Monthly Archives: September 2012

RuneScape Introduces Enhanced Security For Player Accounts

RuneScape Introduces Enhanced Security For Player Accounts

 

RuneScape

 

Jagex announced details of Jagex Account Guardian (J.A.G) –  a new free security feature that provides enhanced account security to protect RuneScape players from unauthorized game access commonly known as ”hijacking”.

 

 

Once enabled by players, J.A.G will allow players to associate specific trusted devices with their account to provide security beyond the traditional username/password.  Players can enable J.A.G  through their account settings on the RuneScape.com website, thereby helping to ensure their RuneScape account, and valuable in-game items are secure.

 

 

“Ensuring the integrity and security of our valued community’s information has always been a top priority for us, this recent update serves to strengthen the number of other innovative countermeasures we have developed over the past years” said Mark Gerhard, CEO of Jagex.  “Unfortunately a lot of people tend to use the same username and password on other websites, many of these are not well managed from a security standpoint and end up becoming compromised, others are simply phishing websites intended to steal player credentials, sadly the industry also has a very long list of high profile games publishers that have been hacked resulting sensitive customer account information being in the public domain”,  Gerhard went on to add, “Our players put a significant investment of both time and effort into their RuneScape accounts so it’s incumbent on us to remain at the very forefront of protecting their investment.

 

 

Once a player has enabled the Jagex Account Guardian, if their account is accessed from an unregistered device the player will have to go through additional layers of validation  to ensure that the account is not being hijacked.

OnRPG Shotgun News 9/11: TSW, GW2, WoW, War of Angels, and more!

OnRPG Shotgun News 9/11: TSW, GW2, WoW, War of Angels, and more!

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Guild War 2 Sales Resume

After temporarily stopping the sale of digital copies of Guild Wars 2 ArenaNet has brought digital sales back online. Along with it came the official trailer for Guild Wars 2 which brought in James McTeigue the director of V for Vendetta and Assistant Director of the Matrix series.

 

 

Mists of Pandaria Coming to an Ad Break Near You

World of Warcraft fans rejoice! Mists of Pandaria is only 2 weeks away. And as part of the build up to launch date Blizzard has released a few commercials for tv. World of Warcraft has been known for some time for having high profile commercials airing on television, something that is rare for MMOs.

 

 

Secret World Lead Designer Let Go

 

The lead designer for The Secret World, Martin Bruusgaard told fans on twitter that he is no longer with Funcom. This comes after Funcom was hit with massive lay offs in part due to lower than expected performance of The Secret World. The good news is Martin has found another job already, sadly not in the MMO industry. His presence will be missed.

 

 

38 Studios Collapse Becomes Political

With election season in full swing Rhode Island is starting to ask more and more questions about what took place with 38 Studios and asking politicians to answer for the money lost. Though the leading politicians around the scandal have resigned it is still being felt in the election this year.

 

 

War of Angels is Reborn

War of Angels has received a huge update with all new graphics, updated quests new loot and RvR battlefields. All of the changes made were inspired by player feedback they’ve received since launch.

 

 

Perfect World International Celebrates Four Years

PWI is celebrating their fourth anniversary with prizes and in game events. Every player can expect to get a gift, what you get depends on how long you’ve been a PWI player. 500 random players who claim their anniversary prize will be given 500 ZEN free. All of the instructions on how to claim your prize is on the anniversary’s page of the PWI website.

 

 

Path of Exile Open Beta Weekend

 

Path of Exile is hosting another Open Beta Weekend this week September 14th-16th. The weekend will include events and competitions. To sign up visit the Path of Exile website

 

 

Dragon’s Call II Closed Beta Starts Today

Even though Dragon’s Call II doesn’t have a proper website yet the closed beta festivities are getting underway tonight at 10 PM EST. To be eligible to take part grab a beta key from the giveaway right here at OnRPG!

Obama Takes the Lead in Nexon Gamers’ Poll

Obama Takes the Lead in Nexon Gamers’ Poll

 

 

Nexon America has released the first player poll as part of its “Great Maple Election Quest 2012,” with Barack Obama preferred over Mitt Romney by 80 percent of those participating in its survey.

 

 

The survey, run on the Maplestory website from Sept. 7-9, asked players to vote on their preferred candidate for the presidential election. The poll received votes from 18,373 respondents in the United States, with 13,935 favoring Obama and 4,438 favoring Romney.

 

 

The poll is a small part of a major event currently being held in MapleStory. The “Great Maple Election Quest 2012” will include additional player polls, and will also include wide-ranging in-game election events running up to Election Day on Nov. 6. Additionally, MapleStory has partnered with Rock The Vote to encourage players to register to vote and participate in the real presidential election.

