Yearly Archives: 2012

DK Online

Jump into a world filled with tension and racial strife. The legendary dark dragon Kharvag has escaped from his sealed prison and now leads his minions to destroy the scattered and warring races of Latos. Now the lesser races of Latos must put aside their differences and take up arms as a new generation of Dragon Knights to seal Kharvag once and for all!

Features:

Four Unique Races and Classes: Choose from the hardy enterprising humans, magically inclined elves, cunning animalistic Felynx, or ferocious Lycans, each having access to different classes including warrior, sorceress, shadowmage, and paladin.

Shapeshifting: Harness the lost arts to shapeshift into powerful monsters, temporarily gaining you access to unique stats and special abilities to give you an edge in combat.

Castle Siege Warfare: Rise with your guild to conquer the proud castles dotting the landscape of Latos. An attacking team of 25 players are given an hour and thirty minutes to overthrow up to 5 guilds chosen to defend a castle.

Community Focused: Forge a guild, create alliances with other factions, build a team of master craftsmen, and control the world of Latos!

 

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.