at the official website.

 

 

CABAL Online New Free Expansion

Free to play Cabal Online has finished their anniversary events with the announcement of Arcane Trave, a new free expansion coming out this fall. It will feature a new map which is available to players above level 180. A daily boss battle with epic loot and a completely revamped crafting system.

Knight Age Begins Open Beta This August

Knight Age Begins Open Beta This August!

 

Knight Age

 

Joymax, leading online game developer and publisher widely known for Silkroad Online and Digimon Masters, today announced the hotly anticipated date for the open beta of Knight Age. Players will be able to once again mount up and enter into a daring combat in this fantasy MMORPG beginning August 28th. To pre-register for the open beta, squires simply need to have a Joymax account.

 

 

“We learned some tough but valuable lessons about both the popularity of Knight Age and our ability to support a massive number of people who want to dive right into the game when we launch,” said Nam-Chul Kim, CEO of Joymax. “We’ve also used the mountain of user feedback acquired through our forums and Facebook to make numerous small adjustments that will streamline the beta experience for everyone.”

 

 

Knight Age was first introduced to the public via closed beta July 10th through 17th. Its initial launch generated so much traffic, the Knight Age website had to be temporarily shut down to control the massive influx of visitors.

 

Knight Age

 

To ensure all interested players can jump straight into the action come August 28th, the Knight Age client will be up on the site to download on August 14th and can be pre-loaded any time before OBT begins. All players who joined during Closed Beta Testing only need to update the patch by launching their current game. Skip the long wait by having your client ready before Open Beta begins!

 

 

The Open Beta will also introduce a variety of new content that was unavailable during closed beta, including the much anticipated 50 versus 50 guild battles. The lauded Pupa system, which allows players to raise, breed, and mould their companion pets into the ultimate fighting machines, has also been expanded. Pupa can be specialized in a variety of way, including becoming monster hunting champions or a lean, mean PVP machine.

Character Development: The Pub

Character Development: The Pub

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

The pub/bar/club is the prime roleplaying spot in any game. Even as far back as Everquest people would gather in pubs to chat over beers, wines and a variety of other drinks. But why is this such a popular spot? No matter what genre it is, if you go to a bar you know you’ll find roleplayers.

 

 

Now I’m one of those who likes to roleplay no matter where I am. City of Heroes taught me to roleplay while fighting. Sure, you aren’t going to write huge paragraphs while you’re saving the world. But you also shouldn’t being saying a whole lot while hacking and slashing. Seasoned heroes, the types like my main who have been doing it for years, they’re a bit more talkative. And chat about anything you can imagine. But still the majority of roleplay takes place at the club called Pocket D. Sometimes though these places get a bit of a reputation. It is said the floor of Pocket D is a bit sticky on the Virtue server. While on the other unofficial roleplay server Union Pocket D is the center of the rping world. There is even a post on the forums for people to give daily updates on the various things that happen in Pocket D.

 

 

In RIFT the various inns and bars scattered around Telara are the hubs for roleplayers. There are regular roleplaying events held in them. People who go to the bars a lot become regulars. When one of the regulars isn’t there they’re missed and people ask about them.

 

 

On the first day of The Secret World the roleplayers declared The Horned God in London to be the main roleplaying spot. And even though chat bugs made roleplaying difficult, you could still find people there, finding a way around it all just to get their roleplay fix.

 

 

But why are these places so popular?

 

 

There isn’t any combat to worry about.

People want to be able to roleplay without the worry that while they’re typing something will jump out at them. In many games this is the only area where you are truly safe from combat. Of course this doesn’t usually hold true if you’re on a PvP server. And sometimes there is griefing that can happen in some games. But sometimes these things just can’t be avoided.

 

 

Having drinks gives people something in common.

A common issue with roleplaying is finding something to talk about to complete strangers. This is very much the same thing in real life. Drinks give people something to bond over. Did the person sitting next to you order a horrible drink? Tell them!

 

 

Tongues loosen when drunk.

Roleplaying someone drunk can be quite fun. They can say just about anything and even the shyest person will often become quite the chatterbox. Get several drunk people in one spot? People never shut up!

 

 

Communities are created over drinks.

A lot of this actually is very Anthropological and applies just as much to the real world as it does roleplaying. But in a bar, you share your feelings. You tell people your troubles and they tell you theirs. You show off pictures of your kids and their last greatest achievement. It creates a strong bond.