 

 

Any registered MapleStory player in Nexon America’s service could participate in the survey, which includes a sizeable audience outside the United States. Players outside of the U.S. favored Obama 87 percent to 13 percent for Romney, 9,752 votes to 1,291 votes. Those who participated in the poll will receive an in-game item, called the “Buff Freezer.”

 

 

It was not all bad news for the Romney campaign, as he was favored by players in Utah, Montana and North Dakota. By wide margins, though, Obama swept the “swing states” of Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.

 

 

“It is exciting to see our players voice their position on something as important as a presidential election,” said Min Kim, Nexon America CEO. “Our players represent a very important voting block.  This event in MapleStory gives our players an outlet to have their voices heard, in and out of the game, while providing an avenue for them register and become part of the election process.”

Ghost Recon Online OB Review

Ghost Recon Online OB Review

By Michael Sagoe (mikedot), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

 

The Tom Clancy series is now heading into the world of F2P with their latest entry to the series: Ghost Recon Online (GRO) and it features all the tactical shooting mechanics that the series is known for.  Along with three playable classes and modern FPS features such as weapon customization, GRO is set to offer something unique compared to most other F2P shooters out there.

 

 

I recently got to try out GRO during its closed beta phase, and created an impressions video detailing the games strengths and weaknesses.  Now with the game in Open Beta, it’s time to see if all the kinks have been ironed out.

 

 

Controls

GRO uses a traditional FPS game set up: WSAD for movement, mouse to aim, shoot, etc. You can also use iron sights by pressing the right mouse button, which switches the game from 3rd person to 1st person, and the transitions between them is quite smooth. The spacebar key here isn’t used for jumping in GRO. Rather, it’s used to make use of the game’s cover system, where players can cling to walls and slide under obstacles. The system works very well, allowing players to move from cover to cover effectively, even though players may find themselves clinging to walls and objects when they don’t want to from time to time.  The only time you can jump is when pressing the E key to hop over obstacles.

 

 

Guns handle with a fair amount of realism, so you’ll have to fire shots in short bursts to maintain accuracy and make use of cover effectively to reduce recoil. Anyone that has ever played any kind of military FPS game should have no problem handling GRO.

 

 

Gameplay and Features

The three character classes available in GRO include Assault (frontline solider), Recon (Sniper) and Specialist (Support). Each class has a role to play in battle, and any well-coordinated team should have no problem covering up for the weaknesses of other teammates. Still, I would have to say that Recons are the most dangerous due to their sniper rifles that can take most enemies down in one to two shots, and their oracle devices that can detect hidden enemies.

 

 

GRO stays true to the core gameplay of previous Ghost Recon titles by making combat very tactical and team-focused.  Players will have to cooperate with their teammates in order to win, since this isn’t a game for lone wolves in the slightest and run & gun moments are very few and far between.  When all the bases are covered and teammates are cooperating, action in Ghost Recon Online can lead to some pretty amazing gunfights.

 

 

However, for a game that focuses on team play, it only offers one solid form of player-to-player communication, which is voice chatting. GRO offers built in VOIP for players with microphones to discuss battle tactics and strategies on the fly, and it works very well. However those without a microphone will have no other options other than old fashion way by typing their messages flat out on their keyboards, which generally takes up valuable time that could be better spent on objectives and killing enemies, or just not getting sniped.

 

 

The available game modes in GRO include Attack & Defend (Onslaught), Conquest (Point Capture) and nothing else. I’m not quite sure why they couldn’t include something as simple as team deathmatch or capture the flag mode, because GRO really could use some extra modes to give the game some much needed variety. With only two modes and two maps for each mode at the time of my review, most players are bound to grow tired of GRO’s content sooner than later.

 

 

Matchmaking is still somewhat of an issue in GRO, as players will still end up getting matched with players that are completely new to the game, or players that have plenty of experience. The amount of player activity is still a bit low, so players may end up getting placed in matches with unbalanced teams.

 

 

The biggest issue with GRO is the lack of any kind of co-op mode or story to help things along, which may not be such a big deal in your average F2P FPS shooter, but given that Tom Clancy games are generally focused on some kind of story-driven narrative or scenario, it’s a huge disappointment for GRO not to have one.

 

 

Customization

Customization also plays an important role in GRO, as options for both primary weapons and armor are fairly deep. Tweaking primary weapons such as assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns and shotguns allow players to swap out different stocks, barrels, muzzles, scopes, Etc.  While there are only two kinds of armor sets available (one of which increases defense while decreasing movement speed, and one that increases movement speed while decreasing defense), armors can be customized with different inserts for increased health, health regeneration speed, toughness and critical evasion.

 

 

The customization for everything else is either weak or non-existent. For instance, you can only customization your soldier’s looks with only a handful of face and skin types, no customization for secondary weapons and only two kinds of combat and squad support devices for each class type.

 

 

As far as F2P balance goes: Players must play through matches and level up their character classes separately in order to gain access to new equipment locked at different levels, and then must be purchased using RP (Requisition Points/In-game currency) or Ghost Coins (obtainable with real money). Players can purchase high level equipment early, but can only use that equipment when they’ve reached the required level, so there’s no chance of players buying their way to victory.

 

 

Graphics and Presentation

GRO looks very similar to recent Ghost Recon titles with a “not-so-distant future” theme, with solders that are equipped with high-tech gadgets and augmentations. Textures are nicely detailed, and environments are very rich with several different locations such as subways, construction buildings, malls, and abandoned city streets. The sound work on the weaponry is solid, with gunfire from each weapon sounding distinct and close to their real world counterparts.

 

 

Community

GRO is a game that emphasizes teamplay, and many players in the community encourage this as much as possible. Many GRO players are very supportive when it comes to helping out teammates, and even most non-microphone players do their best to communicate to others on the battlefield. One issue that runs rampart in the GRO community is dealing with dropouts and rage-quitters. When one player on a team ends up quitting in the middle of a match, they’re putting that team at a huge disadvantage. One leaving player is all it takes to make the match un-fair and unbalanced, and this tends to happen fairly often. Also to mention: there isn’t any kind of auto-balance to sort things out, so expect matches that end with steamrolling from time to time.

 

 

As far as community features go, there are chat lobbies and a friend list function, but no clan support. They all work as intended, but it’s quite a shame to see a modern online game come equipped with such bare minimal social features.

 

 

Overall

While GRO offers unique gameplay that makes it stand out from the crowd, the lack of content and options for core gameplay really bring the enjoyment and replay value down a notch. Along with no story/scenario driven co-op, it’s really hard to even call GRO a Tom Clancy title, but it’s worth a try if players are willing to look past the flaws.

 

Controls – 3

Customization – 3

Graphics and Presentation – 4

Community – 2

Overall – 3

Remnant Knights: Heroes of Kasmari Interview

Remnant Knights Interview with Brendon Lindsey

By Meredith Watson, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

Recently I had a chance to have a chat with Brendon from GameSamba about their excellent customer service and future plans for Remnant Knights.  Having recently played Remnant Knights, I was more than curious to know a bit more about this great game.

 

 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what it is you do at GameSamba.

 

My name is Brendon Lindsey, and I’m the vice president of content at GameSamba. Basically, I’m in charge of the games.

 

 

For those that aren’t aware or are new to Free to Play MMOs, what is GameSamba?

 

GameSamba is a free-to-play publisher and developer, located near Seattle. We’re also connected to FUNimation, the largest anime provider in North America.

 

 

I have recently been playing Remnant Knights where the GMs are often present with the motto ofIf you are online, so are we. Is that something present in all GameSamba games or specific to Remnant Knights?

 

We try to make that a key factor in all of our higher quality titles. Being gamers ourselves, there’s nothing worse than needing help, or having an issue that you need support to solve, and having to wait for days, weeks, or months to get a response. Free-to-play especially has had a stigma of being unfriendly to players, so we wanted to go against the grain and offer the kind of support people are used to from big, AAA subscription MMOs.

 

 

Going forward, will you be able to maintain that level of customer care when Remnant Knights becomes more popular?

 

Of course! We have plans in place for all of our games to scale the amount of GM and customer support based on the game’s population.

 

 

Aside from excellent customer service, which seems to be a rarity these day, what does GameSamba have to offer the gaming community other sites may not?

 

I like to think that we’re a lot more approachable than a lot of the other publishers out there. We take fan feedback very seriously, and in games like Remnant Knights where we have very close ties to the development process, we’ve implemented a lot of things that players have asked for.

 

Our community is also fantastic, across all of our games. They’re a great bunch of people, very welcoming to new players, and a blast to get to know.

 

Another thing we do is try to focus on games that fill a niche space. For example, Remnant Knights is an anime-inspired MMORPG, but unlike a lot of other ones, it not only has a great mix of PvE and PvP, but it’s also a lot less time consuming in terms of grind. You can hit the max level in 60-80 hours; quicker if you use the XP boosts or GM-run events. Realms is a hardcore RvR oriented F2P game in the style of Dark Age of Camelot. And our upcoming game, JollyGrim, is a really unique mixture of CCG, RTS, and Tactical RPG gameplay.