 

 

I don’t like roleplaying in bars. Why? Very simply I don’t drink. By extension a lot of my characters don’t drink either. Mostly though it comes down to me not knowing the names of very many drinks. I also don’t much care for roleplaying while standing in one place. It can be fun from time to time but eventually you’ve talked about all there is to talk about. The time comes when you just need to get out there.

 

 

It is often said that roleplayers are usually the best or the worst people to play with. The ones who are good are used to roleplaying in combat and have had to learn to multitask. But sometimes you get those people who are awful and can’t rp while they fight. So usually they end up only doing one or the other.

OnRPG Shotgun News 8/2: World of Warships, Microvolts, GW2, Sevencore, and Much More!

OnRPG Shotgun News 8/2: World of Warships, Microvolts, GW2, Sevencore, and Much More!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

World of Battleships Becomes World of Warships

 

The upcoming warship game from Wargaming has been renamed to World of Warships to better reflect the Wargaming Universe of which it is a part. World of Warships is expected to be released in 2013.

 

 

The War Z Official Website Launches

The War Z has received more than 100 thousand closed beta registrations within the first 24 hours of registration being open on the brand new site. It is currently in Alpha with a closed beta expected to begin soon and is slated for release this fall.

 

 

Bomb Blast Mode Explodes in Microvolts

 

Rock Hippo Productions has announced a new objective based strategy mode called Bomb Blast has come to third person shooter Microvolts. It features a new map called Cargo as well as new weapons and special events to celebrate the occasion.

 

 

Lagoonia Gets Profiles and Friend Rankings

The latest update to Lagoonia has introduced rankings as well as customizable profiles. The rankings show a variety of aspects from the game including population, neighborly help, and harvesting. The new profiles will allow players to write about themselves for others to see.

 

 

Arabian Themed Nadirim Now Available

 

Aeria Games has announced it’s browser MMORPG Nadirim is now available online via the Aeria Network. This game puts a unique spin on MMOs by immersing players in a fantasy world inspired by myths and fables of Arabian Nights.

 

 

Guild Wars 2 Stress Test Today

Today is a brief stress test for Guild Wars 2. It will run from 3PM EDT to 7PM. So if you’re eager to get your hands on Guild Wars 2 again this is your chance!

 

 

SEVENCORE Open Beta Starts Today

 

For French and German players out there SEVENCORE has entered open beta and is inviting everyone to give it a try. There will be a variety of in game events and opportunities to get some unique in game items.

The Dwarven Invasion Arrives in Dawn of Fantasy

The Dwarven Invasion Event Arrives In Dawn Of Fantasy

 

Dawn of Fantasy

 

Reverie World Studios is proud to announce a new game changing event for it’s innovative siege MMORTS – Dawn of Fantasy. This mini-expansion event gives players free access to the might of the Dwarven race as players work together in co-op mode to protect the realm against the Dwarven invaders.

 

 

The dwarfs have descended on the three realms of the world! They come as friends and foes, traders and conquerors. Select dwarven mercenaries have joined player armies free of charge, while towns refusing refuge have fallen to dwarven cannons. Players will experience Dawn of Fantasy like never before with a new challenging siege combat opportunities against the Dwarves, discount on all dwarven mercenaries hired from the Online Kingdom Market and Dwarven menu design, not to mention new soundtrack! Players who purchase the game from the official site between now and August 7 will also receive two bonus codes for 20$ value – redeemable for additional free dwarven units as well as a Haunter Dragon, so don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity!

 

Dawn of Fantasy

 

In this rare visit, the dwarfs will introduce the best miners in the game, several very versatile melee units, and a new technology: gunpowder. With primitive rifles and cannons, the dwarfs will be invaluable when defending your homeland from an attack. But encounter them on the other side of the battlefield and you’ll find yourself cringing at the distant sound of cannon-fire and bagpipes.

 

 

The promo starts today and runs until August 7, so check out our website to pick up your copy of the game to take part in the great Dwarven Invasion!

Salem Interview – Finding a Place in the F2P Market

Salem Interview with John Rickne – Paradox Interactive

By MerryQuiteContrary, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

Paradox Interactive is the publisher of such games as The War of Roses, Mount &Blade, Magicka and Salem: the crafting MMO. Salem, currently in closed beta, is their first free to play title.

 

 

Salem is set in the American Colonies of the 17th century in a persistent, mutable online world. Salem’s features include open PvP, permadeth, crafting, farming, and building systems.  Salem has a wonderful Burton-esque art style with an American Gothic vibe. Salem is currently slated for a 2012 Q3 release.

 

 

I had the opportunity to chat with John Rickne from Paradox Interactive about Salem’s place in the F2P market.

 

 

OnRPG: Tell us a bit about yourself and your role with paradox interactive.


My name is John Rickne and I work with the marketing team at Paradox Interactive. I’ve been an avid gamer for as long as I can remember, growing up playing board games such as Axis and Allies with my dad and eventually transferring over to RTS and FPS when I discovered computers. Warcraft III was my main game when World of Warcraft was announced so the transition to MMO’s happened then and there, in the original WoW beta. Since then I have loved the concept of MMO’s and played more than several, although mainly WoW and EVE-Online. The latter got me deeply in love with the sandbox MMO concept. I started out working in the games industry early last year and have since then worked on and off with a lot of eSports-production with companies such as Fnatic, DreamHack and several production studios.

 

I’ve worked at Paradox for a little over two months now and at the moment I am fully dedicated to Salem. That means I do things such as customer support and GMing, but first and foremost I spend time with the players and the game to make sure the customers get their voices heard where they need to be heard – for the good of the game.

 

 

OnRPG: Salem is Paradox Interactive’s first foray into the free to play market. Why a crafting MMO?


There is a serious lack of games that give players enough freedom, and the demand is even bigger. People want wider levels, broader choices and the ability to actually do something in their game outside of the exact things the developers intended. Salem meets a lot of these demands and adds the super-tense concept of permanent death in a game. It’s a second life within a game, mixed together with a little fantasy and a crazy community.

 

 

OnRPG: What type of player-base do you hope to acquire with Salem?


I am going to be so bold to say that the type of players we have now, in the closed beta, are what we are looking for in Salem. The game is aimed towards people that love freedom over everything else. Someone who can’t bear the idea of losing months of work in an instant will have huge problems playing Salem, but the thrill of permadeath and full freedom makes the game so much more enjoyable for many. People often call it a very niched game, but I disagree. I think there are large amounts of players looking for more immersive and “risky” games, just look at the recent success of Arma II due to the Day-Z mod. There are almost no rules in-game to prevent players from doing whatever they want, be it with the economy, other players or their own experience. We aim to let players fully control the world.

 

 

OnRPG: Because of the open PVP nature of Salem and perma-death as a feature, how will griefing be dealt with?


Griefing, by definition, is when a player harasses and harms players in a game in ways that are not intended to exist and thus exploits the game itself. Salem is intended to have full freedom and therefore the concept of griefing does not really exist within the game. The game is supposed to be self-regulating where players make sure justice is served.

 

 

OnRPG: Seatribe, the developers of Salem, already have a crafting type game in Haven & Hearth, What is different about Salem?


Many people call Salem “Haven and Hearth 2” but I disagree. That’s like calling Call of Duty “Counter Strike 2” simply because they share genre. The sandbox-mmo / permadeath genre is still very small and unexplored so it’s easy to think all of the games in the genre are just the same, but that’s just like calling all MMO’s the same because “they have guns”.

 

Salem is in a different time period, it is 3D, it is supported and produced by Paradox Interactive, it has different options, functions and goals. The biggest thing it shares with H&H is the genre and the fact that they share developers.

 

 

OnRPG: Seatribe claims to specialize in forum drama. As a game master what kind of challenges will that present with Salem?


It does present some unique challenges but I would not call it troublesome. I consider the Salem forums to be a crucial part of the game itself. The “drama” that takes place is essential for the game to work and in my opinion one of the biggest reasons to play. What Seatribe does is promote the idea of living out your character in more ways than in the game itself and the forum is like a big town square or a bar where everyone gathers to talk about events that have occurred, hatch plans and slander their enemies. Just like real life.

 

Of course I have some forum parts that are not as roleplay-oriented, such as the tech-support and suggestions forums. So far I have never experienced any of the drama leaking over to the “out of game” sections.