 

 

Remnant Knights has just seen its first anniversary. Are there any long term plans for RK you can share with us?

 

The first anniversary since beta started! The game itself fully launched in July, so it’s still in that early day mode. However, this year we do have plans to launch the revamped story (with new quests), raid dungeons, and more. Our goal with RK was to create a game that players could max level in with relatively little grinding, and then have a ton of time spent just finishing it off. So the amount of hours of gameplay at the level cap far exceeds the amount of time it takes to get to it, and going forward we plan to continue focusing on those endgame and high level features.

 

 

What would you like potential new players to know about Remnant Knights and GameSamba?

I think the main thing that people seem to pick up when we go to shows like Comic-Con and Anime Expo, is that RK may look similar to other anime MMOs, but it’s got things that set it apart. It’s not as kid-oriented as it looks, and players who want to do PvP have just as many options as they would in a lot of the MMOs known for PvP. So if you’re on the fence about trying it based mainly on appearances, give it a try and the content and gameplay may surprise you!

gPotato Europe announces upcoming expansion for Terra Militaris: Firearms

gPotato Europe announces upcoming expansion for Terra Militaris: Firearms

 

Terra Militaris

 

Gala Networks Europe announces the upcoming launch of Firearms, an overhauling expansion that adds new units and completely new gameplay features to the multiple award-winning, history-based real time strategy MMO Terra Militaris. Additionally, Gala Networks Europe today releases a new trailer video that illustrates these new features.

 

 

Terra Militaris: Firearms, scheduled to launch this Autumn on English, French, German and Polish servers, adds the era and destructive power of gunpowder to the history-based strategy gameplay of Terra Militaris: new units, pets and equipment, increased building and research options, as well as a new crafting system are some of the new features.

 

 

In Firearms, thanks to the gunpowder, players will now be able to additionally train the so-called Hackbuteers, specially trained and armed riflemen, and build cannons, that surely will improve their tactical options and winning stakes.

 

 

But that’s not all: Through the completely new pet system, players will be able to add even more extra strength to their troops: For the first time in Terra Militaris, the expansion Firearms will allow virtual warlords to tame, summon and train mighty and ferocious battle creatures that will accompany them on the battlefield.

 

 

Furthermore, Firearm’s new crafting system adds smithing and cooking features to the game, and allows players to arm their troops with new weapons and armours. Keeping the troops well fed will grant additional bonuses. With the expansion, building and research levels will be increased to 25, and the hero level cap will be set to 120. Firearms will also allow a faster era progression.

 

Terra Militaris

 

Building and researching will see an overhaul, too: Waiting times for building and completing researches will be replaced with a cool down feature. Training troops will be immediate. Firearms’ new arena ranking system allows players to choose and challenge players of a specific rank for the top position, and gives them the opportunity to win rewards every day, depending on their standing.

 

 

Also completely new to Terra Militaris is the 10 vs. 10 battle system, in which heroes of the same nation team up to fight in groups of 10 against each other. Only heroes are allowed to participate, the minimum level to enter these special battles is 50.

 

 

Packed full of new units, powerful heroes and advanced features, Firearms is a massive new version of Terra Militaris, launching this fall. Gala Networks Europe will announce further details regarding the launch soon. For all fans of the classic Terra Militaris gameplay, Gala Networks Europe will keep the existing servers running and offer both the options to either enjoy the new, extended Firearms gameplay features, or play the classic Terra Militaris.

Marvel Avengers Alliance

Marvel Avengers Alliance is an MMORPG that lets you recruit several popular Marvel superheroes. You join the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. and put together a team of heroes to help defend Manhattan against evil. You can develop your teams abilities, and take their stats in whichever direction you choose. In addition to fighting against a wide variety of villains, you can also fight other teams in PvP combat, to test and prove your skills.

 

 

Features

 

Variety of heroes: From Spider-Man to Wolverine, Thor to Hawkeye, there is a vast amount of heroes in Marvel Avengers Alliance. Recruit your team and fight for justice!

 

Character development: Train your heroes to unlock a variety of unique abilities, and develop their stats using ISO-8 to create a team of powerhouses.

 

Turn-based combat: Each battle offers strategic elements, as well as stunning animations and a wide variety of effects. Master them all for success!

 

Recognizable villains: Fight against legends such as Magneto, Green Goblin, and Sabertooth, defending the city against their devastation!