 

 

OnRPG: How does Paradox Interactive hope to compete with a F2P market that is already saturated by not only South Korean games but triple A titles going F2P as well?


Free to play is the new thing for everyone and it’s hard for us to not go with the stream. It has been proven several times that games where players can chose whether to spend money or not tend to be more profitable. The thing that sets Salem out from most F2P-games is the fact that there is no “pay to win” aspect in the game. It is merely for convenience and cosmetics. A player can only buy silver, which is the same currency as one can get in the game, and for silver you can buy just the same items as other players can without paying real money. There are no such things as experience boosts, extra item slots or stronger guns.

 

This fact combined with the game’s uniqueness and it actually being a lot of fun to play sets Salem up for a bright future in the F2P market.

 

 

OnRPG: Do you have any tantalizing hints or new information you can share with our readers?


Haha, I wish I had super-secret things to share but we’re very open with most of our future plans for the game, be it content or features. Upcoming things, for those who did not know, are things such as witchcraft, domesticated animals, creatures from the deep lumberwoods, endgame purity and player controlled market stalls in Boston.

 

Another thing that many do not know is that Salem is being developed by two, yes you read right, two people. That is probably the thing I am most proud and amazed by.

Meta’s Verse: Martial Madness!

Meta’s Verse: Martial Madness!

By Meticulous Meta, OnRPG Paragon Journalist

 

 

A record number of people turned out for today’s live stream from Paragon Studios. Was it because the host Zwillinger wasn’t wearing a hat? No. Was it because Arbiter Hawk(ward) was there with his fabulous hair? No, but it helped. Today it was all about two brand new powersets. I’m not talking about powersets that were on beta already, or ones that have been leaked. These were never before seen, brand new awesomeness. I know the suspense must be killing you by now! So I present to you, my loyal readers, Martial Combat for Blasters and Martial Assault for Dominators.

 

 

Martial Combat

This powerset is a secondary for blasters. Blappers rejoice! This set is almost entirely melee range. Some of the attacks have been taken from Martial Arts so they look a bit familiar. But most of them are brand new and look amazing. The first attack is Ki Push. It pushes enemies away in slow motion. Storm Kick and Dragons Tail, Eagle Claw are all kicks from Martial Arts. Burst of Speed is a very long range teleport which can be used 3 times before it needs to recharge and is an AoE attack. The buildup type power is called Reach for the limit. Throw sand is a familiar looking power. You throw sand in a cone that hits up to five enemies. Reaction Time is a power that is basically bullet time. Enemies get minus recharge, while you get plus recovery and absorb. You also get a short term speed boost which makes you feel the fastest for a short time after slowing down. The final power is called Inner Will. It is a self heal with a few special new things. If you are under a status, or under half health/endurance hitting this power will give you a minor heal, break you from the status and increases the strength of your own status and secondary effects.

 

 

This is one of those powersets that has been asked for since forever and I know a lot of people will be looking forward to it. Speaking of which both of the powersets talked about today will be coming out with Issue 24 and will be free for VIPs!

 

The second powerset that Arbiter Hawk and Zwillinger talked about today was Martial Assault for Dominators. This powerset has both ranged and melee attacks. And the primary focus is on throwing weapons. Specifically throwing shorikens.

The very first power is called Shuriken Throw and it does exactly what it says. You throw small handfuls of shurikens at an enemy. The second power is Thunderkick, this one is a kick taken from Martial Arts so it will look very familiar. Trick Shot is a fun power which bounces a shuriken off enemies in a chain. Spinning Kick uses something that isn’t used often. It is a cone kick which instead of focusing on your target it will go off in the direction you are standing. Envenomed Blades is a build up type power that adds toxic damage to all of your attacks. Dragons Tail is a spinning kick which damages enemies in a 15ft radius. There is also Caltrops which is just the standard capltrops throw. Though it does mean you can do that Knives super group you’ve always wanted to do. Masterful Throw is a snipe which is high damage and has a chance for Damage over Time. The last power, and my personal favorite is Explosive Shuriken. It does damage over time in a small radius around the target. So enemies nearby can get hurt during the explosion.

I know this is a ton of information to take in at one time. But I think it is safe to say a lot of people are going to be very excited. I know I’m going to be planning a new Blaster and Dominator until Issue 24 goes into beta. Which, according to Zwillinger, should hopefully be soonish!